To Thine Own Self Be True

(The monarch butterfly picture I took myself. The rest are care of Google Images.)

Once upon a time there was a little white moth. She was a happy little moth who spent her days doing what she loved best, flying about and watching the world from above. One day, she happened upon a beautiful flower garden. The bounty of bright and varied colors intrigued her so much, she decided to try and get a closer look.

As she fluttered down towards the garden, she noticed that she wasn't alone. Right there also enjoying the rainbow of colors was a cluster of monarch butterflies. As fascinated as she was with the colorful flowers, she was now in even more awe of the beautiful, colorful wings of her fellow garden visitors. She admired the color, the pattern and the detail of each of the monarchs' wings. She suddenly felt quite lost amongst this incredible sea of bright and varied hues. She suddenly felt rather plain and ordinary. The stark whiteness of her wings made her feel very different, like she didn't belong there, but what could she do?  She wished that she could just somehow fit into this wonderful world of colors. No longer feeling the joy she once did in this garden, the little moth decided to leave and continue on to visit a new place. 

She hadn't flown very far at all when she noticed a man, an artist, setting up his easel right near the garden. As she flew in closer, she noticed on the ground some paper, some brushes and then.....  a palette of watercolor paints. She suddenly had an idea. If only she could get some of those brightly colored paints on her plain wings, she would be just as beautiful as the monarchs she now so wanted to look and be just like. She moved as softly and as delicately as a sweet summer's evening breeze across the palette of colors, gently touching down each wing in as many colors as she could. When she was done, the once simple, white moth was now a rainbow of colors and she was so happy.....or at least she thought she was.

She flew back to the garden and back to the cluster of butterflies. She thought for sure the butterflies would be amazed at the rainbow of colors that now adorned her wings......but they weren't. She thought she would try and draw some attention to herself by flying in circles around them. Surely NOW they would notice that her wings were just as pretty....if not even prettier.....than theirs, but they STILL didn't. One by one, the butterflies each decided to move on and flew away........never even once noticing the little moth.

Feeling quite sad and disappointed, she decided to fly down to a nearby puddle and wash away the paint from her wings. She returned to the garden once more and sat upon a flower to dry off in the warm sunshine. "Hey, why do you look so down for?", she heard come from behind her. The question came from another little moth that had landed there.

"I saw some beautiful monarch butterflies before and I wanted to be just like them, so I painted my wings.......but they never even noticed me", she replied.  "What's wrong with just having white wings? I think you look quite pretty just as you are", said her new little moth friend. "You do?" questioned the sad little moth, "But why? I'm so pale and so plain and so ordinary." "No your not" he said " I think you look quite pretty because you look like how you're supposed to look. You look like YOU. If you were meant to look like a butterfly, you would have been a butterfly your whole life. You were always meant to be a moth with wings as white and pretty and bright as freshly fallen snow, and there is nothing wrong with that. There is nothing wrong with just being yourself. You are perfect just as you are and you shouldn't try to be something that you're not."

Her new friend's words made her feel happy once more and also made her realize just how silly she was trying to be something that she wasn't. Feeling much better now and much more appreciative or her pretty white wings, our little white moth decided to stop worrying about being a butterfly and instead went back to doing what she always loved best, flying about and exploring. This time she invited her new moth friend to join her, which he happily did. So off the two little moth friends went, in search of more gardens to visit and adventures to have, and I can happily say that they both lived......

Copyright October 24, 2010

All rights reserved.  Do not

use without permission.

Pictures courtesy of Google Images.

Love Can Surpass Time

Jack was done with his day at school and rode his bicycle over to his after school job at the local store. In some ways this was a tradition in his family because this store, this little old fashioned general store, had been in his family for over 80 years, when it was first opened by his great grandparents. This store was a staple of this town and had been the silent observer to so many generations of families who lived there. Some would visit to buy a loaf of bread and some groceries, or read the latest Superman comic book, maybe share an egg cream or ice cream soda with their date, or to simply just come by to find out what the latest goings on were in town. This little store was as much a part of this town as the trees and grass were. That is why the sad news of it's closing was so heartbreaking to so many. Although this town was somehow shielded from the harsh cruelity of the rest of the world in so many ways, sadly the economic problems that have effected everyone eventually found it's way there, too. The store was set to close it's doors forever in just two days.

