Mandy (left), Anna (center) and Ryan (right)

    One cold winter day, Anna, Mandy and Ryan were playing at the end of the driveway as they waited for the school bus. It was a very cold winter in Connecticut and snow covered the ground. I was enjoying the warmth of my coffee and watching the children play in the snow. All the sudden Anna poked her head up out from the snow, and she spotted something in my direction. She called to me, pointed toward me with surprise, and excitedly motioned to have me look down on the step I was standing on. In that moment, we all took interest in what this find might be. The three children ran over to see, and I glared down by my feet to inspect this find.

    “Look mom! It’s a woolly bear caterpillar, “Anna said.

    “Wow! How could this be?” I wondered. “We don’t usually see caterpillars in the winter.” I spoke out in disbelief.

    “This one doesn’t look too good,” Ryan responded. He carefully scooped up the frozen caterpillar into his hand and examined it closely.

    “It looks dead,” Mandy said. It was stiff and icicles covered it bristles.

    “It’s a goner,” Anna announced.

    “I don’t think so,” said Ryan. “I think it’s just cold. Maybe if we bring it into the house, it will warm up.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I mean it’s worth a try, and besides, how can we just leave it out here frozen on the ground?”

    “Good thinking, Ryan” I said. “It’s worth a try.”

    The two girls just looked at each other. “It’s a goner for sure.” said Mandy. “I agree with Anna. There’s no way this insect could survive this cold weather, especially since it is clearly frozen like an ice cube.”

    The three children heard the roar of the bus in the distance. “Let's go guys,” said Mandy. “It’s the bus!” she called.  They all ran to the end of the driveway. The big yellow school bus roared down the hill and the loud brakes squeaked to a halt. Anna, Mandy and Ryan all hoped on the bus and waved goodbye. They bus took off, as quickly as it came. “Have a faba-lish-ish day!” I called out. Something I have always said to them as they hopped on the bus.

    I took my last sip of coffee and closed the front door. As I began to walk away from the door, something made me wonder if the girls’ decision to leave the caterpillar outside was the right one. Ryan seemed convinced that the caterpillar was just in a sleep state. I started to think that Ryan could possibly be on to something. I went into the kitchen and got a piece of paper off the table. I went back to the front door and opened it. I slipped the paper under the frozen, stiff caterpillar. As I walked back into the house, I wondered what I should do with it. The phone rang, and I put the paper, which still had the stiff caterpillar on it, down on the counter. My phone conversation went on for a while, and when it was over, I walked out of the room and on to do other things. I completely forgot about the dead caterpillar.

    A few hours later, I walked back into the kitchen to fix myself a sandwich for lunch. As I approached the counter, my eye fixated on the paper. Oh yeah, I have to do something with this caterpillar before Anna, Mandy and Ryan get home.  I thought. Then I looked closer. “Wait! What happened to it?  It’s Gone!” I yelled out loud. At that moment, I scanned the whole counter with my eyes. I continued to look down the counter and onto the floor.  The caterpillar was inching away on the floor as if it never was frozen. “Yay! Our caterpillar is alive!” I called out in joy and amazement. 

    I decided to surprise Anna, Mandy and Ryan and show them the caterpillar was alive after all. Hmm, now what? I thought. After a few minutes of thinking, I went into the garage and pulled out an old plastic container. I went outside and collected some sticks and old leaves I found lying in the snow, laying in debris around the foundation of the house.  I put the caterpillar in its new home wondering what I was going to do with this caterpillar. I couldn't put the caterpillar back outside or it would freeze again. 

    As I looked at the kitchen clock, I saw I had a few more hours before Anna, Mandy and Ryan got home from school. I set up my laptop and began to research how to raise a woolly bear caterpillar. I spent a long time researching, including how to feed it.  Minutes turned into hours, and soon I realized the familiar sound of squeaking breaks of the school bus stopping in front of my house. Really, how did it get to be four o’clock already? I thought. I instantly jumped from the table where I was researching on my laptop and ran to the door. 

    Anna, Mandy and Ryan ran up to the step of the house assuming the frozen caterpillar would still be there. Ryan took closest observation. He looked down at the porch step. “Hey, what happened to the caterpillar?” he asked. 

    The two girls called in unison, “Mom! What did you do with the frozen caterpillar?” I smiled. “Mom did you throw it in the woods?” Mandy asked.  

    “No, come inside I have something to show you,” I replied.

