Sylvia was in her den quietly thinking about what she might eat for dinner. She had just been awakened from a nap by a loud clap of thunder. She could see that it was pouring rain when, suddenly,Cedric popped into her den.“Help me! Oh Sylvia, please help me!” he shouted. “My goodness, Cedric!” she replied. “Come in here. Sit down.” She gently shoved him to a comfortable corner of her den. “Now, Cedric, tell me what’s the matter.” “Sylvia,” he replied breathlessly, “The lightning struck the tree over my den! The tree was broken in two and fell into the water at the entrance to my den.” “Oh, my!” Sylvia exclaimed. Cedric was still very excited. “Sylvia,” he went on, “I was so scared. The noise was so loud. I was swimming back to my den as fast as I could when suddenly the tree fell into the water right in front of me and the thunder banged. Oh, Sylvia, it was so frightening! And now I can’t even get home. Whatever am I going to do?”
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“Now, now,” said Sylvia in a comforting voice. “Just sit here and catch your breath. When the storm stops, we’ll go have a look. We’ll find a solution. You just rest now.” Cedric was beginning to calm down, feeling reassured that everything would be all right. He just didn’t know when or how.
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After a few minutes, it was still raining, although the thunder had stopped. “Cedric, things are better now, but it’s still raining,” Sylvia said. “Do you feel like having a bit of dinner with me?” “Sure, I’m hungry,” Cedric replied. “But will we have just a bit?” I really could eat a full meal.” Sylvia laughed. “A bit of dinner is just an expression, Cedric. I fully intend to give you a complete dinner.” “Oh,” sighed Cedric. “I’m grateful, as always, for your help.” Sylvia gave him a couple of pats, went to a corner of her den, and started searching through a pile of leaves she had put there in which to store her supplies. Soon she brought Cedric two bird eggs. “We’ll start with these,” she said. Cedric took one and he and Sylvia quietly enjoyed this first course of their dinner. Cedric ate his much faster than Sylvia, but he didn’t mind just being there with her. When Sylvia had finished, she wiped her face and went back to the corner and started rustling about in the leaves once more. When she returned, she was carrying a clam, which she gave to Cedric. He took it and eagerly started to open it, when he remembered his manners and sat quietly holding the clam until Sylvia returned with another clam for herself. Then the two of them worked tediously to open the clam shells and happily enjoyed their contents. When they had finished, Sylvia asked, “Would you like another?” “Oh, yes,” Cedric replied quickly. Then he thought a moment and said, “Maybe a half. Do you have another that you would like to share with me?” “Yes, that would be fine,” Sylvia replied and went back to the leaves, poked about, and came back to Cedric with a clam. She handed it to him. He opened it without too much difficulty and handed the open-shelled clam back to Sylvia. “Thank you,” she said. “Aren’t you nice.” She took a bite of the clam and handed it back to Cedric. He took a bite and returned it to her. She ate half of what was left and handed the shell with the last bite back to Cedric saying, “Here you are, Cedric. You can have the last bite.” Cedric looked at it, smiled,and said, “Thanks, Sylvia,” and quickly put it into his mouth, savoring that last delicious bite.
By the time the two of them had finished dinner, it was nearly dark outside and it was still raining. “Cedric, why don’t you spend the night here and in the morning we can go together to see about your den,” suggested Sylvia. After all the excitement of the afternoon and the good dinner, Cedric’s eyelids were becoming heavy and he was happy to snuggle down right where he was.“Thanks very much, Sylvia,” he replied sleepily. “I’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight.” He was asleep before Sylvia could even say, “Goodnight.”
The following morning Cedric awoke, quickly remembering that he was a guest in Sylvia’s den. He kept very quiet because Sylvia was still asleep, even though his tummy was rumbling, anxiously awaiting breakfast. Sylvia awoke before too long, stretched sleepily and turned to check on Cedric. “Good morning, Sylvia,” he said. “Good morning, Cedric. I hope you slept well.” “I did, Sylvia,” he responded. “What’s for breakfast?” Sylvia laughed. “Give me a minute to wake up and we’ll go for a swim and see what we can find,” she replied. She washed her face, smoothed her whiskers and eyebrows.“OK, I’m ready. Do you want to eat first or go look at your den first and then eat?” Sylvia asked. “Let’s eat first,” Cedric replied. He remembered how scared he had been the night before and was not too anxious to go back to his den. So he headed in the opposite direction and Sylvia followed. Soon she began diving to the bottom of the river, nosing the sand in search of any shellfish she could find. She found a clam, clutched it tightly in her mouth, and gave Cedric a little nudge as she swam toward the surface of the river to show him where she had found something to eat. When she reached the surface, she turned over on her back and in her precise way began prying the clam shell open. Cedric joined her with his own clam and they enjoyed a nice breakfast together.
When they had finished eating, Cedric said, “Sylvia, I don’t want to go back to my den. I’ll just build myself a new den. Now all I have to do is find another place for a good den.” “Cedric, you do have another option,” Sylvia answered. “Remember when the people came and captured some of our friends to go live in the aquarium? Most of those dens are still empty. Perhaps one of them would be good for you. We can look at those and then, if none of them is acceptable, you can hunt for a place to build your new home.” “That sounds like a fine idea,” Cedric responded. The two of them swam about going into six empty dens. Finally Sylvia said, "Cedric, surely one of these is right for you.” “They’re all nice,” Cedric replied. “I’m just trying to decide which one I would like to call my own.” “Well, the decision is yours,” said Sylvia. “Stop by when it’s time for lunch. Maybe you will have decided by then.” “Don’t you want to play?” asked Cedric. “No,” replied Sylvia. “I have some work to do at home. Come by later. We can play for a while then and lunch together.” “OK,” said Cedric and swam away to check on the empty dens again.
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It was a little after their regular lunch time when Cedric quickly entered Sylvia’s den. “Well, I’ve decided,” he announced. I chose the one on the right, just around the corner from yours. You remember, that’s where Laura and her family lived. And now they are all at the aquarium. Of all the dens, that one feels the most comfortable to me.” “I’m glad that you were able to decide on that den,” Sylvia replied. “Of them all, that was my favorite. Are you hungry?” she asked. “You bet!” Cedric replied. “I caught some clams I’d be happy to share with you,” she said as she took them out from under some leaves in the food preparation area of her den. “Oh, thanks,” he responded happily as the two of them began to eat. “Sylvia, before you ask, this episode has taught me two lessons. The first is that under a tree is no place to be in a thunderstorm. The second is that even though we don’t choose to change, change can be an improvement.” “My goodness, Cedric,” she said laughing. “It looks as if you are becoming the teacher here.” Cedric puffed up a bit with pride, smiled, and happily responded, “We can share.” They continued floating along, enjoying the last bits of clam.
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