Chapter 3

Chapter III

SO YELLOW AN STRIPE romped in the grass and ate and grew fat and loved each other. They were so glad not to be fighting everybody every moment.

It was like heaven for a while. But as time passed even hugging each other seemed a little boring. Each knew every hair of the other. Stripe couldn’t help wondering, “There must be still more to life.”

Yellow saw how restless he was and tried to make him extra happy and comfortable. “Just think how much better this is than that awful mess we left,” she said.

“But we don’t know what’s at the top,” he answered. “Maybe we were wrong to come down. Maybe now that we’ve rested the two of us could make it to the top.”

“Dear Stripe, please,” she begged. “We have a nice home and we love each other and that’s enough. It’s so much more than all those lonely climbers have.”

She was so sure, Stripe let her convince him. But only for awhile --- Stripe’s hankering for the climbing life worsened. The pillar haunted him. He crawled there regularly, looking up and wondering. But the top remained clouded.

One day at the pillar, three thuds startled Stripe. Three big caterpillars had fallen from someplace and smashed. Two seemed dead but one still wiggled. Stripe whispered, “What happened? Can I help?”

He made out just a few words. “The top … they’ll see … butterflies alone ….” The caterpillar died.
Stripe crawled home and told Yellow. “I’ve got to know. I must go and find out the secret of the top.” And more gently, “Will you come and help me?”

Yellow struggled inside. She loved Stripe and wanted to be with him. She wanted to help him succeed. But – she just couldn’t believe that the top was worth all it asks to go there. She wanted to get “up” too; the crawling life wasn’t enough for her either. She also had to admit that it looked like the pile was the only way to do it. Stripe seemed so sure that Yellow felt ashamed not to agree. She also felt stupid and embarrassed since she could never put her reasons into words that his kind of logic would accept. Yet somehow, waiting and not being sure was better than action she wouldn’t believe in.

She couldn’t explain, she couldn’t prove anything – but for all her love she couldn’t go with Stripe. She just knew climbing was a wrong way to get high.

“No,” she said, heartsick. And Stripe left her for his climb.