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Prairie Lily's Hot Adventure

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Prairie Lily was a wild little pony, wild as the wind that swirled around the prairie grasses in which she loved to roll and skip and play, wild as the coyotes who howled at the moon, and wild as the tumbleweeds that could be seen rolling merrily along in the violent wind. Prairie Lily was an enigma to many other ponies because she often spent hours alone, either lying in the grass and staring up at the sun, thinking about the world or reading scholarly books written by ponies with strange names. At night, Prairie Lily ran with the coyotes and learned from wise Mother Coyote, who knew what was what.

One afternoon, Prairie Lily had been taking a lovely nap inside the cozy cave where she made her home, when all of a sudden, she was awakened by a tumult that arrested all her senses at once. A rush of heat enveloped her; the smell of smoke wafted up to her nostrils, and crackling and burning noises filled her ears. All at once, her eyes snapped open and she saw something horrible; her beautiful prairie was on fire! Prairie Lily was so upset that a salty taste could be detected at the back of her throat, which suddenly closed up like a Venus Flytrap around its helpless insect prey! She leapt to her feet and bolted out the back opening to her cave, running as fast as her legs could carry her to the home of Mother Coyote.

"MOTHER COYOTE!" Prairie Lily cried at the top of her lungs, "YOU MUST COME AT ONCE! HELP ME TO DOUSE THESE FLAMES!" Naturally, Mother Coyote would know the nearest source of water, and know exactly how best to stop the fire.

Mother Coyote, who had also been taking an afternoon nap, crept lazily from her den, followed by several pups. "What is the matter, Prairie Lily, dear?" she growled softly, knowing that the little pony would not have awakened her without a very good reason.

"There's a terrible fire, Mother Coyote! You must help me to put it out!" exclaimed Prairie Lily, who had begun to panic even more.

Mother Coyote, who was afraid of upsetting Prairie Lily, decided to follow her, saying calmly, "Show me this disaster," leaving her den hastily, along with the pups who were still tagging along.

Prairie Lily shot off in the direction of the fire, and when they arrived, she was horrified to find that it had definitely spread. Hysterical, she could do no more than point, open-mouthed. But what was worse, Mother Coyote began to laugh!

"You-You're laughing!" the little pony stuttered indignantly, having forgotten for the moment about finding water to douse the flames.

"Calm yourself, dear," Mother Coyote whispered, "and let me tell you a story. There are prairie plants that must be burnt periodically to allow the old plants to die and the seeds to open up and form new, young plants. The fire leaves the nutrients from the dead plants where their offspring might use these nutrients. If you stop the fire, the plants will not be able to renew themselves, and the flowers that you love may not come again next year. I know you didn't realize it, but lightening from a thunderstorm that racked the sky as you slept struck a dry plant, setting it afire, and the flames spread. I'm sure you will see that everything will be alright in the end."

"Really?" the dubious Prairie Lily gasped.

"Trust Mother Coyote, little pony. We shall see. Perhaps it would be best for you to return to your nap."

Prairie Lily, glancing back at the burning plants, returned to her cave, and the coyotes departed. Later, the little pony awoke to the pitter-patter of rain. The fire was gone, and most of the lovely prairie grasses were reduced to a brown, smoldering mass, but the beautiful rainbow that arched across the sky and a single red prairie lily, which oddly enough did not grow naturally in Prairie Lily's prairie and which was planted firmly in the soil before the opening to her cave, let Prairie Lily know that everything was going to turn out just fine.

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