Mira Learns That Just Because Something Is A Plant, Doesn't Mean It Can't Be An Animal Too

When Mira was in second grade, she brought her spider plant to school for show and tell. She proudly announced to the class "This is my pet plant, Daniel." Her teacher, Mrs. Humpleton, arranged her features in a stern expression and said "Mira, a plant can not be a pet! Only animals are pets. And a plant is not an animal." Mira felt a bit suspicious about Mrs. Humpletons assertion, but she was still at a young age and believed that teachers were infallible. And throughout Mira's life, Mrs. Humpleton was proven right over and over again. Every time Mira went to the zoo, all the animals were just animals. In the botanical garden, all the plants had no eyes or mouths to identify them as animals too. But one day while wandering the graveyard (where she always went when she needed space to think), she met the strangest of creatures. This creatures very existence seemed to demand questions of all Mira's previous biological assumptions. Not only was this creature a plant, but it most certainly was an animal too. He had a face and a body of an animal, but branches and leaves like an autumn tree. After this day, Mira never looked at the world in black and white terms again. Sometimes she would stare up at the sky and think "maybe the sky is the ground!" or she'd be swimming in the sea and think "Maybe I'm swimming through both water and air." Sometimes people were confused by Mira, but they always appreciated her unique world view.