Mighty Oak and The Lil Birdie
Note: The first and third act are written by me. This story is my birthday gift to a lil sis of mine, The Lil Birdie. She has written the middle act, Lil Birdie's Tale.
Once upon a time there was a mighty oak, the mightiest and grandest of all oaks. He stood on the top of the highest cliff, right near its edge. He had seen the sun rise from behind the Misty Mountains more than anyone else. When the sun finally went to sleep in the valleys of the White Mountains, The Mighty Oak's shadow would extend all across the lands and just as sun said its final goodbye, the shadow almost touched the Misty Mountains. It was common tradition amongst flora and fauna of the land to rest for a minute under The Mighty Oak's shadow, that was the closest they could ever get to "touch" The Mighty Oak.
The Mighty Oak had survived the longest, darkest and coldest winter, the lone survivor. The winter had failed to break him, but it did manage to enclose the mighty heart of The Mighty Oak in a shell of frozen bark. Thousands of suns after that had tried and failed to thaw the Ice of Indifference. So, the Mighty Oak, who once welcomed all to rest on his branches and eat his fruits, won't let even a bird near. But then it all changed one dark and stormy night.
It was a dark and stormy night. Lightening was flashing all over the sky, but careful enough not to venture near The Mighty Oak, he wasn't kind to trespassers. He was sleeping, dreaming of times gone by when he suddenly woke up. A lil birdie had fallen right into his branches. He shook her off violently and the lil birdie fell near his feet. Enraged by the gall of the birdie, he raised his fist to squash the lil birdie when the lightening flashed again. The fist stopped inches away from the lil birdie.
"Oh!" The Mighty Oak gasped with amazement. In all his years he had never seen such a bird before, an unseen wonder. The Mighty Oak felt something stir within him, a feeling he hadn't felt ever since he was a young tree eager to explore the world around him. His father called that feeling the disease of The Wanderer. To him it was the sense of wonder that only a child can feel, an amazement experienced at discovery of something new. Yes, the lil birdie had made him feel like a child again. He gingerly picked up the lil birdie, made a clumsy nest with some of his "hair" and very gently lay her down. Then he brought his branches closer to shield her from the rain. The Mighty Oak didn't sleep that night. There were no witnesses, but if there had been, they would have wondered if The Mighty Oak was crying or was it just rain.
Next morning it weren't the first rays of morning sun, but musical chirping of the lil birdie that woke up The Mighty Oak. Its left wing was badly mangled and left knew was bent in a strange way. But looking at her singing merrily one could be easily fooled that mangled wing and bent knees are the way all birdies are supposed to be. If there was any pain the lil birdie showed no sign of it.
"Hello GrandP" sang the Lil Birdie as she noticed that the Mighty Oak had woken up.
The Mighty Oak let out a rumbling laughter that woke up one and all in the lands. Even the sun rose from behind Misty Mountains, rubbing his eyes, still groggy at having being woken up before his time. None had ever heard The Mighty Oak say a word, so the hefty laughter echoing across Misty Mountains and Valley of White Mountains made sure that flora and fauna of all ages and colours came to witness the miracle. However, once there, they were all wary of The Mighty Oak and just chose to sit in his shadow. As the last squirrel found its seat, after stepping on a toe and two, the lil birdie started to tell her tale as to how she ended up in The Mighty Oak's care on that stormy night, so far away from home.
The birdie began her tale from the days when she was nothing but a fur ball. She was born on a nest perched on top of an oriental wooden door with fine medieval carvings. The door was part of an old but sturdy house which was all she knew about the world. Then one day, some birds unlike her kinds build their nests in the same house and brought with them stories of far away lands, beyond seven seas and seven mountains- lush with greens- beatific, almost divine. With time the little birdie got bored of the place. The dark walls of the house which comforted her once now seemed depressing. The soft green moss which was creeping up the wall made her uncomfortable and scared her in the nights. Too much familiarity borne an unbearable desire of unfamiliarity. The only trees she knew were the slim eucalyptuses with their bark falling off every now and then. Her home was a little too safe for her liking.
After days of nesting in , hopping around she finally began with her flying lessons one day. After a particular nasty fall she almost stopped believing that she’d ever be able to fly . She gave herself one last chance , deciding to try for one final time. She hopped over the length of a dusty old table and jumped off it. Instead of keeping her eyes open, she kept them closed this time. She was losing height swiftly but a voice from somewhere inside her asked her to flap her wings fast and then to align the wings straight and soar. When she opened her eyes, she was flying.
