A Bedtime Story

Flutterville Fire


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Once upon a time in the quaint little village of Flutterville, there lived a hummingbird named Hilda. Hilda was not your ordinary hummingbird; she was known far and wide for her spectacular clumsiness. While other hummingbirds could zoom through the air with grace and precision, Hilda often found herself tangled in flowers, colliding with branches, or, on particularly bad days, accidentally photobombing wedding pictures by flying right into the frame at the wrong moment.

One fine summer day, Hilda decided to take a break from her antics and visit her friend, Benny the Bunny, who lived in a cozy little cabin nestled in the woods. Benny was famous for his delicious carrot cakes, and Hilda could never resist a good snack. As she flitted toward Benny’s cabin, she envisioned the sweet taste of carrot cake and the warm, fluffy texture of the dessert melting in her beak.

Upon arriving, she noticed a delightful aroma wafting from the cabin. Benny had just baked a fresh batch of carrot cakes, and they smelled heavenly! Hilda, in her excitement, zoomed toward the kitchen window, but as usual, her enthusiasm got the best of her. She miscalculated her approach and crashed right through the window, sending shards of glass flying everywhere.

“Oops! Sorry, Benny!” she chirped, a bit dazed but instantly distracted by the sight of the freshly baked cakes cooling on the counter.

Benny, not one to hold a grudge against his clumsy friend, chuckled and said, “Just watch yourself, Hilda! We’ve got a lot of baking going on, and I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”

“Don’t worry!” Hilda replied with a wink, “I’m as light as a feather!” Unfortunately, she was about to prove that she was also as reckless as a whirlwind.

While Benny turned his back to fetch a plate, Hilda began flitting around the kitchen, her wings a blur. In her excitement, she noticed a lovely little candle flickering on the table. “Ooh, pretty!” she exclaimed, darting toward it.

As she hovered near the candle, admiring its glow, she lost focus and accidentally flapped her wings too hard. The gust of wind sent the candle flying off the table and into a stack of dry pine kindling Benny had left nearby.

To Hilda’s horror, the kindling caught fire immediately, the flames licking hungrily at the air. “Oh no! Fire! Fire!” she squeaked, flapping her wings frantically in an attempt to extinguish the flames. But the more she flapped, the bigger the fire grew, sending up a trail of smoke that darkened the cabin.

Benny, alerted by Hilda’s panicked squeaks, rushed back into the kitchen, his eyes widening at the sight of the flames dancing wildly. “Hilda! What did you do?” he shouted, trying to suppress a mix of amusement and fear.

“I-I was just admiring the candle!” Hilda stammered, flapping her wings in a futile attempt to blow the flames away.

Benny quickly grabbed a pot of honey and poured it over the flaming kindling, shouting, “Sweeten it up! Sweeten it up!” The honey doused the fire, creating a sticky mess that smelled absolutely divine but was not quite the solution they needed.

After a few moments filled with chaos, the flames died down, leaving behind a charred mess of kindling and a very sticky, very frazzled hummingbird. Hilda looked around, her beak covered in honey and her feathers singed. “Well, that was sticky!” she said with a nervous chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.

Benny, covered in gooey honey as well, couldn’t help but laugh. “Next time, let’s just stick to enjoying the carrot cake instead of playing with fire!”

From that day forward, Hilda became known as the Hummingbird of Fire, not because she was fierce, but because she had a knack for igniting chaos wherever she went. And while she may have started a fire in Benny’s cabin, she also ignited plenty of laughter in Flutterville, proving that sometimes even clumsiness can bring a little light—just maybe not in the form of flames!

And as for the carrot cake? Well, let’s just say it was the sweetest reward after a day of accidental disasters!

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A Bedtime StoryBy Matthew Mitchell