There were flowers of various colors on the tundra. In the area where they stopped to rest, there were the most purple and yellow flowers, which were connected in patches and spread on the ground like a flower carpet.
Meili picked a small bunch of flowers nearby and held them in her hands. She was still a little girl and liked these beautiful flowers and plants.
The sun was shining brightly, and she rarely did not wrap her body, head and face in a thick cloak, revealing her fair face. She tilted her head back and squinted her eyes to bask in the sun.
Muri lay down in the distance and watched her, watching her walking among the flowers, stopping from time to time, bending down to pick a flower, her braided red hair slipping from her shoulders and then being casually put back behind her.
She seemed to see something, smiled, gathered her skirt, squatted down and looked carefully.
After a while she came back to him with the little bouquet and sat down in front of his huge head.
"Muri, I saw a hole there. An animal with a hairy tail just went in."
Only then did Mary realize that the polar regions were so lively at this season. There were many small animals living on this piece of blooming tundra.
In addition to the long-haired gray squirrels that could dig holes, she also saw long-legged rabbits and foxes. These were not monsters, but ordinary animals.
These small animals are in the molting season, their fur is mottled and gray, a bit ugly, and they run very fast.
Meili decided to stay here temporarily, not just to rest and look at the flowers every day, but also to take the opportunity to practice archery. This temperature, weather, and environment are just right for her to use the bow and arrow.
Her goal was to hunt enough food for herself... As for Muri, his appetite was even bigger now. He would eat a whole monster each time, and would not eat for several days after that. Mary felt that she could not afford to feed him at the moment.
Hunting is not that easy. Even the most common animals, living in such an environment, are naturally good at escaping and hiding. Mary had to walk for half a day with a bow and arrow on her back before she could find their traces. If she got a little closer, they would immediately hide.
Mary looked back helplessly at Muri who was following her, "Muri, wait for me at a distance." He was so big and made so much noise when he came over, as long as the animals were not stupid, they would know to run away in advance.
After being driven away by Meili, Muri had to lie down on a slightly higher ground, resting his head on the bear's paw and waiting for her to come back from hunting.
An arrow was shot, but missed again. The arrow stuck in the mud at the entrance of the cave, and the prey had already entered the cave.
Mary was not discouraged. She ran over to retrieve the arrow and continued looking for the next target.
After a busy day, the hungry Mary harvested her first prey - a rabbit.
She roasted the rabbit until it was delicious, filling her stomach and feeling a great sense of satisfaction.
Muri was still lying lazily on the side, and Mary left him a rabbit leg so that he could taste it. After all, it was the first time she had hunted food with her own hands, and she wanted to share it with the little bear.
Although there was only a tiny bit of meat and no taste could be detected, Muri still felt very relieved when he saw Mary's happy expression, just like a mother animal seeing her stumbling cub learn how to hunt and finally not starve to death so easily.
He happily went to hunt a monster, had a big meal, and also shared half with Mary.
Meili: "No, I really can't eat anymore."
Since she hunted her first rabbit, Mary became more and more skilled. After hunting enough food for herself every day, she would no longer attack the animals and just practice her aim with the bow.
Each arrow can scare away a small animal that is busy eating or basking in the sun.
She and Murray didn't stay in the same place all the time, walking a little further each day so she could often see different things.
There is a large lake near the area they arrived today. In winter, it is an endless frozen land because the lake is frozen and covered with a layer of snow, so nothing can be seen. In this season, the snow and ice melt and the lake reappears.
The rushing snow water brought schools of fish from the ocean, which passed through the lakes and attracted flocks of birds to prey.
With a natural fish pond where food can be obtained, the flowers and grass piles on the lakeside have become the territory of birds. Many birds are incubating eggs, and some have already hatched baby birds. The gray baby birds chirp non-stop, opening their mouths wide and waiting for their parents to feed them.
Mary quietly went over to take a look and saw the soft little birds hiding in their nests made of moss, with a few newly grown fluffy white feathers on their heads fluttering in the wind.
When she got a little closer, the big birds spread their wings and screamed to drive her away, flying towards her in groups. Mary quickly ran away holding her head.
Murray didn't want to get close to the flock of birds, so he waited on the periphery and watched her run back with a smile.
Even the high-level monsters at the top of the food chain didn't want to provoke these birds, because as long as Murray got close to them, these birds would fly up and circle over his head. The birds all had their own "cannonballs" and if they weren't careful, they would hit him with bird droppings all over his body. He was such a big target, and the area he was hit by was too wide.
Murray looked at the nearby white stones covered with bird droppings with lingering fear, and remembered that when he was a child he came here out of curiosity to play with birds, but... in the end he could only jump into the water and roll around to wash the stuff off his fur.
Some little bears can kill monsters with one blow, but they will hide when they see a flock of birds setting off fireworks.
They consciously bypassed the birds' territory, and when they left, Mary saw a furry little head popping out of a nearby hole.
That was a fox, and it was observing the flock of birds over there. Foxes here are natural enemies of birds, and they are also in the lactation period, and need a lot of food to feed their cubs. Maybe after a while, it will find a suitable opportunity to take one or two baby birds from those bird nests.
