On the mountain there lived a little goat named Gus.
Gus loved to climb.
Up the small rocks. Up the medium rocks. Up the big rocks.
Higher and higher and higher.
“Come down, Gus!” said his mother.
“In a minute!” said Gus. From very high up.
“Gus, that’s too high!”
“Just a little higher!”
His mother closed her eyes.
Parents of mountain goats do a lot of that. 🐐
🏔️ Too High
Gus climbed until the meadow looked like a green stamp far below.
He climbed until the clouds were at his ears.
He climbed until he reached a ledge barely bigger than his four small hooves.
And then he stopped.
Because there was nowhere left to go.
He looked up. Just more rock, straight and smooth.
He looked down.
Oh.
Everything was very far away.
The path he had come up looked completely different from up here.
He couldn’t remember which way was down.
“Hmm,” said Gus. Which was a very small word for a very big problem.
🐐 Asking for Help
Gus stood on his ledge for a long time.
He thought about pretending he had meant to stop here.
He thought about waiting until somebody noticed.
He thought about just staying on this ledge forever and becoming a mountain hermit.
But his tummy rumbled.
And there was no grass up here at all.
“HELP!” said Gus.
It echoed off every rock on the mountain.
Help. Help. Help. Help.
💛 Olivia to the Rescue
Olivia heard the echo and looked up.
A very small goat on a very high ledge, looking extremely sorry about a number of decisions.
Olivia went and found the mountain guide, who knew exactly which path led up to that ledge, and together they climbed up and showed Gus the way back down.
One careful step at a time.
Down. Down. Down.
When Gus’s hooves touched the meadow, he kissed the grass.
“Are you going to climb that high again?” asked Olivia.
Gus thought about it very seriously.
“Maybe just a bit high,” he said. “Not TOO high.”
Olivia laughed.
His mother did not. 🐐