Our friend Murray, Chapter 3

Our friend Murray continued to bounce along the tall blades of grass until he came upon the end of the high grass and was now in front of a narrow stream of water. The final blades of the grass before the water were hanging lightly above it and he now found himself perched just above as well.

Our friend Murray looked in each direction.

To the right he could see the stream coming down through the forest on a slight decline in the land. The water quietly and simply rushed along the forest floor finding its way around and over and within and under the rocks and limbs and plants and dirt and such that was in its path.

To the left he could see the stream continuing on past him and his perch. It was continuing on doing the same as before, quietly and simply rushing along the forest floor finding its way around and over and within and under the rocks and limbs and plants and dirt and such that were anew in its path.

And looking forward across the stream, our friend Murray could see a small opening in the forest canopy where the trees were not directly overhead and there was a great warm sunlight upon the area.

Our friend Murray pondered.

“What are you thinking about Murray?”

“Oh, I am just pondering the nature that is before me. The natural state of the forest. The water goes where it goes, forward, regardless of what may be in front of it. It just flows and flows and flows continually. I find that fascinating.”

“I suppose it is. It is simply nature.”

“Yes, but nature is what nature does. Everything is simply natural. I wonder if the stream of water had a mind of its own whether it would choose to continue this natural state or consider other options.”

“What other options could there be?”

“Well, I suppose there may not be other options, but I can ponder that the water may decide it does not want to flow downhill and would rather flow uphill or perhaps pile itself up or who knows what else might be considered.”

“Interesting. I had not thought of that. But isn’t the fact that the water is challenged by gravity that it leaves it no choice but to flow downhill. Does the water not have to consider the rules of gravity?”

“Yes, of course, and that would truthfully cause it to follow the flow downhill, naturally. Yes, yes, of course.”

“It is always wise to consider all options.”

“Yes, I simply wonder if the water itself was able to think and consider its options what it would choose. But I can see that its options would be limited to the options given it by the natural world too.”

“So now what do you plan to do?”

“Oh, I am going to cross the stream of water so that I can get to that sunlit area beyond the other side.”

“And how will you do that?”

“I am thinking through my options on that matter as we speak. Logically, I cannot fly across, nor jump that far, as these are not in my nature. But I believe I have some other options which will find me safely to the other side.”

“Good luck Murray.”

And with that, our friend Murray bounded back along the blades where he had been perched above the stream and crawled down to the dirt floor. The dirt was soft and moist in this area, from the water in the stream, and he knew his feet were about to get very dirty in this mud.

He walked to the edge of the stream and looked to a rock that was in the midst of the flowing water. He considered if it was close enough for him to jump. He considered and he considered.

Oh, yes, our friend Murray considered it a great deal.

The option before him to jump to the rock in the midst of the stream had its possibile outcomes. One, he could safely alight on the rock and then make another jump to the other side of the stream. Two, he could miss the rock, thereby falling into the water. And if the water was a bit too swift, he could end up further down the stream than he had intended.

So our friend Murray pondered.

And then, without thinking another minute, our friend Murray jumped toward the rock in the midst of the stream. As he jumped he breathed in the cool wet forest air. He let the air out and landed right on the top of the rock in the midst of the stream. Our friend Murray was proud he had made it.

“Wow, good job Murray. You landed perfectly on the rock.”

“Thank you! It was not easy but I managed it. I am most definitely happy with that.”

“Now of course you must jump again to the other side. It seems a bit further away.”

“Egad, my yes, it does look further away now. Well, I would prefer not to go back and I believe that I can make it!”

“Good luck Murray.”

And with that our friend Murray jumped as hard and as high as he could manage. He suddenly noticed that he might not make it all the way.

“Oh, no!” our friend Murray exclaimed as he was narrowly missing the other side and ended up in the water.

“Are you ok, Murray?”

Our friend Murray could not talk as of now because he had fallen into the water and was being quickly rushed downstream by the current. He began to get all of his eight legs to work together to swim as best he could. He knew he was not the best swimmer in the forest, but he would do as he could as best as he could naturally.

But the water was a bit too swift for him and he was continually being drawn downstream. He was happy to simply keep his head above water enough to breathe!

Surely, there would be an end to this stream soon. Or at least another rock in the midst of the stream upon which he could climb. Surely something would save him from this dilemma soon.

Surely.