Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2013 1:15:43 GMT -6
Nya nodded with understanding, as Fluttershy delicately explained, without going too far into detail. Food was Nya's favorite topic to think about. She could understand why a fox might throw herself face first into the ground in order to get some. Actually, if it was something Nya could eat, she might try it herself sometime!
But what did the fox find, under the snow? Nya's first thought was a chicken, but that wasn't possible. A chicken was a farm animal and wouldn't be out in the woods on it's own, much less under the snow! Well, how about a fruit or vegetable then? That was more hopeful! But then the little Zebra remembered that Fluttershy had briefly mentioned hearing as well as smelling. Plants might, and did, have strong smells sometimes, but they did not make noise. At least, not that Nya had ever heard personally. She'd heard there was a plant that screamed if you pulled it out, but she'd never found such a one.
Well all right. A rabbit, then? Nya considered this option, and then discarded it. Rabbits did make holes underground, so it wasn't impossible for them to dig under snow, but they tended to run on top of the snow. She'd seen them do it. And Squirrels, when not asleep, tended to stay in trees in the winter. So they were out, too.
It was some animal, and that meant that Nya couldn't eat it, so with a shrug, she dismissed the line of thought. She wasn't as troubled as Fluttershy was, thinking about predation. For her tribe and her culture, it was an accepted, if feared, hazard of life. Even an unwary zebra foal might be picked off by a skulking jaguar. It was a terrible thing, but it was worse for any equine who didn't keep the thought somewhere in the back of their minds.
Better to always be aware of the possibility of predators, than not.
"Animals are mysterious!" Nya concluded in an approving tone of voice. "Nya is glad the fox was not a danger to her. Foxes are just a little bigger than Nya likes animals to be. At least, animals with the sharp teeths." Which brought up yet another question Nya had wondered about.
"Speaking of sharp things, how do mommy poke-you-pines take care of their babies?" Nya demanded to know. "Nya tripped on a poke-you-pine once and it hurt! She got all these... these prickle-sticks in her leg. She had to chew them out! But even Poke-you-pines are soft on the belly. But Mommies must feed their baby poke-you-pines milk, right? So how do they do it without getting their tummies full of prickle-sticks from the babies?"
But what did the fox find, under the snow? Nya's first thought was a chicken, but that wasn't possible. A chicken was a farm animal and wouldn't be out in the woods on it's own, much less under the snow! Well, how about a fruit or vegetable then? That was more hopeful! But then the little Zebra remembered that Fluttershy had briefly mentioned hearing as well as smelling. Plants might, and did, have strong smells sometimes, but they did not make noise. At least, not that Nya had ever heard personally. She'd heard there was a plant that screamed if you pulled it out, but she'd never found such a one.
Well all right. A rabbit, then? Nya considered this option, and then discarded it. Rabbits did make holes underground, so it wasn't impossible for them to dig under snow, but they tended to run on top of the snow. She'd seen them do it. And Squirrels, when not asleep, tended to stay in trees in the winter. So they were out, too.
It was some animal, and that meant that Nya couldn't eat it, so with a shrug, she dismissed the line of thought. She wasn't as troubled as Fluttershy was, thinking about predation. For her tribe and her culture, it was an accepted, if feared, hazard of life. Even an unwary zebra foal might be picked off by a skulking jaguar. It was a terrible thing, but it was worse for any equine who didn't keep the thought somewhere in the back of their minds.
Better to always be aware of the possibility of predators, than not.
"Animals are mysterious!" Nya concluded in an approving tone of voice. "Nya is glad the fox was not a danger to her. Foxes are just a little bigger than Nya likes animals to be. At least, animals with the sharp teeths." Which brought up yet another question Nya had wondered about.
"Speaking of sharp things, how do mommy poke-you-pines take care of their babies?" Nya demanded to know. "Nya tripped on a poke-you-pine once and it hurt! She got all these... these prickle-sticks in her leg. She had to chew them out! But even Poke-you-pines are soft on the belly. But Mommies must feed their baby poke-you-pines milk, right? So how do they do it without getting their tummies full of prickle-sticks from the babies?"