Part One: The Jump

The day began for Walden the exact same way the previous twenty days had begun—and ended.

He was trapped.

Stuck!

It was no accident. The tiny flea had done it on purpose. He had spun himself into the soft, silk-strewn pupa knowing that it be his home for a week or maybe two.

But now he wanted out.

And for good reason. Walden was no longer a larvae, which is how all fleas get their start after hatching from an egg. He was a fully developed flea, and he was ready to see the world.

Only, he couldn’t. Not yet. Not until the right moment. Not until he and his pupa were ready.

            It all started with a strange warmth. A curious shaking followed.

 “This is it!” said the tightly wrapped flea who instinctively knew his time had come. “It’s happening!”

Walden, hardly able to contain his excitement, began to wiggle back and forth. He then began to push against the silk strands that were keeping him snugly in his little bubble.

A few strands loosened and fell away. Then, a few more. That’s when Walden spotted a small opening appear. Using his legs, he started pushing against the silk around the hole. The opening grew bigger. He pushed some more. The hole grew wider and wider. He pushed even harder and soon the hole was wide enough for Walden to crawl outside.

Which is exactly what he did!

Slowly, Walden looked around. All he saw in every direction were thick white columns of a very strange substance. The columns stood close together everywhere he looked, so close they appeared to be walls.

Walden desperately wanted to find his family, but he was not sure which way to go.

Ruff! Ruff!

The noise startled young Walden. He jumped high into the air. He could hardly believe how high he jumped. He almost saw the tops of some of the columns.

He tried to jump again. This time he only went about half as high.

Ruff! Ruff!

Once more the noise startled Walden, and again he jumped. Only, this time his feet barely left the ground.

With his heart beating fast, Walden glanced around. The unsettling sound had come from somewhere, but where? Frightened, Walden started crawling through the maze of columns.

“Surely my family is close by,” whispered Walden as he moved through the soft, white pillars.

It took the flea a few minutes of slow crawling, but in time he spotted another flea.

Walden watched from a distance. For a moment, the other flea stood perfectly still. He appeared to be watching something himself, something high above him. It took Walden a moment to realize that the flea was staring at the top of the thick wall that stood right in front of him.

Walden started to call out. Before he could, however, the other flea pulled in his rear legs and locked them in place. He then contracted his leg muscles and extended them rapidly. The result was a really high jump.

Walden gasped as the flea landed on top of one of the tall white columns.

“If only I could do that,” said Walden. The young flea felt certain that if he could get up there, then he could look around in every direction and find his family.

Closing his eyes, Walden thought about everything that the other flea had done. Then, after a deep breath, he did the same. First, he pulled in his rear legs. Next, he locked them in place. He then contracted his leg muscles. Finally, without warning, he extended them rapidly.

In the next moment, just like the other flea, Walden found himself hurtling through the air and then landing safely atop the strange wall of fluffy white columns.