The Creature of Habit

A story for creatures of habit big and small who might be surprised by the joy of trying something new

On the island of Habit, there lives a very big creature with big teeth, big eyes, and very big feet. Every day the creature does the exact same things in the exact same order. He gets up in the morning, eats three pineapples and two bananas, collects shells, says hello to the fish, rocks, trees, and crabs of the island before he eats three more pineapples and two bananas, and finally goes to bed.

It is exactly the way the big creature likes it. That is, until a small boat carrying a very small creature with small teeth, small eyes, and very, very small feet arrives on the island. At first the big creature is excited to show the little creature around and explain how things are done on the island, but the small creature has his own ideas.

He does not like pineapples or bananas, but he does like coconuts. Instead of saying hello to the fish, he swims with them. And instead of collecting shells, he collects…well, everything else. Also, the little creature does something different every day–it’s madness, thinks the big creature.

Can these two creatures learn to appreciate each other? Is the island big enough for both of them? Told with heart and humor, this is a story about being open to new ways of doing things.