Clyde the Cookie Camel

Once, somewhere in a local Kroger, buried deep behind rows of boxes of cookies, lay an ordinary bag of animal cookies. Nothing was special about this bag, one among dozens of others, but inside it, a vast ecosystem of cookies thrived in the wild space of what we know to be that ordinary bag. Rhinos, lions, tigers, bears, elephants, wolves, moles, birds, everything you could ever imagine lived within the confines of the plastic container. Among them, two friends, Clyde, a cookie camel, and Achilles, a cookie elephant, sat near a watering hole, talking amongst themselves. 

    “It’s a lovely day, isn’t it,” Achilles said.
    
“Don’t you ever get tired of saying that?” replies Clyde.
    
“No, why?”

You see, Clyde was well aware of the fact they were trapped within the confines of the bag, whereas no other animal knew or understood. He had grown tired of being confined and wished he was free to explore the outside world. What it was like outside, Clyde had no way of knowing. All he knew is that the outside world promised new things, meanwhile he also kept in mind, “new things also means new challenges”. Nevertheless, he was certain it was something he could handle. 

“You know how I’ve told you about the ‘greater world’ right?” Clyde continued.

“Yes, and?” responded Achilles.

“Well, I for one am sick of this place. Look around you Achilles, there’s nothing new to do, no exciting new discoveries, no new people to meet, places to explore, nothing.”

“Clyde, we have everything we could ever want here, and…”

“We have everything you could ever want, Achilles,” Clyde interrupted. “I’ve set my eyes on a new prize! There’s so much to be had out there! So much to explore, so much to do!”

“My friend, your judgement is clouded,” Achilles sighed. “You have everything you could ever want here. For the love of God man, just stay here.”

“I refuse to stay any longer! I can’t take it anymore! So many simple-minded people, so many blind morons! They can’t see! But I…I can see clearly! My destiny lies elsewhere,” Clyde roared. 

“If you so wish, my misguided comrade,” Achilles said, clearly giving up upon convincing Clyde otherwise. 

That night, whilst everyone else slept, Clyde began to enact his escape. Glancing around, he spotted a large log lying near one of the corners of the bag. Without hesitation, he retrieved the log and began to ram the corner with all his might. After many failed attempts, the bag finally gave way, a pale blue light filtering in through the newly created crevice. Clyde tossed the log aside, glancing back at his home one last time. The dim eyes of Achilles greeted him. With a sad but determined expression on his smooth face, he waved back at Achilles. Achilles, in turn, waved back. Clyde then leapt through the hole and plummeted into the unknown depths of the outside world. 

    After what felt like hours, Clyde regained his stance and peered around himself. All around, towering transparent structures, filled to the brim with labeled items, formed a passage, the pale blue light pouring out of them. Clyde, at a loss for words, decided to continue on his voyage. All night he ran through what we know to be a grocery store (Kroger to be specific), taking in everything around him. Rows upon rows of these towering structures were scattered all about. On the opposite side of the enclosure, rows of massive shelves, upon which a black stretch of road lay. Clyde soon learned that this path actually moved and carried whatever was placed upon it towards an area where large yet weird brown packages awaited. Eventually however, dawn soon broke through the transparent walls of the building, and Cylde realized that whoever or whatever populated this area would most likely return soon. 

As quickly as he could, Clyde began to make his way back to the bag where the rest of his friends awaited. Unfortunately, his journey was cut short, as a loud chime echoed through the halls of the store. Shortly after, loud thuds rumbled across the ground, as something massive was approaching. Clyde began to up his pace, but it was no use. A woman dressed in jeans, a blue shirt and apron to match began making her way down the aisle that Clyde was sat in. 
“Maybe if I remain absolutely still, she won’t notice me,” he thought in his panicked state. 

The woman glanced up and down the aisle, inspecting every single inch of it, making sure the store would be as neat as possible for the customers upon their arrival. As she continued her inspection, she noticed what looked to be a cookie sticking out from underneath one of the fridges. 

“Hmm,” she said, bending down to retrieve the item. As she picked it up, she noticed it was a camel, and thought, “Where did you come from, little guy?”

“Unhand me you ruffian!” cried Clyde. “I command you, release me!”

It was no use however, as the woman simply walked back to the front of the store, Clyde in hand, opened a trash bin, and tossed Clyde down into the dark realm of the trash bag. 

“There might be a broken bag somewhere,” she remarked and continued along with her inspection. 

Meanwhile, Clyde awoke to utter darkness surrounding him.


“Where in blazes am I?!” he yelled. “What is all of this stuff? Hello?” he cried, but no answer came. 

“I suppose my curiosity got the better of me, and now here I am to face the consequences presented to me.”

Not long after, though, did the sky brighten as the woman tossed a bag into the depths as well. It crashed down, ever so slightly away from Clyde. 

“What the devil?” he continued as he approached the fallen vessel. 

Peering inside, he was met with voices, voices that he recognized. It was his friends, the whole group, habitat and sh-bang had all been thrown away along with Clyde. 

“Why Clyde, is that you?” echoed the voice of Achilles.

“Achilles! Yes, it’s me!”

“Clyde my friend! I’m so glad to see you!”

“Likewise brother, likewise.”

“Now that that's out of the way, where are we exactly?”
 
“I fear we are in what's called a ‘trash bin’,” replied Clyde. 

“Lord have mercy. I told you, this is what curiosity gets you, Clyde!” boomed Achilles. 

“Yes, I fear I was mistaken, and I offer my sincerest apologies,” said Clyde meekly. 

“Well, as long as you know you're wrong. Plus, you finally did get to see your ‘greater world’, did you not?”

“Yes I did, and you won't believe what I saw!”

    Poor Clyde and Achilles, little did they know that Clyde’s arrogance had cost them their home, and soon, their fates. While he was able to identify a trash bin, he did not know where the contents inside it would end up. So, the moral of this story is that while some curiosity is natural and good, too much of it can have drastic consequences. Thus, one should not take what they have for granted and enjoy it to its finest. Try something new, but don’t entirely forget and dispose of the old ways.

​