A Story That Teaches
What does a teaching story do? It teaches by allowing the story to envelop the reader so that you are the story. Therein, the reader is all the parts, the seen and unseen parts, the words written and unwritten. This tradition is a valuable way of journeying through the eyes of your own soul guided by the energy and intent of the written word... How does this story speak to you?
Once upon a time, in a dark forest lived a boy. No one really knows how he came to live in the forest alone. No one really understood how his parents had just left him the dark forest to rove and live alone. The boy was cared for by animals and dreams. The boy was strong of heart and mind. He grew and learned the ways of the dark forest. He listened to the trees talking to each other and they foretold of things to come, like thunderstorms, rain, sun, and snow. The boy learned to listen and knew how to protect himself from these things. He spoke to the trees in their language and learn to speak all the languages of the forest creatures and plants. The trees spoke to each other about love and magic and how the little boy walking beneath their canopy was ever watched and ever protected. The foxes spoke of being clever keeping a watchful eye and nose to the ground. The owls spoke of night noise and interpreting the shape of the moon. The creek-fed pond spoke of the true Life and how to feel the rhythm of water and flow. The acorns from majestic wise oak spoke of how small seemingly insignificant things can sustain life and grow into a towering wise being.
One day the boy was listening to the wolves, playing in the clearing while he was lying close by on a big sun warmed limestone rock he called Grandfather rock. Grandfather rock would lull the boy into a state of half awake and half asleep and would speak of the Ancient of Days, The One, The Creator of all. It was on such a day that a lone wolf entered the clearing. Grandfather rock shook the boy to a full awake and said watch and listen. The boy sit bolt upright and saw the lone wolf limping into the clearing in the center of the dark forest. All the wolves stopped their playing and went to the limping, disheveled looking wolf. They began singing in their way to the hurt wolf. He just stopped and stood trembling. The boy saw the lone wolf's right front paw and it was chewed off. The wound was not mortal and the blood had stopped and it appeared that the lone wolf had traveled a long way on his 3 good legs.
The big black wolf of the pack came forward and asked the lone wolf what had happened to him. The boy scooted closer to hear what he had to say. The lone wolf collapsed and could not continue. The big black pack leader drug him to the pond's edge and helped him drink the cool water until he recovered enough to set up on his own just at the water's edge. The lone wolf looked over the pack and began to howl. It was a lonesome terrible howl, as if he were weeping. Then, he spoke....."I will not speak of the time I spent away. It was a time of great enlightenment."
A small, fuzzy wolf pup squeezed through the pack and nuzzled the lone wolf weaving in and out his legs stopping at the one that was chewed off and he asked, "How did you loose your paw?"
The lone wolf looked sorrowfully down at the pup and said slowly raising his head looking over the meadow into the dark forest, his face changing to a happy and content one, "I overcame a trap and in that trap I found my true self."
The boy was amazed at what he had heard and stored this in his heart to think on as he grew in the dark forest.
I would love to hear from you your thoughts on how this story spoke personally to you.... email me at tina_martin008@comcast.net