 A sadness hung over the store and all of it's usual occupants as it's doomsday drew closer and closer. Even Jack, who would much rather have been hanging out with his friends after school instead of helping out at the family store, had a heavy heart as he started to clean up the back room as his father had instructed him to. He started to sweep up and move some boxes and crates. It was while he was doing this that Jack made a surprising discovery. As he turned with boxes in hand, he accidentally bumped into a wall. When he did, he noticed that a wooden panel from the wall popped open. Upon closer inspection Jack discovered that it was a secret panel. He carefully opened the panel all the way to further investigate what might be hiding inside. At first he found nothing but before closing the panel back up, he decided to explore it one more time. This time, to his surprise his hand came upon a small leather pouch. As he carefully removed it he wondered to himself just what could it be and just how long had it been hidden away from the world. When he opened the pouch, he discovered inside was a beautiful gold pocket watch. 

As he flipped it over to examine it further, he discovered an inscription on the back that said, "To John, My love for you will surpass time, Forever yours, Emma." With great excitement, he ran to show his father the treasure he had uncovered. As his father read the inscription on the watch, his eyes began to fill up. You see Emma and John were his grandparents. He hadn't seen this watch since he was a very, very little boy. In his mind he was suddenly brought back to a simplier time remembering what it was like to sit in his grandfather's lap as he would show him the beautiful, shiny watch that he was so proud of because his beautiful wife, his beautiful Emma, had given it to him for their 1st wedding anniversary many years before. He loved her so dearly, so tenderly, and that watch was just a small daily reminder to him of a woman who was not just his wife but was indeed a part of him, a part of his heart and a part of his soul.

The watch itself meant nothing compared to the love that Emma and John had for their family and especially for each other. The watch was a symbol of their love and devotion but in many ways, so was the store. John and Emma had both had worked so hard together and saved what they could to make their dream of owning their own store, an ongoing legacy for their family, a reality and they were so proud once it finally came to be. That's what made it's inevitable closing just THAT more painful and sad. But what could be done?

Jack's father now held in his hand some hope, a possible solution to his overwhelming problem. But now he was troubled as to what he should do. Should he sell this newly discovered treasure in order to save the store? Should he sell one family heirloom to save another? After much thought a decision was made. The watch would simply gather dust in a drawer somewhere while the store would be a ongoing tribute to his grandparents, his family and to the town that they all loved so much. As his eyes filled up once more, Jack's father laughed to himself and then smiled and shook his head. "Jack, I can't believe that even now, all these years later, that Grandma and Grandpa are STILL taking care of us and this store." So Jack's father sold the watch and used the money to meet the mortgage. Yes everyone, the store was saved!! 

And so the store remained open and will continue to for many years and many generations to come, becoming a living legacy to the hard work, love and commitment of one special couple whose love for each other, their family, their town and their store was so strong that it had, indeed, managed somehow...... to surpass even time. And of course, they all lived.......

Just One Wish

Once upon a time, there was a woodsman and his wife. They lived together in a small shack in the middle of the forest. The hardworking woodsman spent everyday either chopping down trees or bringing the lumber he cut into town to sell. When he would make these trips into town, his wife would join him and bring along her freshly baked pies, so fragrant and sweet, to offer for sale to the townspeople. Their life was a simple but happy one indeed.

One day as the woodsman started to walk into the forest, he heard whimpering. As he looked around to see where the sad sound was coming from, he came across a fox who's leg was caught in a trap. Without hesitation, the woodsman worked hard to pry the trap open and free the fox and after much effort, he finally did. He expected the fox to go limp off into the woods but instead, the fox just sat there licking his injured leg. Not wanting to leave the fox injured and alone in the woods, the woodsmen took off his coat, wrapped the fox up in it, and brought him back home to his little shack.

Once he was home, his wife looked at the poor, wounded creature and said to herself, "you poor little thing". With that, she cleaned up it's wound as best as she could and wrapped a bandage around it. Suddenly, the room filled up with a light so bright, you would have thought it was coming straight through the clouds right down from heaven. When the light subsided, the fox was gone and in his place was a man...or rather a PRINCE!

