Flip's Family:  A Peabodi Tale




	The sun was setting in Peabodi Village, the last rays bouncing off 

the leaves of the trees with a metallic shine.  All the peabodi children

were heading home for their supper.  Flip and his sister, Dandy, were walking

 along the path that wound through the village.  On the way they saw the 

tree-clusters where some of their friends lived, the schoolhouse-thicket, and

 the rows of food-trees downtown from which all the peabodis collected their

 food each morning.  

	Flip began to think about what Mr. Squat had talked about in school 

this week.  He talked about unity, and all the ways in which it held the 

world together.  As Flip looked around he realized that this was true, that
 
you could see unity in almost everything.  The way that all the peabodi 

children were walking home with their siblings to eat together as a family,
 
the way they were taught to share when playing in the park so that the
 
little children and older children could play together in all the 

knobby-branched trees.  The way that everyone in Peabodi Village worked to 

keep the food-trees healthy by pulling up the weeds that grew around them, 

and also by only picking what they needed each morning so that there'd be 

enough for everyone.  These were all ways in which the village worked 

together to be unified.  

	The peabodis also had to work together with nature.  They only took 

the trees that they needed, leaving enough in the forest for all the animals

 to be able to live in.  And the peabodi children were taught never to throw

 their garbage on the ground or in the river that wound between the peabodi
 
village and the forest.  And these were only some of the ways that the 

peabodis lived in unity with the nature around them.  These rules kept every

 peabodi happy.

	When Flip and Dandy were past the village they could see their own 

family's tree-cluster in the distance.  Flip admired how nice their cluster 

looked, with four trees - one for each member of his family.  There was the
 
bed-tree, where they each had a large branch for themselves.  There was also

 the meal-tree, the play-tree (with LOTS of low branches for playing on), 

and the unity-tree, where his family met to talk and pray together.  But 

wait!  As Flip got closer he noticed a fifth tree, a small sapling.  That 

could only mean one thing, their new baby had been born! (every time a  new 

baby is born into a peabodi family a new tree is planted and it is decided 

by the family what the tree will be used for).   Dandy noticed the sapling 

also and, squealing with delight, ran home as fast as her little legs could 

carry her to see the new baby.

	Flip hurried behind Dandy, and climbed the bed-tree to his parents'

large branch.  

"There you are, Flip!" exclaimed his father as he came up to where his mother

 was.  Father patted Flip on the back with his tail, "Come see Dot, your 

new baby brother.  Isn't he just adorable?!"  Flip peeked over Dandy's head
 
and had to agree that his spotty little baby brother was awfully cute with
 
his little curl of a tail and that smidgen of a blue curl on the top of his
 
head.

	"When can I take Dot to the park to show all my friends?" asked 

Dandy, her eyes sparkling with happiness.

	"Be patient, Dandy," said father laughingly, "Don't you think Dot 

should learn how to walk and climb before he can play happily in the park 

with you and your friends?"

	"Hmmm... I guess so," said Dandy, "but I sure can't wait!"

	"Well, in a couple weeks we can have your friends come here to see 

the baby.  But right now it's getting kind of late, how about you come help 

me make supper?"

	Flip was glad to have the chance to talk with his mother alone, for 

he was wondering about something.  "We were talking about unity this week in

 school," Flip began, "and I was thinking about all the ways our village 

practices unity, and then how our family practices unity too.  How we all 

help and take turns making supper, and we help eachother when someone is 

too busy to do their share of the work, we listen to eachother when one 

person has something to share, whether it is sad or happy.  And we have 

family meetings and prayers together so we can have a time to share what we

 want to say about anything.  But I was wondering, how are we going to be 

able to practice unity if we have another baby in the house?  Won't that 

change things?"  

	"Yes, Flip, it will change things," said his mother, "but change is 

not always bad.  Do you remember when you learned how our village was before

 everyone practiced unity?  How people would throw their garbage into the 

stream, making it useless for us and animals to drink or use?  When things 

began to change and people did practice unity, that was a change for the 

better.  And even now Peabodi Village has to change sometimes.  Like when we

 have a new peabodi family move in.  We don't just ignore them and let them 

find out for themselves how things work here, do we?"

	"No, " replied Flip, "when a new peabodi family comes into the 

village we teach them how we practice unity, so that they can help make the 

village a good place to live.  And they get to have food from the food-trees

 like every other peabodi, and the children can go to the schoolhouse-thicket

 to learn and can play in the park too."

	"That's right, Flip.  And it's kind of the same when a new baby is 

born into a family.  When it is very young we teach it the way we live, and 

slowly it begins to help around the house and go to school, just like you. 
 
But before then the whole family works together to care for the baby. 
 
We practice unity by all helping with the baby in different ways.  Having a 

new baby in the house just creates more ways to practice unity in the home."

	"I see, " said Flip, feeling much better, "so having a baby doesn't 

take anything away from our family, it just adds, and gives us more ways to
 
practice family unity."

	"That's right, Flip. Now are you ready to eat?  I think Dandy and 

Father should be done cooking supper by now."

	"I'm starving!" said Flip, heading for the meal-tree.  Then he 

turned and paused for a minute, "Just one more question..."

	"Yes?" said his mother as she gathered up Dot to go with Flip to 

supper.

	"About the new tree, can it be a party tree this time?  or maybe a 

candy tree? or maybe..."

	Mother laughed and ruffled Flip's mop of hair with her tail.  "We'll 

talk about that at the next family meeting in the unity-tree!"