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.
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