Friends are those who look like me

She wondered why… why she had to look like she did.  No one else looked like her.  The color it was all wrong, with skin so rough and hairy.  That…that thing she could see in the reflection in the small pond near her home.  What an ugly tail.  It looked like a little coiled spring somehow attached to her.    Tears fell as she knew that no one looked like her.  So different and she would always be different.  Sure others had said that she was really special…then she would hear them laughing when they thought she wasn’t listening.  Why…why…why…dis she have to look this way? 

Little was remembered of her family.  Warmth with thoughts of others there but no remembering their faces now.  She had always been alone and different and never belonging.  She felt so ugly….and started to cry again.  Slowly getting up and wandering back to the small place where she lived.  It was nothing special just a spot by the shed with some old hay far away from everyone else.  Laying there sighing to herself and sobbing slightly she went off slowly to sleep.  Several times during the night she would awaken feeling lonely, and sad.  The tears would come and finally after a while so would the sleep.

With the sunlight warming her she awoke with a start.  Where…who …oh she then remembered where she was and definitely who she was.  Today she would leave here to find somewhere to belong…. to find someone like her…someone who looks like she did.  Besides someone who looked like her won’t make fun and surely they could be her friend.  Looking around at the small spot that had been home she realized she didn’t know where to go.  Where could she go to find somewhere to belong?  To find someone so she wouldn’t be so alone.  A friend would be nice to have she thought but where would she find someone who looks like her who would be her friend. 

Slowly getting to her feet and starting walking.  Past the small pond that she often stopped to look at her reflection.  No stopping this time but slowly walking on past.  Across the field where she had hid when the others were playing.  Never asking her to play with them she though as she kept walking.  Across the land she traveled and before long everything was different, she never been here before.  Stopping and looked around she realized that her heart was beating very fast and she was scared.  It was getting late now and the sky was growing dark.  What to do she asked herself.  Looking around she couldn’t see anything that looked familiar, but she knew she was tired and could not go on any farther today. Gathering the last of her energy she walked over to some trees to lie down.  Just as she was about to settle in for the night she heard it.  There it was again…what was that sound?  Looking around she couldn’t see anyone else.  What was that sound it sounded so small and … sad?  There next to the trees was who was making the sound.  It was a mouse…and it was crying.  Small sobs stopped as the mouse turned to look at her.  “You aren’t going to eat me are you?” the mouse asked with tears in its big dark eyes.  “No” she said, “but why are you crying?”  “I have run away to find a new home.  To find someone who looks like me, I am so lonely.” The mouse sobbed.  “Me too!” she shouted, causing the mouse to shrink back in fear.  “I’m sorry.” she said realizing the mouse was small and scared and like her…all alone.  “Mind if I lay down a while? I have traveled so far and I am tired.  I won’t eat you but I am hungry.”  She said feeling the emptiness in her stomach.  “Oh, there is plenty to eat just look around.” The mouse spoke nervously but with thoughts of not being alone.  Looking around she saw acorns lying on the ground.  Slowly she moved about eating until her hunger was satisfied.  “What is your name?” she asked the mouse, who was watching her with his big dark eyes.  “I don’t have one.” Sadly the mouse said and began to sob again.  She slowly began to understand that the mouse was just like her.  She began to cry too.  After a few minutes the mouse asked her with small sniffles heard, “What is your name?”  She replied with tears still in her eyes, “No one has ever asked me before.” “I remember someone saying Ginger, so I think that is my name?”  “It is a pretty name.” the mouse replied.  “I wish I had a good name like Ginger.”  Sleepily the mouse started to rub his eyes and gave a small yawn.  Ginger realized she was tired too so she settled down for the night.  The mouse shivered as the cool night air blew gently across the grass.  “Lie here next to me and we will keep each other warm” Ginger said wearily to the mouse.  “Tomorrow we will try to find a name for you.”  Slowly the mouse edged closer to Ginger until finally finding just the right spot he laid down.  Ginger closed her eyes to sleep.  Soft night sounds filled her ears and she could hear the gentle breathing sounds of the mouse as she drifted off to sleep. 

