Somewhere Between: A Cloud Forest Tale of a Hummingbird, Tree Frog and Three-Toed Sloth
- Mark E.Silverstein
- Sep 25
- 10 min read
Out in the universe
somewhere between
one starry galaxy and the next
turns the Milky Way.
Nestled in the Milky Way,
somewhere between
one star and another
spins our solar system.
In our solar system,
Somewhere between
the sun and the moon
revolves planet Earth.
On Earth,
somewhere between
the cold, white ice-capped North and South Poles
lay the warm and lush-green regions known as the tropics.
In the tropics
somewhere between
the continents of North and South America
curls a narrow strip of land called Central America.
In Central America
somewhere between
the nations of Nicaragua and Panama
sits the Republic of Costa Rica.
In Costa Rica
somewhere between
the salty ocean shores of the Atlantic and Pacific
are rainforests known by the local people as selvas.
In the selvas of Costa Rica
somewhere between
one lowland rainforest and another
rise the mountains of the cloud forests.
In the cloud forests
somewhere between
one high mountain peak and another
is a place named the Children’s Eternal Cloud Forest.
In the Children’s Eternal Cloud Forest, as in all selvas,
somewhere between
the ground and the sky
grows a dense, green blanket of plants called the tree canopy.
In the tree canopy
somewhere between
the shadowy darkness through which no rays of sun can cut
and the open-space gaps where the sun shines bright
grow tall trees called the Cecropia.
Somewhere between
the sky above and the Earth below
Be it in the Children’s Eternal Cloud Forest
or elsewhere on the globe
Somewhere between
the seen and the unseen
may be found the answers to the questions of
what was
what is
and what will be.
Somewhere between one leaf and another on a Cecropia branch sits a motionless blue-sided tree frog. With big golden eyes, a sleek green body with silvery-blue striped sides, and a deep crimson belly, this amphibian has suction-cupped pads on its toes to climb and hold fast to slippery tree leaves and limbs. And with a quick flick of a long, sticky tongue it catches flying and creeping bugs.
Among the tree frog’s neighbors are the brown-throated three-toed sloth and the purple-throated mountain gem.
Slowest moving of all mammals on Earth, the dull-colored sloth spends most of its time hanging upside-down on canopy trees and vines by three long claws on each paw, sleeping for hours on end or leisurely munching on Cecropia leaves.
The swift-living purple-throated mountain gem, on the other hand, is a magnificently colored hummingbird, with brilliant bronze and green wings, a purple-patched chin, and a jade-studded crown on its head. With its needle-shaped beak it sucks sweet nectar from hanging heath plant blooms in the canopy trees and Heliconia bushes on the cloud forest floor.
-----
One day the tree frog is visited by the sloth, who exclaims, “How delicious are the Cecropia leaves and how nice it is to hang around and snooze on its branches.”
Agreeing, the tree frog replies, “My dear sloth friend, do you know there is so much more to see in our wonderful selva? Perhaps, if you sleep and daydream less often, you might enjoy all the other wonders in our cloud forest home.”
“Who has the energy for that? Not I,” exclaims the sloth. “I carefully examine the wonders right around me, and take all the time I wish to enjoy all I come upon in my own unhurried way. Besides,” boasts the sloth, “it is my nature to be as I am, as it is your nature to be as you are, my tree frog friend.”
“I suppose you are right,” concedes the tree frog. “We cannot be what we are not. However, it may amaze you to know there are creatures among us that live so very quickly throughout our selva every minute of every day.”
“But,” protests the sloth, “I must certainly see all there is to see as I lounge up in the canopy trees.”
“You may see all your eyes allow you to see as you hang around. But,” challenges the tree frog, “have you ever seen the purple-throated mountain gem, a tiny bird that flies through the trees with dizzying speed, flitting through the vines and trees with the greatest of skill and utmost of ease?”
“I know the birds of our selva,” declares the sloth. “I fear them every day. They have claws that grip and beaks that rip, gliding above the tree canopy with wide turns and stealthy swoops. I speak in fear of the mighty harpy eagle which can pluck me from a tree branch and make a slow-food meal of me. This is the bird of the selva I know all too well,” exclaims the sloth.
