The Lizard Who Couldn't Run

The first rays of morning sunshine filtered through the tall ponderosa pines as the little friends gathered around the old stump near Weimer's Milling Co.

The old stump had become the official clubhouse of the Train Mountain Posse. Mitch, Goldie, Pip, Twig, Clover, and Thistle gathered there before every adventure. Inside, Twig's father had carefully built little wooden shelves where they kept their favorite treasures from past journeys. From the clubhouse, winding trails disappeared into every corner of the forest. Some led toward Lasher Garden. Others wandered through quiet meadows or disappeared beneath towering ponderosa pines that seemed to touch the sky. Every trail held the promise of another discovery.

Twig was already waiting.

After all, the old stump wasn't far from his family's burrow, tucked beneath the roots of a great pine overlooking the little mill.

"Good morning!" he called, giving an energetic wave from atop the stump.

One by one, the others arrived.

Goldie bounced up the path with her little cross-body pouch swinging happily at her side.

"I packed snacks!" she announced proudly.

"I noticed," Mitch smiled. "It looks heavier than yesterday."

Goldie grinned.

"You never know what treasures—or hungry friends—we might find."

Mitch chuckled and slipped his little green notebook beneath his arm.

"I should probably write that down."

Pip came hurrying up the trail next, his tiny backpack bouncing behind him with every step.

"I almost forgot my water!" he puffed. "Mama says every explorer needs water."

"She's right," Goldie nodded.

Moments later Clover and Thistle burst through the pine needles together.

"We're not late!"

"We're exactly on time!"

"No..."

"We're early!"

The twins looked at one another and laughed.

Above them, a gentle breeze stirred the pine branches, sending the sweet scent of warm bark drifting through the forest.

Somewhere in the distance came the faint whistle of Ronnie's train beginning its morning run.

Everyone paused for just a moment to listen.

"I never get tired of hearing that," Pip whispered.

Neither did anyone else.

It was going to be another warm summer day, so the friends had decided to set off early, before the afternoon sunshine filled the forest with heat.

"Where shall we explore today?" Goldie asked.

Twig pointed farther up the trail.

"There's a path I haven't walked in a while. It winds through some rocky places beyond the mill."

"Rocky places usually have interesting things to discover," Mitch said.

"And if they don't..."

Goldie smiled.

"...we'll discover something anyway."

Everyone laughed.

With happy chatter filling the forest, the little posse started down the trail together.

Morning dew still sparkled on the grasses, catching the first rays of sunshine like tiny diamonds. The air was cool and fresh, carrying the familiar scent of pine needles and damp earth from the night before.

A pair of nuthatches darted up the trunk of a nearby ponderosa pine while a Steller's jay called somewhere high above the trail.

Even though the sun had begun to peek through the trees, patches of shade still held the night's coolness, and the forest was only beginning to wake.

Everything felt peaceful.

Everything felt wonderfully alive.

Then Goldie stopped so suddenly that Pip almost bumped into her.

She pointed toward a patch of gravel beside the trail.

No one said a word.

Lying perfectly still among the cool gray stones was the strangest little creature any of them had ever seen.

Goldie points toward the motionless lizard.

Everyone freezes.

Pip whispers,

"I don't think he's moving."

Thistle swallows.

"Do you think..."

"...he's okay?"

Just then, a familiar voice comes up the trail.

"Well now..."

"I wondered who was having a meeting without me."

The children turn.

"Hi, Dad!" Goldie says.

"Morning, Father," Mitch smiles.

Zippy walks over, glances toward the little lizard...

...and smiles.

"Oh."

"Good morning, Slate."

The children all blink.

"You know him?" Goldie asks.

"Of course," Zippy chuckles.

"Slate has lived around these rocky hills longer than any of us."

The little lizard doesn't move.

Pip leans closer.

"He didn't even answer you."

Zippy laughs softly.

"No..."

"Not before breakfast."

Goldie asks,

"Why won't he move?"

Zippy kneels beside Slate.

"He could..."

"...if he wanted to."

The children exchange puzzled looks.

"But he doesn't seem to want to."

Zippy gently rests one paw on the warm stone nearby.

"The stone is still cool."

He looks up through the trees.

"The sun hasn't reached this little patch yet."

Zippy gently rested one paw on the flat rock beside Slate.

"The stone is still cool."

He looked up through the branches overhead.

"The sun hasn't reached this little patch yet."

The children glanced toward the trees.

Golden rays were beginning to spill through the pines, but the rocky hillside where Slate rested was still wrapped in the night's cool shade.

"Lizards are different from us," Zippy explained. "They don't make their own body heat the way we do. They borrow warmth from the sunshine."

Goldie looked back at Slate.

"So..."

"...he's waiting for the sun?"

Zippy smiled.

"Exactly."

"Once this rock warms up, so will Slate."

Mitch quickly opened his notebook.

"Morning sunshine is breakfast for a lizard," he wrote carefully.

"I should probably underline that."

Pip tilted his head.

"So...he isn't sick?"

"No."

"Hurt?"

Zippy shook his head.

"No again."

"He's simply being patient."

The little friends looked at Slate in a completely different way now.

Just a moment ago, they had felt sorry for him.

Now they realized he knew exactly what he was doing.

"Can we say hello?" Goldie asked.

