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Description
      There was a small, pink room in a house with many rooms. In the very center of this room, a very young girl on was splayed out on her pink plush carpet, a picture book laying open on the floor in front of her. On its pages there was drawn an animal, one that managed to grasp the attention and imagination of the pixie-ish girl that gazed at it in rapt fascination. As she sat there, she tried to get her mouth and mind to work together so she could sound out the word printed below the creature in bold letters.
     “Z-zuh...zee...bra?” she said hesitantly, rolling the word around on her tongue. She paused for a moment, then a bright smile spread across her face.
     “Zebra...” she breathed, loving the way the spiky word seemed to meld together perfectly with the creature’s stripes. After all, the stripes were the selling point. She ran her chubby little fingers over each of the stripes in turn and wondered how the creature had been blessed with such a captivating pattern.
     Well, there was only one way to find out.
     Carefully, so carefully, she shut the book and placed it on her bed, which, like everything else, was a pale pink. Then, she gathered up her determination and walked out of the room.
     Once in the hallway, she was forced to make a choice. There were four doors to choose from, each leading to one of her siblings. She paused for a moment and let herself consider. Her older sister Sila knew everything, right? Well, zebras’ stripes fell under ‘everything’, didn’t they? This in mind, she walked up to the first door on the other side of the hallway and banged on it open-palmed, the most effective way to get noticed since she couldn’t reach the doorknob.
     After a few moments, the door swung open and a severe-looking girl poked her head out...then glanced down through her thin glasses. “Hello, Meggy...can I help you with something?” she inquired politely.
     Meggy looked down at her feet and gave a shy nod. “Sila, why do zebras have stripes?” she asked, noting with pleasure that she’d managed to pronounce every word perfectly.
     The older girl blinked, then replied, “It has to do with natural selection, dear. You see, zebras live in the grasslands where stripes would serve as excellent camouflage. So, in other words, zebras evolved to have stripes over time. In accordance with Darwin’s theory, of course.”
     Meggy had stood there silently throughout the explanation, her eyes growing wider with every word that contained more than one syllable. By the time Sila had finished, Meggy’s eyes were practically the size of saucers. She nodded dumbly. “Fank you,” she whispered, too overwhelmed to ever remember to take care with her ‘th’s.
     Sila looked down at her sister and sighed. “You didn’t understand a word of that, did you?” she asked.
     Meggy paused, then shook her head reluctantly.
     Sila gave another sigh, then opened the door a little bit more so she could kneel in front of her sister. She pushed a white-blond strand of hair out of Meggy’s eyes and behind an ear. “Why don’t you go talk to Poly, love? She’s much better at speaking to small children,” she said regretfully.
     Meggy nodded, and then padded off down the hallway, leaving a slightly unhappy sister behind her.
     The room diagonal to Sila’s, next to Meggy’s, was Poly’s. The door was covered in little splats of paint and such and was always left slightly open for Meggy’s convenience. The small girl, encouraged by the lively classical music drifting through the crack in the door, stepped inside. “Poly?” she asked, almost hesitantly. She walked a little farther in, and shut the door almost all the way behind her. She looked around until she noticed the perfectly still form doing a kind of clumsy handstand on the bed. Meggy walked over and tugged on the mismatched covers. “Poly?” she asked again, a little louder this time.
     “Hussshhh, Meggy. I’m trying to get in touch with my inner duck!” the girl on the bed demanded.
     Meggy was silent for a second, then protested, “But I need your help with something!”
     Poly immediately bounced off the bed. “Why didn’t ya say so? Wazzup, short stuff?” she asked, looking down at Meggy with a cheery grin.
     “Zebras,” was the resolute answer.
     “Stripeyful ponies? ‘Kay, what about ‘em?” she replied.
     “Why are they s-stripeyf-ful?” Meggy asked, stumbling only a little over Poly’s new word.
     Poly looked thoughtful. “Well, you see, zebras are really nature’s canvas. Monkeys paint ‘em all the time—“
     Here she was interrupted by a little gasp.
     “Monkeys live in the same place as zebras?” Meggy asked, awestruck
     Poly shrugged. “Yes. No. Maybe. I dunno. Anyway, it doesn’t matter! What matters is that what looks like fur is really zebra mascara! Like makeup!” she finished, looking proud of herself.
     “Really?” Meggy asked in return.
     Poly shook her head. “No. Actually, I have no idea why zebras have stripes. Go ask Srool...wait, no, don’t. She knows more about the insides of animals. Go bug Chykal!” she commanded, falling back onto her bed and pointing out the door.
     Meggy nodded faintly and walked out of the room. She hesitated a moment before ‘knocking’ on Chykal’s door as she heard two different voices in her brother’s room. However, she decided that the extra person would just be extra help and banged on the door.
     “Who is it?” a peevish voice she recognized to be her brother’s answered.
     “Meggy!” she called back, fidgeting slightly as she awaited his response.
