Awesome Possum

The Land of the Long White Cloud was a magical place. It was a beautiful island.

One side of the island had beaches of golden sand and frosted-cake waves in the ocean. It was a place for dreamers.

The other side of the island was jagged shards of ice. Glaciers reached toward the sky, mountains of cerulean blue and crystalline. It, too, was a place for dreamers.

In the middle of the island were sculpted green hills. There were cypress and macrocarpa trees sweeping their branches in the direction of the beach winds. The tendrils of ice from the glaciers melted and made sweet streams and rivers.

The inhabitants of the island were very special indeed. Everyone loved frolicking in the beach waves or sliding down the glaciers. One day, someone new arrived on the island. No one knew where he came from or what his name was. He was very shy. This creature had some very strange habits.

He showed up at the beach wearing a fur coat and woolly earmuffs.

“I don’t think he’s from around here,” exclaimed the sea lion.

“Really!” The cat replied. “Who ever heard of dressing like that to come to the beach? That one is just a bit too dotty to hang around here, I suspect.”

“Well, anyway,” said the kakapo, attempting to smooth things over, “we could invite the new guy to go skiing with us at the glaciers. He’s dressed for the cold!”

When the sea lion, cat, and kakapo approached the fur-coated new arrival, he scurried behind a sand dune, lickety-split. Sand sparkles floating in the air were all that were left of him.

“Wow, he’s fast,” said the kakapo.

“Yeah, awesome fast,” said the sea lion.

The cat merely shrugged. “Oh well,” he said. “So much for our invitation.”

A few days later, the animal friends were skiing together at the glaciers. Fox Glacier was the favorite, with ice slides that rivaled any others worldwide. If one had smooth skin, the glacier would float him downhill as if on wings of silver feathers. If one had fur or feathers, the slide was more of a bumpy adventure, catapulting the animal down the incline.

Often the animals would trade clothing in order to have the advantage of both slides. They only did this sometimes as it was bewildering to be seen out of one’s usual costume.

Just as the cat had loaned his furry pelt to the sea lion for a few slides, he noticed the new arrival he and his friends had spotted at the beach a few days earlier. Cat was quite mindful of his own wardrobe right then, so he decided to hide behind a huge ice shard. As he spied on the new creature, he was amazed at what he saw. The stranger was able to spread the fur of his tail so that it created a cloak. Then, with Cat watching, the animal flew, then floated, then swirled down the icy incline. Icy dust followed his descent, making the air breathe with beauty. The small furry animal was well prepared for the glaciers.

Just then the sea lion crept up behind Cat. “Here’s your pelt back,” she exclaimed. “That was one wicked slide! Thanks!”

“Shhhh!” The cat glared at his friend.  “That new one is down at the bottom. You should see what he can do!”

“But why are you spying on him, my friend?” asked the sea lion, genuinely concerned. It was not like any of the animals to be critical of others.

“Oh, shucks,” whispered the cat. “He’s sneaked away somehow.”

The sea lion smiled. “He probably didn’t like being watched.”

Curiosity got the best of him. Cat donned his own pelt and careened down to the bottom of the glacier. The new animal was just shaking his cloak out and fluffing it to look like a tail once again. Cautiously, Cat said, “Hello. That’s an awesome tail trick there.”

The new animal peered at the cat with sparkles in his eyes. “Ta,” he replied. “I knew you were watching me and I thought maybe you’d follow me down. I just moved here and I’m kinda shy.”

The cat grinned. This character had a neat accent! Cat realized immediately that he’d been too quick to decide that the new animal might be odd. “That’s an awesome tail you have there, in my humble opinion,” smiled the cat.

“You want to come up top and meet all my mates?” Cat asked. “They will be keen to meet you and see that neat tail of yours.”

Shyly, Cat’s new friend said, “Sure! And by the way, my name’s Possum.”

The next day, all the animals decided to go to the beach. They invited Possum to join them, despite their worries that he would be too warm. It was a perfect day, with the ocean waves lapping up on shore, the sand shimmering in the sun. Everyone had brought a game to share and a picnic.

Possum seated himself near the cat and the moa. He was intrigued with the way Moa could stay sitting in the warm sand but reach with his long neck when he wished to cool off in the water. Moa blushed at Possum’s compliment. “But how do you stay cool since you don’t like to swim?” asked Moa.

“Watch this,” replied Possum. He preened his tail into an umbrella. Now he was shaded!

“Wow, Possum!” chirped the kakapo, fanning the sea lion with her feathers. In turn, Sea Lion was squirting water through her teeth. Look! A fountain!

“In my estimation,” said Possum, “we all have some pretty special traits, don’t we?”

The animals smiled excitedly. It was true!

Possum had made some new friends in his new land. Over lunch of puha and sea salt, with a little kiwi pudding on the side, he carefully narrated his journey across the wide ocean. He had fallen asleep in a boat that had broken loose and set sail.

Cat was dozing off. “Great story, Possum. I can’t wait to hear about more of your adventures.”

The animals began to drift off to sleep in the waning sherbet colored afternoon. Possum spread his tail out so wide it had made a soft blanket for all of his friends.

“Awesome Possum!” murmured the others. As they settled for an afternoon siesta, the ocean sang them lullabies and the cypress trees hummed. The Land of the Long White Cloud was a magical place. All of the inhabitants of the island were very special indeed.

the end.