The Garden of Love

Mama Meerkat never took her eyes off him when she had her gang outside of the hole they shared near the tree. She wouldn't trust Dolion as far as she could throw him. She made sure her little ones were safe inside before sundown. It was a shame when you couldn't trust your neighbors. Thank God for Buster, the Harpy Eagle. He was a Godsend. He was a complete surprise for Mama. Most Harpies saw meerkats as prey, but Buster agreed to scare Dolion away if he even looked crooked at the little meerkats. He made this promise to the Gardener, who didn't believe in killing. Usually, Harpies wouldn't hesitate to kill a sloth, but the eagle respected the gardener and was his obedient servant. This restraint took willpower on Buster’s part. He had a problem with anyone threatening someone as beautiful as Mama Meerkat.  He liked Mama a lot. She had courage. As a couple, these two would never be accepted, so they knew it was an impossible situation as far as any romance was concerned, But they sent each other meaningful looks from a distance. Mama felt a bit of a heart flutter when Buster flew overhead. Sometimes he swooped real low and did a sharp turn around like a jet fighter plane. Mama knew he was showing off for her benefit, which made her happy. 

One day, Dolion was careless, thinking that Buster would be sleeping, and he went to the entrance of the meerkat hole.  As he sniffed around, Buster launched a surprise attack and picked Dolion up by his back fur. He shook him so hard that Dolion really thought this was the end. But Buster was an eagle of his word and released Dolion as soon as he was convinced he got the message. The sloth tried to complain to the Gardener the next day, but it was pointless. The Gardener knew everything that went on in his garden. He loved all of the garden animals and would never reject any of them or put them out, no matter how badly they behaved, but he was no fool. The Gardener corrected Dolion gently, and when the disobedient sloth repented, forgave him…again.  Yes, he forgave seventy times seven.

THE END