     She could hear his exasperated sigh all the way through the door, but he still got up and let her in. She could immediately see why he was so annoyed. Chykal’s easel was set up and a half-finished sketch was sprawled over the top of it. Chykal hated to be interrupted while he was working. Also, his best friend Salem was perched on the bed, giving Meggy a warm smile. “What can we do for you, Meggy?” he asked her, ignoring the glare Chykal was giving him.
     Meggy turned so that she was facing Chykal and asked, “If it’s okay...why do zebras have stripes?”
     Chykal looked a little surprised, but walked back to the easel and tacked a sheet of sketch paper over his current work. He grabbed a pen and started drawing.
     “For aesthetic reasons,” he started, and then drew a quick sketch. He stepped away from the easel to show her a beautiful white mare. “Don’t worry, I don’t expect you to know what that means. I’m not Sila. What it means is...well, this is a nice horse, right?” he asked.
     Without quite getting it, Meggy nodded.
     Chykal went back to work. “But it’s not very interesting to look at, is it?” he continued, drawing a little more. Soon, a zebra gazed out at her, dappled in inky black lines. “On the other hand, this one has its own distinct—that means special—beauty,” he finished, pulling off the drawing and handing it to her. “Here.”
     She clutched at the drawing protectively. “So...they have stripes ‘cuz they’re pretty?” she asked.
     Chykal nodded solemnly.
     They looked at each other for a moment before the silence was broken by Salem’s laughter.
     “Chykal, don’t fill your sister’s head with nonsense! Meggy, come here,” Salem said, patting the bed next to him. Meggy clambered up and immediately settled herself in his lap. He didn’t seem to mind, though, and simply patted her on the head.
     “Now, you’ve played hide and seek before, right?” he asked her gently.
     Meggy nodded; it was one of her favorite games.
     “Well, if you were wearing a black shirt, you wouldn’t hide in front of a white house, would you?” he asked.
     Meggy giggled and shook her head.
     “Of course not,” he continued, “You’d hide somewhere black, or you’d change your shirt. That’s what zebras did. They like to hide in big, tall grass, so they picked stripes to help them hide. Does that make sense?” he asked. Meggy nodded, then gave him a hug and jumped off the bed.
     Finally content with an answer, she made her way back to her room.

(Also, if you’re curious, Poly was listening to ‘An American in Paris’ by George Gershwin, and Chykal complained bitterly to Salem afterwards about his explanation being described as ‘nonsense’.)

Description
      There was a small, pink room in a house with many rooms. In the very center of this room, a very young girl on was splayed out on her pink plush carpet, a picture book laying open on the floor in front of her. On its pages there was drawn an animal, one that managed to grasp the attention and imagination of the pixie-ish girl that gazed at it in rapt fascination. As she sat there, she tried to get her mouth and mind to work together so she could sound out the word printed below the creature in bold letters.
     “Z-zuh...zee...bra?” she said hesitantly, rolling the word around on her tongue. She paused for a moment, then a bright smile spread across her face.
     “Zebra...” she breathed, loving the way the spiky word seemed to meld together perfectly with the creature’s stripes. After all, the stripes were the selling point. She ran her chubby little fingers over each of the stripes in turn and wondered how the creature had been blessed with such a captivating pattern.
     Well, there was only one way to find out.
     Carefully, so carefully, she shut the book and placed it on her bed, which, like everything else, was a pale pink. Then, she gathered up her determination and walked out of the room.
     Once in the hallway, she was forced to make a choice. There were four doors to choose from, each leading to one of her siblings. She paused for a moment and let herself consider. Her older sister Sila knew everything, right? Well, zebras’ stripes fell under ‘everything’, didn’t they? This in mind, she walked up to the first door on the other side of the hallway and banged on it open-palmed, the most effective way to get noticed since she couldn’t reach the doorknob.
     After a few moments, the door swung open and a severe-looking girl poked her head out...then glanced down through her thin glasses. “Hello, Meggy...can I help you with something?” she inquired politely.
     Meggy looked down at her feet and gave a shy nod. “Sila, why do zebras have stripes?” she asked, noting with pleasure that she’d managed to pronounce every word perfectly.
     The older girl blinked, then replied, “It has to do with natural selection, dear. You see, zebras live in the grasslands where stripes would serve as excellent camouflage. So, in other words, zebras evolved to have stripes over time. In accordance with Darwin’s theory, of course.”
     Meggy had stood there silently throughout the explanation, her eyes growing wider with every word that contained more than one syllable. By the time Sila had finished, Meggy’s eyes were practically the size of saucers. She nodded dumbly. “Fank you,” she whispered, too overwhelmed to ever remember to take care with her ‘th’s.
     Sila looked down at her sister and sighed. “You didn’t understand a word of that, did you?” she asked.
     Meggy paused, then shook her head reluctantly.
