Children

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While working in a book store some years ago I discovered a cricket one morning on newspapers that I had brought into the shop. The mall where I worked had a field across the parking lot. The story "Josie", written for Nephew and niece, Patty and Barry, was the outcome of my encounter with the cricket.

JOSIE

Once upon a time there was a cricket named Josie. She lived in a field of tall grass with her family. Their home was under a large piece of bark that had fallen from a tree in a wind storm.

There was her father cricket, her mother cricket, and a smaller brother and sister cricket and Josie. Josie had lived in the same field all her life and used to chirp happily while she played on the warm summer ground. Her father and mother took good care of their children and tried to protect them from the big blackbirds that used to swoop down and try to pick them up in their beaks.

When still a little cricket, Josie remembered looking up at a beautiful dandelion. She thought that its yellow head was the sun. Josie would often say to her little brother, "When I get older I am going to climb up to the sun. When I do, I will bring you back a piece of the sun to keep in a tiny box."

Her mother would warn her, saying, "Josie, I don't know what I am going to do about you. How often must I tell you that we crickets are good hoppers but climbing is too dangerous for us. Why not be content with just looking at the sun instead of needing to get so close to it?" Then her mother would shake her head, making her feelers wave back and forth as she hopped away.

The days passed and Josie became older. She said to her little sister, "There must be more to the world than this one small patch of grass that I know. Someday, I will see it."

A short distance from where Josie lived there was a parking lot where people left their cars while they were shopping in the mall. It was a big, big parking lot that seemed to be as large as all the world. Josie kept wondering about this great space where no flowers grew and where there was no grass to crawl through. She thought about what it would be like to jump along without having to get away from sharp twigs, and the holes that were dug by the field mice all around her home. When she spoke to the older crickets about this they said, "Josie, it is not good to be too curious. One day it will get you into trouble". Josie knew that what they said was probably true and for awhile she was content to play in the surroundings she knew best.

Josie did not look over to the parking lot and tried to pretend that it was not there. Josie tried extra hard to listen to what she was told but she thought she needed some adventure. So.... early one morning when the sun was just coming up and her family was still asleep, she started on her trip into a new and strange world.
Josie sang:
"Yippedy, yippedy here I go
To see the place I want to so.
Skippedy, skippedy here I hop
Up and down, I'll never stop!
Hurray, hurray, today's the day!
At last, I'm on my way!"
It was still early when Josie started out, so there were no cars in the parking lot and she hopped along as free as the wind that tickled the trees. It seemed she had all the room in the world to jump in any direction that she wished. She tried to keep in a straight line so that she could reach the stores. She had seen the building from a distance but she wanted to get closer to it. Maybe she could even go inside for awhile! Then she would go back and tell all the others about the pretty lights and the music that made her want to laugh and sing.

Every once in a while Josie would stop to rest for she found that hopping on the pavement was harder than hopping on the grass, and it made her tired. She stopped to rest and look around. She had a sad feeling when she looked back at the field where her family lived. Josie knew that they would be worried that she had strayed away during the night and an owl had eaten her. She wished that she could tell them that she was alright.

While Josie rested, she looked to see how close she was to the building and although it seemed that she had traveled such a long way, she still had a long way to go.

Then it happened!!! A big black round thing was heading for her and she had to hop very quickly to one side to miss being run over. Josie was shaking so badly that she could hardly keep on her little legs without falling over. She was frightened, but she knew that she must keep going. Time after time Josie had to jump to safety for now there were many cars in the parking lot and the big wheels were all around her.

The poor tiny cricket stopped and started, rested awhile and then went on until she finally saw the great doors of the mall. At last she was where she had wanted to be for so long.

Just before she started to hop in the door, she felt something push her over. Over and over she turned and landed on her back, kicking her thin little legs in the air. Josie flipped on to her feet when BANG! she was flat on her back again. It was something furry and rough that was pushing her around and would not let her stand on her legs.

Josie was dizzy but the big creature kept playing with her and she was helpless. Finally, it stopped and Josie opened her eyes and gave a thankful, happy chirp that she was alright! The nasty dog that had caused her so much trouble was being led away by its master.

After hopping away to a quiet corner to rest, Josie decided that she had had enough adventure and wanted to go home. She missed her family and friends and she was hungry. She could find nothing to eat on the hard cement sidewalk. Weak and tired, Josie huddled in the shade of the mailbox that stood outside the doors of the mall. What made her saddest of all was that she knew she would not be able to get back home, for she did not have enough strength to hop all that distance back. Oh, poor Josie, what would happen to her now?

Night came and the lights of the stores were turned on but Josie did not feel like looking at them. The music that she heard did not sound nearly as beautiful as the song that all her neighbours sang in the evening when their work was done and they were having fun singing and playing. Josie closed her eyes and went to sleep.

THUMP! Josie woke up very quickly and saw what she thought was a white mountain. It was a bundle of newspapers that the newsboy had thrown on the sidewalk. Josie looked at the newspapers and thought that she would hop on top of them so that she could see better. Besides, she felt safe up higher and was settling down when WHOOSH! she felt as if she was flying. Josie almost fell off the papers but hung on tightly and managed to stay on them. She thought, oh no, what could be going to happen now!

Josie was afraid. Past the doors she was carried and into one of the shops where she and the papers were put down. She was all set to hop from the papers as fast as she could when she felt herself being picked up by a pair of hands. The warmth of them scared her, for on the trip over, someone else had picked her up the same way and had held her tightly and shook her up. But these hands were different for they gave her room to breathe and to hop around a bit. Josie allowed herself to be held and felt that she was moving. She wondered where she could be going and cried to think that maybe she was going further away from home.

Suddenly, Josie was lowered to the ground. When her legs touched the earth she saw that there was grass and flowers all around and her heart started to sing with happiness when she recognized where she was. Do you know?

Yes, Josie was safe in her own world again. There was the path leading to her home. She could see her mother outside looking this way and that for her little lost cricket. Josie hopped and skipped to her mother as fast as her tired, tiny legs would go and chirped that she was home and safe.

Everyone gathered around her and she told them how much trouble she had and that she would never, never leave her home field again. Her father and mother scolded her but they also told her that they loved her and were glad that she was home. Josie had learned a lesson. She knew now that you have to be very careful when living in a world that is much too big for you. Each creature has a home on earth that God has made for them and, after all, that is the best place to be.

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