A short story to be read to a child

                                                                 The Tree & The Dove

Once upon a time, a very long time ago when animals and trees could talk, there was a beautiful white dove. Although she had the whole wide sky to fly in, at night time she always flew home. Day after day she would soar up into the clouds to explore and see all that she could see. Some days she would fly through great white clouds as fluffy and soft as cotton but other days the clouds could be dark and stormy.

When the clouds were white and the warm yellow sun was shining through, flying was easy and fun. It wasn’t so easy though when the dark clouds gathered. Then the little dove had to use all the strength in her beautiful white wings to fly through them. The winds around the dark gray storm clouds were as strong as they could be. They bounced the little dove around in the air and ruffled her feathers. One day in a storm she got so tired she knew she just had to find a place to rest. No matter how hard she looked she could not find a single tree to rest in. By the time the storm was over and the gray clouds had gone away she had been blown far far away from her old home

In the days that followed she tried very hard to find her way home. Each night just before it got dark she would find a rocky corner on the side of a mountain and rest until the sun came back up in the morning. Day after day in the warmth of the morning sun she would fluff her wings and soar up into the sky, always looking for her home. Sometimes at the end of the day she felt very sad and was afraid she would have to live among the cold rocks forever. But deep down inside she had a feeling that there might be a place of rest and safety just beyond the next cloud, a shelter where she could rest and be safe from the strong winds that came from the huge gray clouds. Day after day she flew on, searching and hoping that this would be the day she would find the home she longed for.

One day as the beautiful dove was flying along she saw a mountain far off on the horizon jagged and rough looking standing out against the sky. It was near the end of the day so she flew nearer to the mountain and began to look for another place where she could stop and rest. All the mountains she had seen in her long journey had been very tall and rocky. At first this mountain looked the same but as she flew she saw it was different because on the side of this mountain there was a very scraggly looking little tree growing out on the edge of a rocky cliff.

This sad looking tree had been clinging to its rocky little spot on the mountain through storm after storm for many years there on the cliff. Because it lived on the cliff it only had a small bit of rocky soil to put its roots in. With so little good soil to get water and food from it could never grow tall and straight towards the sky like all the other trees that lived below it in the valley.

The dove was curious about this crooked little tree and so she turned toward it. Closer and closer she flew until she found herself settling down onto one of the crooked little tree's twisted branches. She rested there for a few minutes as she looked the tree up and down to see what it was like. “It’s as good a place as any to spend the night”, she thought so she fluffed her feathers up against the chilly night air, and tucked her weary head under her wing to wait for the warm morning sun.

After a bit she became aware of a faint vibration in the branch where she was resting. She didn’t know what to make of that. And then it stopped. As she tucked her head back under her wing, she felt the vibration again. And then it stopped again. Once again she put her head under her wing to wait for the morning light. Then, there it was again...a vibration.

Since the vibration started every time she nodded off to sleep, the little dove thought maybe the tree was trying to tell her something so she remained very very still and listened carefully trying to hear what message this twisted little tree might have for her. She soon realized that it was talking to her.

It wasn't long before she began to feel peaceful and safe for the first time. Puzzled at this, she cocked her delicate head to one side as if to listen more closely for something from this poor stunted tree that might explain this new feeling of calm and safety. She felt the tree telling her that it understood she needed shelter and rest and she could stay as long as she needed to. If she would perch very close to his trunk he would try to protect her so that she could rest and regain her strength for the rest of her journey.

For many, many days she stayed, gaining strength with each passing day. And as she began to think it might be time to continue her quest she became aware that perhaps this was what she had been looking for, this was what her quest was. And so she decided to stay a bit longer.

One morning, many months later, the little dove awoke and looked around her and felt the tree's vibrations again. Now, the tree had not talked to her for a long time. As she listened this time ever so carefully she realized the tree was singing. While she listened to this beautiful tree she looked closely at the tree and noticed a wonderful change in her poor little tree. It had not gotten any taller but it had grown strong and its branches seemed a little straighter. As she felt the tree's song vibrating through her now rested wings she understood what had happened.

This tree had only needed a reason beyond its own pride to grow. With the little dove there to shelter and protect, the sad little tree wasn’t sad anymore and so it had forced it roots down through the cold rocks to the soil beneath them and found the nourishment it needed to grow strong because at last it had a reason to grow. It had another to soul share the days with and to care for. So the little dove decided to stay there, in the gentle sheltering arms of her crooked little tree while the tree continued to vibrate its beautiful song of life through its branches and into the life of the beautiful white dove.

Even though this happened long, long ago and even though trees and birds can no longer talk, their ancient songs continue to echo, reminding us that having someone to care for and protect is surely the greatest purpose and source of strength any of us can have.