Almost all animals are seizing this beautiful season to reproduce and live. Meili clearly feels that she is becoming a part of the polar food chain, just like them.
When she got used to this land, the land accepted her.
They found a smaller river nearby and stopped to rest. There were also sporadic birds fishing here, swooping down from the sky and quickly catching the fish swimming upstream.
Mary looked at the silvery fish and decided to catch some fish today.
She stepped into the water and was nearly knocked down by the rushing current. She finally managed to steady herself, but there were small fish everywhere around her feet, some of which hit her feet, and she still couldn't catch any.
They were too fast and slippery, and she missed them every time she reached out.
Murri watched her clumsily catching fish from the shore for a while, then walked into the stream.
The stream was not wide. As soon as he walked in and lay down, the entire river channel was blocked. A group of fish that were running towards their spawning site at the speed of a 100-meter sprint crashed into a wall of white hair with a crackling sound.
Mary stared at the scene in amazement.
A large number of fish were blocked by Murray's belly, jumping up one after another, and some of them jumped onto the shore.
A few birds came over to take advantage, grabbed a small fish and ran away. Murray did not drive them away, but just signaled Mary to come and enjoy the fruits of victory.
They were all so crowded together that even a blind man could catch them. Mary looked at all the fish and excitedly waded through the water and ran over, closing her eyes to scoop them up from the school of fish and throwing them onto the shore. She could never catch them all.
This is so fun.
but…
"I can't eat all these fish. These are enough." Mary looked at the fish with lingering satisfaction.
Murray put his head on the shore, content to be a dam to block the fish, "I'll eat fish today too."
Mary was shocked, then she lowered her head to fish and caught a big catch.
This kind of fish will only pass by here at this time, so this is the only chance in a year to eat this fish.
Not only Muri and Merry, but they also have to endure being hunted by countless predators along the way, and only the lucky ones left can return to the ocean.
The guests from afar contributed themselves to fill the stomachs of people and animals along the way. Meili caught fish, grilled fish, and ate a belly full of fish. She felt that she was emitting a fishy smell.
She ran to the river to take a bath, and Murray, who was full and ready to take a nap, followed her worriedly. He put half of his body in the water, leaving half of the distance for the river to flow through, and the rest of the distance was separated by an area where the water flowed more slowly. Mary leaned on his soft belly to take a bath.
Taking a shower at this temperature is still very cold, but Mary has almost gotten used to it and can overcome it by gritting her teeth and bearing it.
After washing, hide in the long fur of the Murray and your body will warm up in a short while.
Although they were sleeping on the ground, it was so comfortable to lie on Murri's bed, feeling the night breeze, listening to the crackling of the campfire, and looking at the stars in the sky... Any worries would disappear at this moment.
"This summer is longer than in previous years," said Murray, looking at the sun in the sky.
This is a good thing for the flowers and small animals in the polar regions, but it is not a good thing for most monsters. A longer summer means more ice and snow will melt, and some monsters living in the central polar regions will migrate to other places.
After being out for so long, they decided to go back to the lighthouse. Before they even reached the lighthouse, they were stunned when they saw Mary from afar.
The ice and snow near the lighthouse had actually begun to melt. The terrain here was not high, and the melted snow formed a shallow lake, flooding the area near the lighthouse. Their lighthouse was now standing in the middle of the lake.
Fortunately, the lake was not deep, only up to the calf. Mary sat on Muri and was carried back to the lighthouse by him.
To be fair, the scenery is very beautiful. The clear shallow lake like a mirror reflects the blue sky. The water and the sky are the same color, clear and bright.
But!
Their house was flooded!
There was also a thin layer of water inside the lighthouse, which soaked their floors, boxes, clothes, mattresses and blankets. Their pots were also floating on the water.
Meili froze, then covered her face, "Ah!"
Before Murray could react, he was startled when he heard Mary's sudden scream of despair, and his ears almost popped out.
Even when she was in danger of her life and was almost dying, she never uttered such a cry.
He couldn't understand the shock that a hostess of a house would feel after seeing this scene. Seeing Mary leaning her forehead against his chest, weakly with her eyes staring straight ahead, he felt extremely uneasy.
He tried to comfort her: "Wait until winter, and the water will be gone."
Once upon a time, there was a very long summer that submerged most of the lighthouse. He then wandered around other parts of the polar region, eating and sleeping every day, and lived a pretty good life.
He shook Meili in his hand, and she suddenly raised her head, and her green eyes rekindled the fighting fire. She rolled up her sleeves, took off her shoes and threw them into his hands, jumped into the water, and began to neatly pack up the things in the water one by one, and sent them one by one through the narrow stairs to the top platform of the lighthouse.
There was no way the water could reach there.
Murri peeked in at the door and saw her half-dragging, half-carrying or lifting something heavy, and stomping up the stairs with great energy. He felt strange and wondered if she was really that strong.
Holding her breath, Mary packed up all the things at home, and then, with a sore back, she turned her attention back to Muri.
"The water won't recede. I've packed up my things. Murray, let's stay somewhere else for the time being."
The big bear, who had shrunk his head due to her momentum just now, stretched out his head, "I have experience, I know where to go!"
The polar region is so big, and there are many places she hasn't seen yet. He can take her to see them all.