“So, my tree frog friend,” asks the sloth, “could you describe this purple-throated mountain gem to me?”
“I’ll be delighted to,” chirps the tree frog. “This hummingbird has feathers that ignite in the sunlight with brilliant colors from the tip of its tail to the top of its brow. With knife-like wings that hum when it flies, it hovers and dives, and spins all around, and darts straight through our selva in search of flowers to draw their syrupy nectar.”
“Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmph,” drawls the sloth. “I have seen not a glimpse of such an odd creature as this hummingbird you describe.”
“Well, my three-toed friend,” declares the tree frog, “you move too slow and the hummingbird travels too quickly before your eyes can see it or ears can hear it. It’s as if to you it does not even exist.”
“But there are signs throughout our selva that prove this tiny bird lives among us,” continues the tree frog. “Do you not see the heath plants on high and those bushy Heliconia thickets below, both of which keep you hidden from the harpy eagle you fear so? Well,” explains the tree frog, “as the mountain gem sips the nectar, it also pollinates the flowers from which grows fruit in which are the seeds that sprout new plants on which grow the leaves for you to eat and gives a home to you and to me.”
“Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,” groans the sloth. “How can you see this speeding shot of a bird, and I cannot?”
“My large eyes allow me to see things that move speedily by. But your head and eyes move far too slowly for you to see the mountain gem as it goes past,” replies the tree frog.
“But,” exclaims the sloth, “how can there be such an odd bird as this purple-throated mountain gem, with its peculiar feathers and beak and the ways it flies around making a humming sound?
“A very good question,” croaks the tree frog. “Perhaps as you relax up here in the tree canopy, you ought not also rest on the only what you are able see, and consider that there could be things all around you of which you are unaware, but still are important in your life.”
“I will need to sleep on this,” sighs the sloth. “But I have one more question. How did you get those big golden eyes by which you can see such things as this speedy hummingbird?”
“Hmm…this I do not know,” admits the tree frog. “But just as you are, this is how I am made. Perhaps I must seek answers to mysteries of my own. After all, I am just a simple blue-sided tree frog.”
And with that, the sloth slowly winds its way through the tree branches, while slowly chewing on a Cecropia leaf and on the message it was just given by the tree frog.
-----
Soon, zipping through the twisted maze of limbs and leaves, comes a purple-throated mountain gem. The hummingbird declares, “How delicious is the nectar in the flowers and delightful it is today flying through the air of our cloud forest lair.”
Agreeing, the tree frog also replies, “My dear hummingbird friend, have you noticed how peaceful it is in this misty tree canopy? Perhaps you should slow down some to enjoy the stillness in our cloud forest home you miss while racing through your busy day.”
“Who has time for that? Not I,” exclaims the mountain gem. “There are so many flowers from which to drink. Besides,” boasts the hummingbird, “it is my nature to be as I am, as it is your nature to be as you are, my tree frog friend.”
“I suppose you are right,” concedes the tree frog. “We cannot be what we are not. However, it may amaze you to know there are creatures living among us who move slowly and see so much of what is right around them all day long.”
“But,” protests the hummingbird, “I must certainly see all there is to see as I fly all through our lovely selva.”
“You may notice all your eyes allow you to take in as you fly around. But,” challenges the tree frog, “have you ever seen a mammal called the brown-throated tree-toed sloth living up here in our tree canopy?”
“I know the mammals in our tree canopy,” declares the hummingbird. “I fear them every day. They have piercing claws and powerful jaws, and agile leaping legs to pounce on their prey. It’s the small jungle cat called the margay. With dappled golden-brown fur and the longest of striped tails, it silently prowls and if one catches me unawares, even in mid-air, I will surely become its yummy, hummy treat. These are the mammals of our selva I know all too well,” exclaims the mountain gem.
“So, my tree frog friend,” asks the hummingbird, “could you describe to me this three-toed sloth?”
“I’ll be delighted to,” chirps the tree frog. “The sloth lives high in the selva, attaching itself to branches or vines by its three long claws on each of its paws. Most of its day is spent either sleeping or slowly chewing on leaves. Its shaggy gray coat is home to moths that graze on greenish algae growing on its fur like a pasture of grass. And what’s more,” continues the tree frog, “while the sloth will remain up in the trees to give birth to its young, it comes down to the ground to deposit and bury its dung.”
