Critters, Faeries, Farms and Other Tales by Sandra Novelly

The Protector

The little brown anole was getting extremely tired of being chased by other creatures bigger than he…and that included most of the other beings in the area, even some of the other anoles. He moped as he skittered along, and tried to decide what he could do about the situation.

The anole hopped around a corner and there he was…a COLOSSAL individual that appeared to be of the same species.

At first the minute lizard was totally aghast. He fully expected to find himself swept into the massive maw of the thing before him by a tongue that must be at least a foot long. He remained completely still. Maybe he’d blend in with the dry grass and he wouldn’t be noticed. Moments ticked by’they seemed like hours’but nothing happened.

The anole gathered his courage (what little he had in such a tiny body) and crept closer…and closer still. Nothing, not a flicker of motion disturbed the creature’s bulk; not even the blink of an eye.

Okay, the little one said to himself. Just get it over with. Whatever happens to me can’t be any worse than what will eventually happen when I get caught by one of those furry creatures called cats, or perhaps that even bigger thing called a dog. I might just as well perish in the jaws of one of my own kind at least.

His heart beat very fast and his muscles quivered with fear, but the anole stealthily slithered up to the big lizard and walked beneath its mammoth body. Well, he thought, guess it’ll crush me, and that will be the end of me. While he sat there and waited he said his last goodbyes to the world.

Nothing’not as much as a breath of air’disturbed the skin of the bulk sitting over his body. Hmmm…what’s with this thing, the little anole mused.

Okay big guy, I’ll get you going now. The miniature reptile boldly hopped onto the head of the giant. Still nothing…. Geez, is this guy alive??? The anole crawled over to the edge of the giant’s head and stared it straight in the eye. Hello, he called, is anyone home??? No answer.

Whatever, the little brown anole decided. Nothing will dare get me here. He made his way back to the top of the big lizard’s head and settled down in the sun to enjoy a snooze. His last thought before he nodded off was that every small creature needed a friend like this, strong, silent and HUGE. The little anole did not realize that his newfound protector was not alive but was, in fact, only a garden statue!