Zoo Tv

It was not a starry night. The moon was out, all whole and all white. Its presence overwhelming that of any other star. The rat could understand how the stars felt that night. Everyday, his tiny presence was overshadowed by the roars of the lions, the theatricals of the monkeys and, strangely enough, even by the lazy saunter of the giraffes. Even on the days that the lions only moaned and the monkeys only scratched each other, (giraffes always had their lazy saunter) the rat was as prominent as a drop of rainwater in the ocean. He had lived his whole life at the zoo and in the shadows of other animals.
It is a depressing thought, but the rat was never depressed. He had the company of so many animals of different nationalities. And he was friends with them all. All except the elephant.
This has nothing to do with the folly notion that elephants are afraid of mice. While we're on the subject, elephants would not die for peanuts.
No, the rat and the elephant were not friends. They were not enemies either. The elephant was the star of the zoo; the main attraction. He was actually a runaway from a circus, who was later captured and delivered to the zoo. As show-business had always been part of his nature, at the site of even a small group of people the elephant would perform his tricks and display his skill. Eventually, he became very popular and the success got to his head. He only ever spoke with the lion or the zebras or some other exotic animals or birds. It is ironic that the elephant was the only American at the zoo. He had been at the circus for as long as he could remember. And he had always been very haughty.
"What are you looking at?" The turtle asked the rat. The turtle was considered one of the wisest animals of the zoo. But he mostly kept to himself (inside his shell). Legend had it that he had once beaten the rabbit in a race. Some animals believed the story, some did not. But the rabbit or the turtle never spoke of it. Ever. They did not speak to each other either. So the rat had and inkling that the legend might be true, but he would never really know for sure.
"There are no stars tonight, turtle". The rat never had frame a question for the turtle. Because the turtle would always give an answer. Even if you did not ask a question.
"But that is only because the moon is too bright and the stars are not bright enough. They are still there, the stars, but they are not bright enough" And sure enough it made sense and the rat believed him.
Silence ensued. The most valuable of silences; the one right before a lesson.
"You think the stars are too small and that is why they do not shine bright enough. But you are wrong. The stars, though they appear to be much smaller than the moon, are actually infinitely larger than the moon. But they are so far away from us that they appear to be small. Just like the giraffes appear to be smaller than the turtles from where we are because their dwelling is towards the other end of the zoo. So you see my friend, rat, that all that appears to be small is sometimes the biggest thing of all". And after that little sermon the turtle retired to his shell, leaving the rat to ponder on what he had said.
The rat made his way back home, towards the food-court. It was a long walk but it seemed short. Just like the stars.
And when he thought about what the turtle had said and looked up at the sky again, he could relate to the stars even more. For he too appeared to be small, but he was probably bigger than all the other animals in depth and kindness. Even though everyday all that the people would notice would be the full brunt of the other animals and just a small flicker of himself, he knew that if anyone looked hard enough, they would see him for how big he is. How much bigger he is than the elephant.