Birds in the trees above them woke them with their sing song chirping.  The mouse rubbed his eyes and Ginger stood and stretched her legs.  Ginger realized that she had slept the night through without waking herself with sobs of loneliness.  “Today,” she said, “We will find you a name, a good name that you will be proud of.”  The mouse yawned and nodded his head.  “A name” thought the mouse.  “Something a friend can call me.”  Sadly the mouse remembered he didn’t have any friends.  “Do you think I am ugly?” Ginger asked the mouse shyly.  “No, you are not ugly!” replied the mouse. “You kept me warm last night and I thank you for your kindness,” the mouse said while chewing on a small nut.  “That is wha…” Ginger started to say that is what friends do.  How did she know what friends do she had never had a friend. Was the mouse her friend she thought?  How could he be her friend, he didn’t look like her at all. “What did you say,” asked the mouse.  “Nothing” replied Ginger.  She didn’t want to embarrass herself by thinking the mouse was her friend.  Besides what if she said something and the mouse laughed at her.  She would just die. 

As the sun rose across the field they decided that they would continue on their journey.  “Where are you headed?” asked the mouse.  Ginger thought for a moment “I don’t know” she finally said.  “I just wanted to find someone like me, a friend, someone I could spend time with who wouldn’t think I was different, or ugly.”  Ginger said with tears forming in her eyes.  Alone in their thoughts the two started walking down a narrow path.  The mouse walking in front and Ginger careful not to step on the mouse followed behind.  Suddenly the mouse stopped.  He turned his head and looked back at Ginger the sunlight shining off his big dark eyes.  “I don’t think you are ugly and you can spend time with me, I would like to be your friend.”  Ginger’s heart started beating faster.  What should she say?  The mouse had said something to her that no one else had ever said.  She was speechless.  But how could he be her friend?  He looked so different than her.  The mouse turned not hearing Ginger say anything and began to walk away sadly.  Maybe Ginger doesn’t want to be my friend, he thought, maybe she doesn’t like me.  As the mouse was about to move off into the field to continue on alone,  Ginger cried out “Please wait!  No one has ever asked to be my friend.  I didn’t know what to say.”  Ginger continued by saying “Please be my friend.  I would like that.”  The mouse nearly jumped with excitement.  “A friend! I have a friend!” the mouse thought.  “Now if I just had a name.”  Then Ginger went on to say “We will find a name for you as friends need to be able to call each other by their name.”  The mouse was so happy.  Just yesterday tears had rolled down his big dark eyes with terrible sobs of sadness.  How could things have changed so fast?  Together the new friends walked down to the edge of a small pond.  Stopping to take a drink Ginger thought “What name can I call my friend?”  The mouse looking at his reflection in the small pond was thinking the same thing.  Not watching what he was doing the mouse tumbled into the pond with a small splash.  Under the water he went he was struggling to get back to the surface.  The mouse was so afraid.  He thought “Someone help me, I can’t swim!!”  Then all of a sudden there was something in the water.  It was Ginger she had jumped in to help her friend.  The mouse grabbed onto Ginger and she pulled the mouse out of the water.  Lying panting for breath on the ground next to where Ginger had put him down the mouse could only look at Ginger with those big dark eyes.  “Thank you Ginger” gasped the mouse.  “That’s what friends do” Ginger replied.  Now she did know what friends do.  She had a friend and friends help each other.  She looked down at the mouse and saw how small and wet he was and at his big dark eyes and she smiled.  She had thought of a name, the perfect name for her friend the mouse.  “Peepers” said Ginger.  “What” the mouse asked.  Ginger said it again “Peepers, that is a good name and because you have such beautiful eyes it would be perfect for you.”  The mouse though for a moment then slowly said the name. “Peepers,” The mouse smiled “I like that name.  Thank you, Ginger.”  “Peepers!” he said it again.  The mouse was so happy a friend and now a name it was going to be a great day.

The new friends started on their way to someplace neither knew where.  It didn’t matter as they were friends and so it really didn’t matter where they were headed anymore.  Day after day they walked together, they laughed and played and their friendship grew.  Soon Ginger and Peepers had forgotten that they were so very different.  It seemed like they had been friends forever.  Each evening they would talk about things that were important and also talk about just funny things they had seen.  One day Peepers said,”Ginger I never had a friend before and I don’t really remember my family.  You are like my family.  You are my friend.”  Ginger got a strange look on her face as she remembered that she too was alone without a family.  Then she started to cry.  Soon Peepers was crying too.  They cried as they had done so many other things….together.  Then they looked at each other and realizing how silly they were being then they started to laugh and they laughed and laughed.  Soon they were rolling around on the ground laughing as hard as they could.  “Stop laughing Peepers!” gasped Ginger trying to stop laughing herself, “My sides are hurting.”  Slowly they stopped laughing.  Looking at each other they realized that they had found true friendship.  Ginger and Peepers were as happy as they had ever been. 

