“New Neighbours”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

My forest is beautiful. The plants are luscious and green, spreading high above and forming a canopy above my head. I love wandering around, taking my time to examine each plant. Sometimes, I’ll even stop for a snack amongst the leaves, breathing in the fresh air and just enjoying life.

But recently, something happened: I got neighbours. It’s not that I’ve never had neighbours before. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that I’ve enjoyed having neighbours before. There was this one guy, Mr. Wigglebottom, who would wander around and give me the occasional curt nod. But he’s been gone for a while now, letting me enjoy my forest in peace.

Mr. Wigglebottom was a good neighbour. He wasn’t intrusive in the slightest. We both went around, minding our own business. He was courteous, of course, as was I. All was good.

And then the Roly-Polys moved in.

It started out just fine. Mr. and Mrs. Roly-Poly were nice and they kept to their own side of the forest.

But then the children came. Look, I have nothing against families or kids. I have my fair share of nieces and nephews, trust me. But the Roly-Polys take family life to a whole new level.

First, there was little Oscar. Sure, he was little and cute, and I didn’t mind him wandering around the forest beside his parents.

But then came Ollie. Then Opal. Then Olivia. Then Octavia, and Omar, and Oakley, and Owen, and Oliver, and honestly it was around this time that I lost track.

So now, my quiet forest is infested with annoying Roly-Polys.

Final Comments: For context, the protagonist’s name is Henry, and he’s a caterpillar. Hopefully that helps with the understanding of this story a bit… This story was also extremely fun to write, though!

Overall Rating: 😂