Walden’s eyes welled with tears. “What am I going to do now?” he whispered aloud.
The answer to his own question came quickly and it came from his own mind. “Big Pond! I have to find it. I have to go there. That’s where Puck and the others will be. I’ll just stay with them until they’re ready to get back on Thor.”
The young flea had no idea where Big Pond was located. He had tried to find it earlier, but he didn’t get far. “I’ll try this way,” he said to himself. “It’s got to be close.”
Walden jumped and hopped the way he had just come. Locking. Contracting. Extending. Locking. Contracting. Extending. In this way, he moved through the tall grass of the Lowlands quickly and quietly.
The flea hopped for several minutes and only stopped when another strange sound filled his ears.
“What was that?” he whispered to himself.
The loud hissing appeared to be coming from somewhere behind him. He spun around. The noise stopped almost immediately. But a new noise replaced it.
“Meow!”
Walden froze. He had heard the sound before. While riding atop Thor, he and Febes had seen the neighbor’s large, orange-colored Tabby cat. Thor always chased it away.
But Thor was not around at the moment. Which meant that the cat had no reason to leave the Lowlands of Backyard.
Lock! Contract! Extend!
Lock! Contract! Extend!
Walden moved as fast as he could, jumping high and far each time. He did it again and again and again, and he didn’t quit until he was certain the cat was far behind him. Of course, the young bug had no way of knowing that the cat had no interest in a tiny, little flea. He just knew the big tabby cat had large paws and that it didn’t like Thor very much. Which meant he probably didn’t like anything else in Thor’s world.
Walden had jumped for some time when he realized the change. He stopped to catch his breath.
Everything seemed different around him.He was no longer standing between giant blades of grass. Nothing rose up near him or around him. He also saw no green around anywhere. He saw only different shades of brown. Most importantly, Walden found himself staring at a large brown wall which rose up directly in front of him.
The young flea jumped over to the big brown wall and looked upward. He could not see the top of this wall. He did notice, however, that things stuck out from its sides. He also noticed that long, round pieces of wood lay on the ground around him. To Walden, he might as well have been standing by massive thick logs. To other bigger creatures, however, the many twigs that lay atop one another all around him would be hardly noticeable.
It was at this point that Walden decided to start moving alongside the big wall. The wall was unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was kind of rough in texture, and it was at all straight. It was round, always curving to the left. Walden stayed as close to it as he could as he hopped along.
A few minutes later, he noticed that the light around him had begun to fade. Suddenly, it was a bit darker around him. He glanced upward and realized he could no longer sed the blueness of the sky or the whiteness of the clouds. All he saw was brown and green everywhere he looked. No sunshine. Little light at all.
Walden tried not to panic. He thought about the Pond and all the fun that Puck and his friends must be having. This helped him stay focused as he continued moving around the massive wall of wood that rose up so high the tiny flea could see no end to it.
At some point, Walden grew tired of hopping. He felt like he’d been moving in one big circle. Of course, the young flea had no idea that this is exactly what happens when you travel alongside a very large tree trunk.
Needing a rest, Walden stopped moving. He stayed close to tree trunk and closed his eyes. He needed to rest. He’d been hopping for a long time.
It didn’t take long for thoughts of the Pond to come to mind. He envisioned all the older fleas playing together around the water. He could see them playing adventurous games. He thought he heard Puck’s laugh. He smiled and rested a few minutes more.
When Walden opened his eyes again, he expected to find himself still alone in the shadows of the large tree under which he sat. Instead, he spotted something most unexpected and most terrifying, something that immediately told him was not at all alone.