Submission (#3170) Approved

And now, it's time for a new short in the series 'Life in the Eyre' by David Attinburrow.

Life.... in this glorious world we have all come to know as the great Eyre.

It is often perilous... but also, beautiful. On the island nation of Ealei a vast variety of fauna and flora can be found. Nestled, amongst the tall canopies of Ealei's great Yggdrasil, is one such creature. The slithering, Salifora. Its scaly skin takes on the appearance, of deep green vines, like the many that hang and grow off of Ealei's great eldertree. Today, we follow a female, as she explores the upper canopy of Yggdrasil's branches. It appears, she has spotted her prey. A yellow spotted warbler! She slowly slithers along the branches, carefully blending into her surroundings by twining herself around the branches. As she makes the approach, she slowly coils back prepared to strike.... and-OH! Oh, bother. It looks like she'll have to go home hungry for the day.

Meanwhile, in the shaded understory of this fabulous old tree, another creature is having much better luck at procuring itself a meal for the day. The humble... butterbug! This tiny critter, makes its home amongst the knolls and shaded undergrowth of the great tree's upper boughs. Along its back, are very fine hairs that have small hooks, perfect for acting as velcro that help it stick to the wooden branches. "This particular butterbug looks like it's about to fall off this log, but watch if I do this." -David gently strokes his paw over the small yellow bug's back- "It curls up into a ball reminiscent of a ball of butter!" -David watches as the butterbug curls up and rolls away from him upside down on the knobbly surface of the wooden branch- "The butterbug's marvelous small hairs along its back, help it cling and defy gravity, as it rolls away to escape its would-be predator... what a marvelous creature.... what a marvelous world we live in."