The woodsman and his wife looked on in astonishment at what they were seeing. The woodsman asked, "Where did you come from?". The prince replied, "I am a prince from a faraway kingdom. One day a poor woman came before my throne to ask me for some food to feed her children. When I refused to help her, she revealed to me that she wasn't just some poor woman but rather she was a powerful witch. Because I was selfish and didn't offer any kindness to someone in need, in spite of the fact that I had so much and could have done so quite easily, she would turn me into a fox and I would stay that way until I met a truly good and kind person who offered me the kindness that I had refused to show her. And to that person, I would have to grant one wish of ANYTHING they wanted, or else I would be changed back into a fox and stay that way forever. Woodsman, you are that good and kind person and I thank you and your wife for your kindness. So with that, what would you like to wish for?"

"Well, I really don't know what to wish for?", the Woodsman replied. The prince then said, "well this shack is rather small and is not that much to look at. How about I give you a grand palace to live in instead?" "My wife and I built this shack together from the wood in this forest. We put our hearts and souls into building our home together. It might not be much, but it's ours. Every morning I watch the sunrise outside that window. Every evening we share our dinner together at this table. Each night we lay our heads down together in that bed after putting in a hard, honest days work. Nope, this shack is fine and we are happy with it."

"Alright, that is your choice", the prince said, "but how about some new clothes then. That coat you are wearing is all tattered and torn. I can offer both you and your wife the finest robes and garments, woven from golden threads and only the finest of materials. How about that?"  Without hesitation, the woodsman said, "Last Christmas, my wife made me this coat. She bought the material for it in town with the money that she saved up from selling her pies. This coat means more to me than any golden robe ever could so nope, sorry, I'm not interested."

"Well, you have to eat and judging from this shack, I assume that you don't eat very well. How about I grant you the finest banquet of food that you have ever set your eyes upon with every kind of lavish and extravagant morsel you can think of."  With a bit of a chuckle, the woodsman replied, "there couldn't POSSIBLY be any kind of food or any meal finer than what my wife cooks for me. Her pies and her meals are made with the kind of love and care that no exotic meal could ever duplicate, no matter what it is, so I'm going to have say no to that idea, too, but thanks anyway."

By this time, the once grateful prince was starting to become irritated.  He replied rather sharply, "Well you have to want SOMETHING. Everyone wants SOMETHING???" "Well, not me" the woodsman replied. "I have a roof over my head, food in my pantry and someone to love and share it all with. What else could I want? What else could I wish for? I already have it all." "But you have NOTHING", the prince rebuffed, "how could you possibly be happy?" "Well prince let me ask you, just how happy are YOU with your palace, golden robes and banquets of exotic of food? My wife and I might not have much but we have something that no amount of money could ever buy.....we have each other."

The prince looked at him puzzled for a moment, but then he looked again at the woodsman and his wife and how they were with each other. He watched as the woodman put his arm lovingly around his wife and how his wife looked up at him with a warmth and love in her eyes that he had never seen in anyone else's eyes ever before. Suddenly, the prince got it. He started to understand what the woodsman meant. He then told the woodsman, "But if I don't grant you a wish, I will turn back into a fox and stay that way forever."  The woodsman thought for a moment, and then asked the prince, "well, if you had one wish, what would you wish for?"  The prince was shocked by the woodsman's question and took a moment to think. After a brief silence, the prince quietly replied, "I wish I had a life as happy as yours." Besides being kind and good, the woodsman was very wise, too, and thought of the perfect solution for everyone. "If I have to have one wish, then my one wish is for YOUR wish to come true."  With that, the room lit up once more with the brightest of lights, accompanied by some sweet, tinkling bells in the distance. The light soon vanished as quickly as it had appeared. The woodsman and his wife looked around and found that the prince was gone and that everything was back to the way it was before....but not quite EVERYTHING was. 

In another part of the forest, a simple little shack appeared out of nowhere. Inside of that shack was the prince, now in much simpler clothes and with blisters on his hands from a long day of chopping wood. He sat down to a simple dinner of stew and biscuits that his wife had just prepared. As he ate his meal, the man who was once a prince and ate the most exotic of meals, realized that no meal he had eaten before had ever tasted as good as this one did. He also realized that he had never felt happiness before like he was feeling now. The man who was once a prince, who had all of the material possessions that he could ever asked or hoped for, had found true happiness living a simple life of a woodsman. The former prince also realized that perhaps that witch hadn't cursed him by changing him into a fox afterall, but instead had given him the gift of a chance to find a life he NEVER would have known before if it weren't for him winding up in the home of a single kind woodsman and his wife. And needless to say that both woodsmen and their wives all lived.....

Copyright September 7, 2010

All rights reserved.  Do not

use without permission.

Pictures courtesy of Photobucket.