    Ryan bolted through the door. Anna and Mandy ran and followed. They tried to outrun each other as if they were trying to get to the finish line in a race. I was hustling behind them in anticipation. I couldn’t wait to see their reactions.  They all surrounded the plastic bin and quietly looked in.. Their eyes got wide. 

    “I knew it! See! I told you it wasn’t dead,” Ryan cheered. “I knew it would come back to life if we brought it back inside.” he said as he was petting it, gently.  

    Anna and Mandy took a deep breath, relieved that it was indeed alive. “Mom, please! Can we keep it?” They three yelled in excitement. 

    “Sure.” I said happily. “If this is going to be your new pet, you need to help take care of it, but first we need to name it.”

    “It’s a woolly bear caterpillar,” said Anna. “Let’s call it woolly bear.”

    “No, that’s too long of a name,” said Mandy

    “Then how about Woolly, short for woolly bear,” Ryan suggested.

    “That’s a great name!” I said.

    “Woolly it is!” The three shouted in unison. They all agreed.

    Anna threw down her back pack and headed right for the computer. “We need to find out what woolly bears like to eat,” she said in a very serious voice. She opened her favorite search engine and to her surprise many interesting facts appeared. She discovered that in warm months, Caterpillars spend most of their insect life eating. 

    “Hey, Mandy and Ryan, do you like cabbage or spinach?” Anna asked her twin siblings. “Woolly bear caterpillars like both. They also eat clover, herbs, grass, weeds and dandelions. Hey mom, do you think we can get some of those food items?” Anna asked as she looked up from the computer.

    “Woolly will be sick of spinach by the time we get that food,” Mandy said. “We can go to the pet store. They sell cat grass,” she added as she stroked her favorite cat, Bebe. “I remember seeing that the last time we were there to buy food for Bebe. 

    “I’ll see what I can do tomorrow Mandy,” I said, “but for now Woolly will have to chew on the dead leaf I found outside.” 

Mandy and Bebe

(Bay-Bay)

    The next day, while the three children headed off to school, I went out in high blustery winds to get more information on feeding Woolly. We couldn’t get grass under all of our snow, and our grass was brown anyway, I realized. I hopped in my car and drove to the pet store. I walked into the store and a kind store clerk greeted me. “Welcome to the pet store! How can I help you?” asked the clerk. 

    “Well, you may think I’m a little nuts, but I am here to find food for a caterpillar,” I said. 

    The clerk gave a little chuckle and said he would recommend cat grass. That’s exactly what Mandy suggested, I thought. “Is it safe to give a caterpillar grass that is meant for a cat?” I asked the clerk. 

    He got real red in his face, trying to hold back laughter. He said, “Of course! It is a CAT-erpillar after all!”. After a good laugh, I bought a container of green grass and took it home to Woolly.  “Humm, I guess I am going to have to share this with our two cats, Monty and Bebe,” I muttered under my breath.

    The next day rolled around, and it was time for Anna, Mandy and Ryan to go to school. The day seemed long, but I decided to get some typing done for articles I was writing. Finally, four o’clock neared and the bus stopped at our house. Anna, Mandy and Ryan bounced into the house with anticipation of what I bought for Woolly that day. They slammed their back packs onto the floor, kicked off their shoes, and ran into the dining room toward Woolly. 

    “I see you got some cat grass for Woolly, mom,” said Mandy. “Yes, you were right, Mandy. That was a great idea,” I replied. 

    Mandy lifted Woolly out of the plastic container and put Woolly on the cat grass. “Oh no! Monty and Bebe are coming, Mandy,” Anna said very alarmed. 

    “The cats are going to eat Woolly!” Ryan said.

    The cats calmly observed the grass and Woolly. “Perhaps they will be friends’” I stated. 

Anna, Mandy

& Monty (Left)

Ryan & Bebe (right)

    Anna continued to search for more information about how to care for Woolly. “Hey, Mandy and Ryan,” she called. “Did you know, woolly bear caterpillars do not eat at all during the winter months?” Mandy and Ryan got wide eyed. “In fact, they hibernate, or sleep in a safe spot all winter long. Some hiding spots include: under bark, leaves, or a log,” she read. 

    “Hey that is just like a bear!” says Ryan. 

    “Hibernating all winter long is not the only thing these two have in common” I said as I read over Anna’s shoulder. “They also have a winter coat, bristly like and bear, and that’s why this caterpillar is called a woolly bear caterpillar.” I added.