Page 8 - SB-Newton and the Needy Newts

I decided to call the newt who had caused the problem with the red rock dust, Newton. I could never get close enough to asks him his name (newts are kind of afraid of birds as large as a crow), so I kept my distance. I could see them very well and hear most of what was going on with this bunch of needy newts.
I learned that newts are always comparing themselves to each other. I realized that they did this because they need each other’s admiration and approval. Now I will be the first to admit that it is nice when others say nice things to you or tell you that you have done a good job at this or that. But these newts seemed to take it to an extreme.
I noticed that one group of newts had more strips than the others. So I called this group the banded newts. Well, it turned out that they had a thing about who had the darkest stripes. They tried all kinds of things to get their stripes darker. Some of them decided that if they stayed out in the sun, their stripes would get darker. So they stayed out in the sun on a hot rock, all day long, day after day.
I watched them from the shade of an old pine tree. And you know what? Their stripes did get darker. In fact, their whole body became darker. They became so dark that the only place they could hide from predators was in the shadow of a rock or tree. Now, they could not go out on to the open ground or green forest for food and were very hungry. They also had the same problem people have who foolishly stay out in the sun too long ... sunburn.
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