An eclectic collection of short stories whimsically covering our connection to nature and nature's connection to itself. Each story is quirky, extremely short and slightly left of center with an Aesop's Fables-like moral. OLIVER is a cat. He is able to help identify the thieves that broke into his house and tried to murder his owner. - ED is a dancing cockatoo whose favorite actor is John Travolta. - The RINGS of a tree are able to transmit historical audio data via a ‘tree stethoscope’. - THE ANTS decide that the antennae of all the ants in their colony are getting shorter, and decide to move on to another colony. - A time-traveling WHALE imparts the secrets of the universe to a drowning man. What do these stories share in common? They are part of OLIVER and other short stories .