The Ship and the Animals on the Fourth of July

"Ahoy! Ahoy! Red Alert! Danger Ahead!"
"Something's up. YOU KNOW WHO is not too happy with us these days." someone said.

We are like travelers on a ship (or a hand-basket depending on our destination). We know that there are "others" on this ship - other animals we don't know - some of us look like giraffe's, others like kangaroos. Some look like horses. Unfortunately, not everyone likes each other on this ship. （Shhh. Don't say that out loud.）

So, what should the giraffes and kangaroos and all of the other animals do about the fact that there seems to be danger up ahead? The animals thought about it, and decided to hold a town hall meeting.

The next morning, a large crowd had gathered on the bow of the ship.
Jeffrey the squirrel, who stood on the mainmast squealed: "Well, ideally, we should have a discussion, I guess!"
Pepper the buffalo, simultaneously chewing on grass, said: "But what if we don't get along?"
A hippo named Mike who was taking up way too much space on the upper deck yelled: "Ya!"
Sammy the donkey whinnied: "E, each of us will v-vote. We'll all have a say in the outcome that w-way."
Jeffrey said "So what are we going to vote on?" as he corrected his spectacles.
An alligator, Samantha spoke out in a low calm voice "I vote to eat the red alert." Samantha appeared to be on a leash which someone had tied to the staircase.
A little birdy named Tom, who was flying above Samantha, complained: "She tried to eat me before! Take her away!"
Samantha protested: "I am an alligator. What do you expect?"
Kuro (a dog) barked: "I vote for more bones in the cafeteria!"
(Kuro was a little confused about the subject matter of the discussion.)

So the discussion went on like this until everyone got hungry and it was lunchtime, and the animals decided to take a lunch break. During the break, there were still a few residual resentments in the room, so there were several naughty food fights, but most everyone managed to get back to the deck of the ship when discussions resumed. (Some had to stay behind to clean up after their own mess.)

After lunch, Jeffrey resumed the discussion by summing up what happened in the morning. "We can't agree on anything!! We're a mess!! Meanwhile, we keep getting closer to danger!"

Sasha the salamander said (with a slight lisp because of his long tongue): "We should organize zis a bit. We should pick leaderz, zo that we can delegate zis task to zomeone who representz uz! How about a sleader for each family? Let's re-convene when we've picked a sleader."

For a time, there was much commotion all around the ship. Arguments could be heard from huddles in all directions. Most of the animals resumed their daily schedules during this time, mostly because they were not going to be picked, and they were bored.

After dinner, a smaller crowd of animals re-convened around Jeffrey, who shouted, "Are all families accounted for with a chosen representative?"
Sammy, again whinnying, said: "I t'think so!"

At that point, one of the kitchen chefs showed up on the deck and made an announcement: "If you help me keep my job, I'll give you more food. Thanks!"
Seeing what he just saw, an engineer on break from the engine room (after all, this is a large ship!) who just happened to be walking by, said: "Well - I can stop this ship if I want to. But if you want my help, you have to make it worth it for me." The Captain, hearing the commotion, shouted from his window: "Ya, I'll need some of that 'encouragement' too! Thanks!"

The animals, including Jeffrey, stood there not quite understanding what just happened.

Finally, Jeffrey spoke: "We're screwed. We don't have any money!"
Pepper said: "We're doomed!! What do we do?"
The crowd of animals broke out into another commotion.
Everyone threw out ideas like: What if we protested? What if we stopped paying our dues? What if we went on a hunger strike? What if? What if?
It was at that moment that Spicy the chicken started singing "I Will Survive" on the deck, towards the Moon. Many of the smaller animals started to pray. The monkeys on the deck proceeded with their original plans of throwing a party for themselves, since it was the time of day for a good soirée.

Several elephants were listening in from the starboard side of the deck, a few dozen feet towards the stern. They were huddled around each other and whispering. Finally, Plump, the wisest of them all, spoke loudly to whomever was gathered at the deck as twilight washed over the sky with a deep dark blue purple. Plump spoke clearly and slowly, though with a slight drawl:

"Accept that we must, at times, face danger, and that death is a part of life. To know danger is to celebrate life. We will go when it is our time. Until that day, let's XOXOXOXO."

Plump's last words were drowned out by a large popping sound from the stern of the deck where the monkeys were. Up above, several multi-colored fireworks brilliantly lit up the sky, lighting up the faces of a thousand mesmerized gawkers on the ship. Several other balls-of-fire soared upwards, and then crackled into a hundred points of light. When the popping sounds came to an end, the only thing left was the echo of the wind. Our ship, with the animals, had sailed away quietly into the darkness.