"I think he'd like that," Zippy replied. "But first..."

He held up his first two fingers.

"...everyone needs their two science fingers."

The children looked down at their paws.

"Our what?" Pip asked.

Zippy smiled and held up his index finger and middle finger.

"These are your gentle lizard fingers."

He folded his thumb and the other two fingers into his palm.

"The rest stay asleep."

Everyone copied him.

Goldie's little paw looked just right.

Pip's pinky kept popping back out.

"It doesn't want to stay asleep!" he giggled.

Clover tried to help him.

"No, tuck it in like this."

Thistle laughed.

"I think Pip's pinky likes adventures too."

Even Mitch smiled.

"I should probably practice mine."

Zippy chuckled.

"I think you are already."

He knelt beside Slate.

"When we meet a new animal, we always let them decide if they'd like to meet us too."

The children nodded.

"Now watch carefully."

Using only his two science fingers, Zippy gently stroked the little lizard from just behind his head to the middle of his back.

"Always with the scales," he said softly.

"Never against them."

He smiled at the children.

"And we leave his tail alone. A lizard's tail is very important to him, so we always let it be."

Slate didn't run.

He didn't hide.

Instead, he slowly closed his eyes.

"I think he likes that," Goldie whispered.

"I think he does too," Zippy smiled.

One by one, each member of the Train Mountain Posse took a turn.

Goldie was first.

Her touch was so gentle that Slate barely seemed to notice.

Pip went next.

"I'm trying very hard not to wake up my pinky," he whispered.

Twig grinned.

"I think your pinky is behaving now."

Clover carefully took her turn, smiling as her two science fingers glided gently along the middle of Slate's back.

"He feels smoother than I expected," she said.

Then it was Thistle's turn.

She knelt beside the little lizard and carefully reached out with her two science fingers.

Just then, Slate slowly stretched his neck toward her hand.

Thistle froze.

"Did...did he do that on purpose?"

"I believe he did," Zippy said with a warm smile.

"I think he's telling you he enjoys a gentle back rub."

Thistle's smile grew even wider as she slowly stroked the middle of Slate's back once more.

"I think we've made a new friend," she whispered.

Mitch took the last turn.

"It's almost like smooth leather," he said thoughtfully.

"I should probably write that down."

Everyone laughed.

Just then, Slate stretched his neck a little farther and gave a slow, contented blink.

"I think he wants another back rub!" Pip said with a grin.

"He might," Zippy replied. "Some lizards seem to enjoy a gentle scratch every now and then."

Goldie smiled and gave Slate one last gentle stroke with her two science fingers.

"I think he likes us," she whispered.

As if he had been waiting for just that moment, the first beam of morning sunshine slipped through the ponderosa pines and stretched across the rock.

Slate lifted his head.

He blinked once.

Then twice.

Slowly, he pushed himself up on all four feet.

"Look!" Goldie whispered.

"The sunshine found him."

Slate stretched each little leg one at a time.

Then, to everyone's surprise, he raised himself up and began doing funny little lizard push-ups.

Down.

Up.

Down.

Up.

Down.

Up.

Pip couldn't help himself.

"He looks like he's exercising!"

Before anyone could stop him, Pip dropped to the ground beside the rock.

Down.

Up.

Down.

Up.

The rest of the Train Mountain Posse burst into laughter.

Soon Twig was doing lizard push-ups.

Then Clover.

Then Thistle.

Even Goldie joined in.

Mitch looked around at everyone.

"I should probably..."

He paused.

"...do a few for science."

Everyone laughed even harder.

Zippy chuckled and shook his head.

"I think Slate approves."

Goldie reached into her little pouch.

"I almost forgot."

She carefully pulled a tiny piece of lettuce from one of the sandwiches she had packed for the hike.

"Would you like a little breakfast, Slate?"

She gently laid the small leaf beside the warm rock.

Slate slowly sniffed it.

Then took a tiny bite.

"Good choice," Zippy smiled. "A little treat is plenty."

For another moment, everyone simply watched their quiet new friend enjoy the morning sunshine.

Finally, Zippy stood and brushed the pine needles from his knees.

"Well, Train Mountain Posse..."

"...our hike isn't going to explore itself."

"Where are we headed?" Pip asked, slipping his backpack over both shoulders.

Twig pointed farther up the trail.

"There's a rocky overlook I've been wanting to show everyone."

"Maybe we'll find another clue," Mitch said hopefully.

"Or another friend," Goldie added with a smile.

Zippy nodded.

"The mountain is full of surprises for those who take time to notice."

The children waved.

"Goodbye, Slate!"

The little lizard paused.

He looked toward the Train Mountain Posse.

Then...

Down.

Up.

Down.

Up.

One more tiny set of lizard push-ups.

"I think he just waved goodbye!" Pip laughed.

"I think he did," Zippy said with a grin.

A heartbeat later—

ZIP!

Slate disappeared between the sun-warmed rocks so quickly that everyone blinked.

"I guess he could run after all," Goldie laughed.

"Oh, yes," Zippy replied.

"He just needed a little sunshine to remind him."

Together, the Train Mountain Posse continued up the trail beneath the whispering pines, already wondering what adventure the mountain had waiting just around the next bend.

🌿 Nature Discovery