     Sila gave another sigh, then opened the door a little bit more so she could kneel in front of her sister. She pushed a white-blond strand of hair out of Meggy’s eyes and behind an ear. “Why don’t you go talk to Poly, love? She’s much better at speaking to small children,” she said regretfully.
     Meggy nodded, and then padded off down the hallway, leaving a slightly unhappy sister behind her.
     The room diagonal to Sila’s, next to Meggy’s, was Poly’s. The door was covered in little splats of paint and such and was always left slightly open for Meggy’s convenience. The small girl, encouraged by the lively classical music drifting through the crack in the door, stepped inside. “Poly?” she asked, almost hesitantly. She walked a little farther in, and shut the door almost all the way behind her. She looked around until she noticed the perfectly still form doing a kind of clumsy handstand on the bed. Meggy walked over and tugged on the mismatched covers. “Poly?” she asked again, a little louder this time.
     “Hussshhh, Meggy. I’m trying to get in touch with my inner duck!” the girl on the bed demanded.
     Meggy was silent for a second, then protested, “But I need your help with something!”
     Poly immediately bounced off the bed. “Why didn’t ya say so? Wazzup, short stuff?” she asked, looking down at Meggy with a cheery grin.
     “Zebras,” was the resolute answer.
     “Stripeyful ponies? ‘Kay, what about ‘em?” she replied.
     “Why are they s-stripeyf-ful?” Meggy asked, stumbling only a little over Poly’s new word.
     Poly looked thoughtful. “Well, you see, zebras are really nature’s canvas. Monkeys paint ‘em all the time—“
     Here she was interrupted by a little gasp.
     “Monkeys live in the same place as zebras?” Meggy asked, awestruck
     Poly shrugged. “Yes. No. Maybe. I dunno. Anyway, it doesn’t matter! What matters is that what looks like fur is really zebra mascara! Like makeup!” she finished, looking proud of herself.
     “Really?” Meggy asked in return.
     Poly shook her head. “No. Actually, I have no idea why zebras have stripes. Go ask Srool...wait, no, don’t. She knows more about the insides of animals. Go bug Chykal!” she commanded, falling back onto her bed and pointing out the door.
     Meggy nodded faintly and walked out of the room. She hesitated a moment before ‘knocking’ on Chykal’s door as she heard two different voices in her brother’s room. However, she decided that the extra person would just be extra help and banged on the door.
     “Who is it?” a peevish voice she recognized to be her brother’s answered.
     “Meggy!” she called back, fidgeting slightly as she awaited his response.
     She could hear his exasperated sigh all the way through the door, but he still got up and let her in. She could immediately see why he was so annoyed. Chykal’s easel was set up and a half-finished sketch was sprawled over the top of it. Chykal hated to be interrupted while he was working. Also, his best friend Salem was perched on the bed, giving Meggy a warm smile. “What can we do for you, Meggy?” he asked her, ignoring the glare Chykal was giving him.
     Meggy turned so that she was facing Chykal and asked, “If it’s okay...why do zebras have stripes?”
     Chykal looked a little surprised, but walked back to the easel and tacked a sheet of sketch paper over his current work. He grabbed a pen and started drawing.
     “For aesthetic reasons,” he started, and then drew a quick sketch. He stepped away from the easel to show her a beautiful white mare. “Don’t worry, I don’t expect you to know what that means. I’m not Sila. What it means is...well, this is a nice horse, right?” he asked.
     Without quite getting it, Meggy nodded.
     Chykal went back to work. “But it’s not very interesting to look at, is it?” he continued, drawing a little more. Soon, a zebra gazed out at her, dappled in inky black lines. “On the other hand, this one has its own distinct—that means special—beauty,” he finished, pulling off the drawing and handing it to her. “Here.”
     She clutched at the drawing protectively. “So...they have stripes ‘cuz they’re pretty?” she asked.
     Chykal nodded solemnly.
     They looked at each other for a moment before the silence was broken by Salem’s laughter.
     “Chykal, don’t fill your sister’s head with nonsense! Meggy, come here,” Salem said, patting the bed next to him. Meggy clambered up and immediately settled herself in his lap. He didn’t seem to mind, though, and simply patted her on the head.
     “Now, you’ve played hide and seek before, right?” he asked her gently.
     Meggy nodded; it was one of her favorite games.
     “Well, if you were wearing a black shirt, you wouldn’t hide in front of a white house, would you?” he asked.
     Meggy giggled and shook her head.
     “Of course not,” he continued, “You’d hide somewhere black, or you’d change your shirt. That’s what zebras did. They like to hide in big, tall grass, so they picked stripes to help them hide. Does that make sense?” he asked. Meggy nodded, then gave him a hug and jumped off the bed.
     Finally content with an answer, she made her way back to her room.

(Also, if you’re curious, Poly was listening to ‘An American in Paris’ by George Gershwin, and Chykal complained bitterly to Salem afterwards about his explanation being described as ‘nonsense’.)