Wildlife in Aina's country

I will be starting a new blog dedicated to Aina's adventures: http://ainasadventures.blogspot.com

Here's the last installment you'll see on this family blog:

This morning, as we drove to church, Alice tells me out of the blue that all the bears are hibernating because it's winter. We talk about other animals that hibernate. Then Alice tells me that all the animals ("am-inals") in Aina's country are dead. They're all dead because it's winter. In the spring, new animals hatch from eggs that were hidden underground. They pop out of their eggs like caterpillars. And then they're caterpillars. There's a lion caterpillar, too, which bites people, but only very small people because it's so tiny.

Then Alice surprises me with this:

Quietly, with excitement in her voice she confides, "I have a lion caterpillar egg."

"Really?! Whoa. What are you going to do with it?"

"I'm going to bury in the ground and cover it with dirt. When it gets warmer like spring, I'm going to unbury it and put it in the grass and run into our house and shut the door.

"So it won't bite you when it hatches?"

"Yeah."

"What will happen?

"It will hatch and be a lion caterpillar."

"What do lion caterpillars eat?"

"Grass."

"Why do they bite people?"

"They bite when they're scared."

"Will he be lonely without his mommy or daddy? Oh wait, is your lion caterpillar a boy or a girl?"

"A girl. No, she won't be lonely. She'll be happy. Just keep small people away like babies and Robert."

"Whoa."

"This is for really real. I'm NOT joking. It really happened."

"Uh...okay."

"Really."

"Oh look! There's the church!"