Hey Rasky, whatcha doin' under the tree? It's after midnight!

C'mere, Kate, this is a Christmas tradition. Lay on your back like me..that's it, now reach up & grab a different hanging thing with each paw -claws out,now..grab tight...nooo, kid, you have to grab FOUR, only grasping two is why you keep falling over like that..try again..there you go. OK, now look up into all the branches and lights and shiny things above us.

Wow, it's BEAUTIFUL!!

It is, isn't it? Nature does an incredible job with everything, and the beans can be really helpful when they want to be. They add touches that show they care. And we get to look closely at it all and be thankful that we're a part of all this. Nights like this make up for the hard times & make us see the beans at their best.

Rasky, do all the beans do ear pricks & needles & IV's like our bean does?

No, kid, our beans's special, she does it because we're loved. Most tigers aren't like us, you know. We would've used up all 9 lives by now if our bean hadn't found the strength and the courage to learn all she did to get us past those really bad times. She was pretty shaky there for awhile,eh? I wasn't sure either of us would make it when she was in that 'scared' stage.

Yeah.....do the shots hurt, Rasc?

Nah, the ear pricks can be annoying but no big deal, and the shots are a piece of tuna. How 'bout you - did that IV hurt a lot?

I didn't like it, but I have to admit I felt better after she'd do it. I felt bad needing to be force fed, but I couldn't help it. It was really nice to get back to eating by myself. And she was SO happy! I almost felt better for her than I did for myself! It took so long to see her laughing again. When I started walking again is when I knew we were both gonna be OK. Took a long time, though. She made a couple mistakes but it turned out alright.

Beans make mistakes all the time, Kate. It's not a perfect world. That's part of why we're here, to help them grow.

Do all beans learn so much, Rasc?

It varies. Some don't. There are lots of homeless tigers like us out there that can't make it on only 9 lives because the beans don't give them a chance. Then there are wonderful beans that learn love so well that a tiger can leave for the Great Rainbow Bridge earlier, because they don't have to teach their beans any more- those beans did everything they needed to, and the tigers were freed from teaching. It's important to teach beans your whole life, Kate -it's why you're here. Our bean is really trying hard to be good to us, and not all beans are up to that. It doesn't come easy to them. They need help: help from us, and help from other beans. That's the way it works.

Wow, this is a hard life for all of us, isn't it, Rasky?

Not really, Kate. It's about perspective...squint your eyes a little and look at all those beautiful lights above us & how they reflect off of those shiny hanging things. That's what life is like - lots of beautiful spurts of different colored lights that let you see past the dark branches. It's perspective,kid. Whoa....grab that 3rd paw harder, Kate, you're gonna fall...grab!..yeah, that's it, you're OK again..close call there!

Yup, almost lost it - shook the whole tree! Hey...listen to that..it's that crystal hanging bell ringing at the top. Teacher says

I know. "Every time you hear a bell ringing, a Guardian Angel's helped another bean save a 4 legger". It's true, Kate. It's true.

This is pretty neat, Rasc. I really like this!

Yeah, it is. But enough contemplating,kid, it's time for another Christmas tradition. C'mon, let's go bowling with the barn scene...you get the cow & donkey, I get the beans inside the hut.

It's a wonderful life here, isn't it Rasc?

Yes, Kate. It is.

to download this file as a .pdf, click here

back to Pat's Corner

back to Gorb's homepage