Clyde the Capybara
Once upon a time, there was a Capybara named Clyde.
Clyde had a reddish-brown thick coat of fur.
He was a special Capybara because he got along with every single animal.
Mice, geese, foxes, lions, and bears.
‘I have so many friends!’ said Clyde the Capybara.
‘You do…’ said Max the Mongoose.
‘Look at the turtles! And the birds! The crocodiles! The cats and the dogs!’
‘Yeah…’ said Max. ‘They are surly something…’
Clyde and Max were friends since they were young. Clyde was Max’s first friend.
But Max, upon realizing how many friends Clyde has, quickly grew sad.
He waited and waited on a green grassy hill, but Clyde, never showed up.
So, Max the Mongoose went to the forest.
He walked, then ran, and stumbled over a log.
And upon picking himself up, he witnessed two-eyes, staring at him, coldly.
Red and fierce, they were the eyes of a Jaguar.
Max ran faster and faster and managed to escape.
He reached the grassy hill, sat down, and waited.
Clyde never showed up.
A few days went by and Max the Mongoose, alone and solemnly lost faith.
With the slightest bit of will and what appeared to life in him, he rolled down the hill.
He smiled as he reached the bottom, lightly hitting a tree.
And on that tree, he saw a Sloth. The Sloth quickly went back to sleep.
Meanwhile, Clyde was making more and more friends.
Everywhere and from anywhere, animals would come to play.
They’d play and play, but Clyde came to realize something.
That he hasn’t seen another capybara in ages.
Clyde thought of Max as he ventured back towards the grassy hill.
He saw that Max wasn’t there and for the very first time, he was alone.
And as a few nights and days passed by, Clyde made his way down.
He reached the same tree that Max did to see the Sloth. The Sloth went back to sleep.
Upon the sudden realization that Max was nowhere to be seen, Clyde got surrounded.
By snakes in the grass, herds of sheep, flocks of rats, and bugs.
They were throwing a party, but Clyde was not happy.
He thought of more capybaras, but mostly, thought of Max.
‘What’s with you today?’ slithered Sammy the Snake.
‘I’m just not feeling like myself…’ said Clyde.
‘Not feeling like yourself…? What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘I just… I just… I don’t know.’
And as Clyde said these words, his thick fur coat felt as though it was getting thinner.
It got thinner and thinner as the days went by, and slowly the birds and the turtles, the chickens, and the monkeys, began to leave.
They went back to their flocks, and for the first time in what appeared to be forever, Clyde the Capybara was alone.
He went back to the hill that was now covered in snow.
‘Clyde!’ yelled a Capybara, with a thick coat of fur.
‘Oh, hey…’ said Clyde.
‘Clyde! How’s it going? How’ve you been? Why is your fur so thin? Wait a second, why are you here all alone?’
‘I could ask you the same thing…’ said Clyde.
‘I’m not alone. I just came up here cause I saw you. Don’t you see all my friends down there?’
Clyde looked down to see the same animals that once rested on his fur.
He began to cry. He cried and cried so loud, that even the Sloth on the tree heard.
‘I mean…’ began the other Capybara… ‘You could just come down with me, I guess.’
‘You know what…’ started Clyde. ‘I will, I will come down.’ And the Sloth went back to sleep.
Clyde spent only a few moments down below the hill.
He turned around, and despite the air being colder at the top, he went back up.
Shaking and trembling… he waited and he waited.
And finally, after nearly freezing to death, Max showed up.
‘Hey Clyde.’
‘Max! Oh, Max, how I’ve missed you.’
‘I missed you too. What happened to your fur?’ he asked, pressing up against him.
‘I, I don’t know…’ said Clyde.
‘You’re, you’re shaking… said Max. Listen, come down the hill with me. My Mongoose family is down there, and we’ll warm you up.’
‘Okay.’ Said Clyde.
The two went down the hill, reached the tree, and the Sloth, had finally woken up.