The next morning they woke up to see a farm off in the distance.  They started walking down the small path leading to the farm.  Both Ginger and Peepers looked around at all the others who lived there.  Soon off in the distance Ginger saw them.  They looked just like her.  From their color all the way to the little spring like tail.  Excitedly Ginger started walking faster, Peepers was soon left behind standing in the pathway.  Sadly Peepers realized that Ginger had found what she was looking for.  Peepers walked on down the path.  He was happy for Ginger and in his heart he knew that she was happy now.  Ginger not realizing that Peepers was left behind walked over to where the others that looked like her were standing.  “Hello,” one of them said.  “Who are you?” He asked.  “My name is Ginger. This is my friend Peepers.”  Ginger said not realizing she was standing there alone.  “Who are you talking about?”  He asked.  “Right here…” Ginger started to say.  She then looked around and thought where did Peepers go?  Did he get afraid and stay behind?  She had to go find him.  He was her only friend.  So Ginger turned to find Peepers.  She walked back to where he had been standing but she couldn’t see him.  “Peepers!” she called out.  No answer.  “Peepers!!” she called louder.  Still no answer.  Where had he gone, she wondered.  Slowly she walked around calling out his name.  No Peepers to be found.  Sadly Ginger walked back to the small area where the others who looked like her were.  She had lost her friend.  When she got to the pen she asked the others standing there if they had seen Peepers.  “What’s a Peeper” they asked.  “Peepers!” Ginger stated “He’s my friend and I can’t find him.”  What Ginger didn’t know was that Peepers could see her and was watching her from just a ways off.  He knew that Ginger wanted to be with those who looked like her.  He thought I will just be in her way.  Head hanging down Peepers walked away into the grass.  Alone again as he had always been…except when he was with Ginger.  He was happy for Ginger but he thought why did being happy for his friend have to hurt his heart so much?  Looking back one more time he saw Ginger talking to the others and turning Peepers walked slowly away.

Ginger made friends fast with those who looked like her.  She learned their names and soon she was laughing and playing with them all.  Every once in a while she would stop a moment and think of Peepers and wonder where he was and what he was doing.  Then she would look off in the distance hoping to see him standing there.  But, he never was.  So as time past so did Ginger’s thoughts of Peepers.  He was still there in her thoughts just not as much as he used to be.  Then one day she didn’t think about him at all. 

Peepers had walked on and had learned to be alone again.  At least now he had a name.  To bad he didn’t have anyone to share it with.  Peepers knew that Ginger was with those who looked like her and she was happy.  He thought I need to find those that look like me so I can be happy like Ginger.  Every once in a while he would climb up on some rocks where he could see Ginger off in the distance.  He saw that she was having fun and laughing like she had done with him.  Now it was different as she was having fun without him there.  Sadly he walked down to the hole in the tree near the stream where he now lived.  He was okay he thought, and then he began to cry.  I miss my friend Ginger he sobbed silently to himself.  Soon he had cried himself to sleep.  There in his sleep he dreamed of laughing and playing and there was Ginger.  She always seemed to be there in his dreams. 

One day Peepers was walking up to the rocks where he could watch Ginger off in the distance.  Just as he topped the hill he looked up and saw her standing there.  She was looking at him.  It was Ginger!!  “Peepers there you are.”  She cried.  “I have looked all over for you and one day someone told me they had seen a mouse over by these rocks.”  Happily she said “I hoped it would be you.”  Peepers looked shyly down at the ground and mumbled “I knew you were with those that looked like you.  I could see you were happy.”  Ginger looked at Peepers and smiled saying “I am happy.  But I was happiest when you were my friend.  I miss you and I want you to be my friend again.”  Peepers realized that he had been foolish to think that Ginger would be happier without him.  He looked up at Ginger with his big dark eyes and asked “You still want me to be your friend, even though I left when I thought you would be happier with those that look like you?”  Ginger looked at Peeper for a moment and said softly “You were my first friend.  You taught me what friendship meant.  You will always be my friend.”  Peepers started to cry and then Ginger seeing the tears in his eyes started crying too.  Soon the tears of sadness turned to tears of joy.  They were friends again.  Peepers knew now that friendship meant that you believed in your friend.  Even when it was easy to think they were better off without you.  Ginger realized that being with those that looked like her was great but being with a friend was even better.  Peepers would one day soon find those who looked like him as Ginger had.  But right now he was happy.  He knew that no matter what he would always be there for his friend ….Ginger.  She smiled at Peepers and they turned to walk together toward the farm.  Ginger had found all she ever wanted, those that looked like her, a place she belonged but most important of all she had found a friend, and he didn’t look like her at all…………..