“Hm,” hums the hummingbird. “I have seen neither hide nor green-tinged hair of such a strange animal as this sloth you describe.”
“Well, my mountain gem friend,” declares the tree frog, “you travel so fast and the sloth moves so slowly that your darting eyes pass right by before you have time to notice. It’s as if to you this sloth does not even exist.”
“But there are signs all around our selva that this sloth lives among us,” continues the tree frog. “Do you not see these vines and trees and flowering heaths on high and the shaded Heliconia bushes below, from which you draw the nectar that gives you the energy to keep you on the go-go-go? Well,” explains the tree frog, “the sloth’s buried droppings become fertilizer which feeds these plants whose flowers you so rely on for food.”
“Hm,” quickly quips the mountain gem. “How is it you can see this slow-poke mammal, and I cannot?”
“My suction-cupped toes allow me to hold tight to the slippery canopy tree branches and leaves so that I may lie in wait for crawling creatures to come my way. But your head and eyes move far too quickly to see the slow-moving things that I can see,” replies the tree frog.
“But,” exclaims the hummingbird, “how is it possible that there is such an odd kind of creature as this slow-poking sloth, with its long-hooked claws and fur-living moths?”
“A very good question,” croaks the tree frog. “Perhaps as you flash and dash through the selva, you ought to ponder longer what you may not be able to see, and consider that there may be things all around you of which you are unaware, but still are important in your life.”
“I must be going now,” sighs the mountain gem. “But I have one more question. How did you get those suction cups on the tips of your toes and your fingers so you can stick around so still and linger to be able to see this slow-moving sloth on the boughs of these trees?”
“Hmm...this I do not know,” admits the tree frog. “But just as you are, this is how I am made. Perhaps I must seek answers to mysteries of my own. After all, I am just a simple blue-sided tree frog.”
And with that, the hummingbird instantly whirls around and zips away in its constant quest for nectar-filled heath and Heliconia blooms. But this time it is also drinking in the message it was just given by the tree frog.
-----
Again alone, the tree frog patiently waits for a meal to come its way.
“Perhaps,” muses the tree frog to itself, “the hummingbird and sloth will each come to know the other does exist and how each helps sustain the selva, each in its own miraculous way; even if they never set their sights on each other.”
Now the tree frog has also been left to ponder the sloth’s question of how it came to have large golden eyes to see quick-moving things, and the hummingbird’s question of how it came to have suction cups to hold fast to slippery tree limbs and leaves.
So, this day turns out not to be just any other cloud forest day, not for the brown-throated three-toed sloth, not for the purple-throated mountain, and not even for the blue-sided tree frog.
Having sat as long as a sloth might sit, but with the impatience of a hummingbird, the tree frog seeks another perch in search of a meal. In doing so, it takes a good, long look with its large golden eyes far into the tree canopy dankness out where the hummingbird flew; and then, gripping tightly to a branch with its suction-cupped toes like the sloth with its hooked claws, from somewhere between one broad Cecropia tree leaf and another, the tree frog springs high and out through the cloud-shrouded air hoping to safely land on another tree bough somewhere between the moist selva tree canopy above and the cloud forest floor below.
In doing so, the blue-sided tree frog takes its own leap of faith.
-----
Somewhere between
the sky above and the Earth below
Be it in the Children’s Eternal Cloud Forest
or elsewhere on the globe
Somewhere between
the seen and the unseen
may be found the answers to the questions of
what was
what is
and what will be.
Short Description/Summary:
Based on actual fauna, flora, and location, the tale is a fantasy about two parallel conversations: one between a sloth and a tree frog, the other between the tree frog and a hummingbird. The premise is that, while the hummingbird and sloth do not know of each other’s existence because of the disparate speeds at which each functions, the tree frog’s ability to sit quietly while tracking flying prey allows it to observe both. As such, the tree frog describes each to the other and explains their respective ecological roles in the Costa Rican cloud forest.
Comments