The Girl in the Jungle

Once upon a time, there was a little short girl who lived in the jungle. No one knew how she got there, or why she was out there--she was just there. She wore a cute white dress that still had a little sparkle left; and a green ribbon on her wrist.

It was a long green ribbon. It was a very long green ribbon. It was so long, that it stretched as far as the eye could see--which in the jungle wasn't very far. It constantly trailed behind her, marking her path--but she wasn't much for travelling in those days.

Now, you might ask why she didn't follow the ribbon all the way home. "Easy" she would reply. The ribbon just beyond her wrist went through the dangerous Predator field. She could see the field from where she sat. It was sandy, with short grass, and filled with all sorts of wild animals--snakes, crabs, and alligators--that were constantly eating each other. She points out a crab to you, and right before your eyes, it gets slashed down the middle. Now its two halves begin glowing and flashing; and now they're gone, a part of some other larger creature just out of sight.

One day, a park ranger was strolling through the jungle when she saw three green balloons stuck in a tree. "How odd!" she thought, "that there would be balloons all the way out here in the jungle." As she looked closer, she saw that attached to the balloons was a green ribbon. A very long green ribbon. The park ranger got curious and began to follow the green ribbon. She went around trees, through glens, and over streams, until she found... the little girl in the white dress!

"You must be Amy, that little girl who went missing a few years ago" the Ranger stated. "You must come with me."
"But wait! What about my friends?"

And as Amy interjected, six other boys and girls suddenly materialized. "What have I taught you?" Amy asked.
The first boy began counting aloud. After he got to ten, the next boy began reciting the alphabet. And each child had something to say, up to the last one, who proudly recited "un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq,..."

A passing Frenchman dressed for the Parisian nightlife exclaimed "He's counting in French!"

When the show was over, the park ranger carried Amy past the predator field, over creeks, through glens, and around trees, all the way back to her home in a village just outside the jungle. And her parents were very glad to see her.

Amy was glad to be home too. But sometimes, at night, she would go into her front yard, by the gate, and look at the jungle...