The Mountain Shrooms
In the center of the Rocky Mountains, there is a group of creatures called the Mountain Shrooms. The Mountain Shrooms absolutely love where they live. They love the peace and tranquility of the mountains. They love the beauty that surrounds them.
The Mountain Shrooms have lived in the Rocky Mountains for centuries. They have made their homes in part of the most uninhabitable region of Canada. They have never been seen by a human eye and they have only seen one human in the entire time they have been there.
The Mountain Shrooms were originally part of the Forest Shroom colony. While out exploring the countryside one day, some of the younger Shrooms came across the Rocky Mountains. They fell in love immediately. This group of Shrooms wanted to live there in the worst way. They knew it meant leaving the Forest Shroom colony and starting their own. They knew it would be a tough life for them. However, there was something about the mountains they just couldn’t resist.
The Forest Shrooms were sad to see the group of young ones leave but they could see a sparkle in their eyes they had never seen before. They knew there was nothing they could do to stop them from leaving.
The Forest Shrooms knew the extreme weather conditions the newly formed Mountain Shrooms would encounter so they gave them a special gown made out of fur so they could stay warm.
The Mountain Shrooms settled into their new surroundings quite quickly. They saw a mushroom situated up quite high between two gigantic trees. They decided that mushroom was to be their new home.
The Mountain Shrooms were eternally grateful for their fur gowns. They were able to stay warm while they built their home. It was a difficult task for them because it was so cold. They had to stop every so often to warm up their tools because they were just too cold too handle. Eventually, they had their home built.
The Mountain Shrooms were very happy with what they accomplished. It was beautiful inside the mushroom. They had carved out several rooms and they built a beautiful brick fireplace in the center of the mushroom, using clay they found at the edge of a glacial deposit.
Living in the mountains was a dream come true for the Mountain Shrooms. They spent their time foraging and exploring in the nearby forest. Once the cold winter came, they would huddle inside their mushroom home around the fireplace to stay warm.
“Do you hear something?” asked a young Mountain Shroom, after he had helped clean up the kitchen, after dinner, one evening.
“I do,” said another Mountain Shroom. “At first I thought it was the wind but now it sounds like something whimpering.”
The two Mountain Shrooms carefully opened the door to their mushroom. They climbed their ladder and stood on the roof. They looked down at the ground and they saw what was making the noise.
About 20 feet down, standing at the base of their tree was the cutest little puppy the Mountain Shrooms had ever seen. As quickly as they could, the Mountain Shrooms scurried down the tree, being careful not to hurt themselves. It did take them a few minutes. After all, the Shrooms are only about an inch tall.
The puppy continued to whimper until the Mountain Shrooms had reached the ground. Once they did, the puppy dropped a pebble at each of their feet.
“I think he wants to play,” said the Mountain Shroom.
“Yes,” said another. “It certainly appears that way.”
“We need to be careful,” said the Mountain Shroom. “He could be wild.”
The Mountain Shroom had just finished saying that when the puppy came up to them and
licked their faces.
“Oh, I don’t think he is wild,” said the Mountain Shroom.
“No,” said another. “Definitely not! He is cute, isn’t he? He does want us to play with pebbles with him.”
The Mountain Shrooms picked up the pebbles the puppy had dropped and threw them. The puppy was so happy that he wagged his tail and barked each time he picked up a pebble and each time he dropped one at the Shrooms’ feet.
“Maybe we should name him Pebbles,” said the Mountain Shroom.
“Yes,” said the other. “That is a good name for him.”
Pebbles kept dropping pebbles at the feet of the Shrooms. They would pick them up and
throw them and then he would bring them back. No matter what the Mountain Shrooms did, Pebbles stayed with them. They loved having him around because he would warn them of danger and let them know of good places to find food. He seemed to know the mountains very well.
The Mountain Shrooms loved their life. Every day, they had the most beautiful view of anywhere in the world. They still have their breath taken away each time they look around them. However, the Mountain Shrooms are not immune from the touches of humans. They have noticed in the last few decades that the glaciers are melting at unprecedented rates and that is very concerning to them. The weather is now much more severe than it has ever been.
The Mountain Shrooms, just like all the Shrooms across Canada, knew about a prophecy that was to be fulfilled on June 27. They also knew that after the prophecy was fulfilled, they would need to find a human that could help them slow down the glacial melt.
“The only human we have ever seen is that one that calls himself a tour guide,” said a Mountain Shroom. “Now that the prophecy has come to light, we need to seek the help of the tour guide.”
“We agree,” said another. “In our observations of him, we have noticed he travels through this area on a full moon.”
“It is going to be a full moon tonight,” said the Mountain Shroom.
The Mountain Shrooms knew what had to be done. They all dressed in their fur gowns and they set out to meet up with the tour guide when he passed by them that evening.
Pebbles stood in front of the Mountain Shroom colony. He wagged his tail because he could sense something was going to happen.
“We should not take Pebbles with us to this meeting tonight,” said the Mountain Shroom. “We do not want him to get hurt.”
The young Shrooms agreed. Pebbles would be safer at home.
A small group of Shrooms went to the mountaintop, where they knew the tour guide would be. They waited in silence for over an hour.
“Here he comes,” said the Mountain Shroom, spotting the human.
The Shrooms stood hand-in-hand, right on the pathway the human was walking on.
“What have we here?” asked the human, who was startled by the sight of the Mountain Shrooms.
“We are the Mountain Shrooms,” explained the Mountain Shroom. “We have come here to seek your help.”
“What could I possibly help you with?” asked the human, in an irritated voice. “I have walked every inch of these mountains for years and I have never seen you.”
“We are Mountain Shrooms,” said explained the Mountain Shroom. “We have lived here for centuries.”
The Mountain Shrooms felt that their encounter with the human was not going as they expected it to. They know they would have to think of something else and quick. They couldn’t afford to have this human turn them down.
All of a sudden, Pebbles, who followed the Shrooms without their knowledge, came bounding out of the forest, jumped up and licked the humans face.”
“Aren’t you just the cutest,” said the human, with a slight smile on his face.
The Mountain Shrooms knew they had made a breakthrough with the human. He did seem a bit more friendlier and more receptive to the ideas of the Mountain Shrooms.
“We are sorry,” said the Mountain Shroom. “He follows us everywhere we go. We told him to stay home but he didn’t listen.”
“I don’t mind,” said the human. “I think he is adorable. So, you said you needed my help. “How can I help you? My name is Trevor.”
“Trevor, we need to slow down the glaciers from melting,” explained the Mountain Shroom.
“That is a very tall order to fill, “said Trevor. “I don’t know that I can help you with that.”
“You are a tour guide, right?” asked the Mountain Shroom.
“Yes,” said Trevor. “I am.”
“How about bringing your clients here and educating them about the glaciers?” asked the Mountain Shroom.
“That is actually a great idea,” said Teens “That way, they will see the glacier first-hand and get a sense as to how important the glacier is.”
Trevor worked with the Mountain Shrooms and together they came up with a plan for bringing clients into the mountains and educating them about the melting glaciers. They discussed about having the Mountain Shrooms being part of the tour. Trevor felt people might get more out of it if they knew a whole colony would be at risk of not surviving, if something wasn’t done.
It appeared that very slowly, the Shrooms did see a decrease in the glacier melting and they did see more people being aware of the situation and wanting to help anyway they could. The Mountain Shrooms were happy. They realized they couldn’t fix their situation with the glaciers right away, but to them, a little progress goes a long way.
Moral of this Story:
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