Euphoria of her first flight raised her spirits and her tiny wings followed them, rising higher and higher and higher…until she reached the ceiling and could go no higher. She thought of the clear blue sky above the eucalyptus tress. The birds had told her that there were no ceilings out in the sky, she wanted to feel the sky, she wanted to reach the end of the sky .Her faith in herself returned, her desire to find her dream strengthened. She told everybody that she wanted fly over the seven seas and seven mountains to the lands beyond- to have dip in the Stream of Stories.
But they told her she was too young, she wasn’t yet prepared for such a long flight and a desolate journey. She needed to pass the Seasons of Skill and Winds of Wisdom before she could even think of making it there. Yet, that very night the birdie left her nest, bid a silent adieu to her kinds. She flew out in the cool navy blue sky in search of the stream of stories, curious and excited. Her adventure had begun.
The mighty oak sensed that the birdie was getting a little sad remembering her loved ones she left behind. He wobbled his head and his dishevelled leafy hair tickled the birdie. The birdie giggled, and returned back to her chirping once again.
She told them that in the coming days she passed so many seasons ….she saw the trees being showered with the heaven’s nectar, shed their skins and the glossy leaves as they grew old. Then the white coldness took every thing under its evil reign .She still survived despite having nothing to eat . The blizzards that brought along fierce winds threw her off course so many times. Yet she moved on. Slowly the cold began retreating and spring was abloom.
One day the sun got extremely fiery by the day and her tiny wings gave up. Tired and thirsty she halted inside a cave. After sometime she heard tap tap of a water droplet hitting some water reserve. She flew in dark, following the sound. And then she found a tiny puddle of sparkling water. She drank out of it and she was thrown into an mystifying realm. She kept on drinking, quenching her thirst. Though the physical thirst was quenched, the thirst for that magical realm increased with every drop she drank. She realized it was the realm of stories that she was transported to. Different stories of different travellers in search of the Stream of Stories unfolded in front of her one by one. Through the stories she came to know that she had to narrate her tale to the puddle for it to refill itself. She also came to know that the seventh river flowing beyond the seventh mountain was the Stream of Stories.
She just had the last part of the journey left to fulfil her dream. She immediately flew towards the last remaining mountain. She followed a tiny brook through the mountains, the valley, and the moors only to land up at the Mighty Oak’s care. There the rivulet vanished mysteriously leaving her without any sense of direction, of what she was supposed to do next.
“What do I do now GrandP?” The birdie asked the Mighty Oak.
For a moment all went still and silent, even the winds. Everyone present held their breath and had eyes fixed on the Mighty Oak, waiting for his response. Only sound that could be heard was of something dripping from one of the bigger knots on him, forming an ever expanding puddle around him. All waited for the Mighty Oak to say the words that never came. Soon they all started to disperse and get back to their normal lives, many debating amongst themselves what was it dripping from the big knot on the Mighty Oak. Most believed them to be the tears and the knot to be one of his eyes, though none was sure and none of them will ever know the truth. That was only for lil birdie to know, and the squirrel who was courageous enough to run up to where Mighty Oak's roots dug into the ground.
For a long time the knot continued to drip, the puddle as big as a pond now and only the lil birdie and the squirrel were in the middle of that island that was The Mighty Oak. The squirrel, who could neither talk or listen, made a small cosy hole in the ground and went to sleep. The lil birdie still had the same expression of awe and anticipation as the one when she had asked,
"What do I do know GrandP?"
"Once upon a time..." the lil birdie heard the wind whisper in her ears. It took her a while to realise it was The Mighty Oak talking, though it wasn't really his voice. It was as if she could hear his thoughts, or maybe she wanted him to answer so badly that she had started to imagine it all. But the lil birdie listened carefully, oblivious to everything else. "...there was a Lil Nut."
Ever since he was born, he had been hearing tales of distant lands beyond the seven seas and seven mountains. All he wanted to do was to be a traveller. Many a times he tried to roll off in his wanderings but always ended up in moss.
"You are a nut, if you were meant to travel you would have had wings, or even feet." his mother would say, as she scrubbed the mouldy green moss off him. But he never paid any heed. All that he wanted to do was fly across the seven seas and see the worlds no nut or oak had ever seen before. HE wanted to tell everyone stories of lands and places far far away, stories no one would believe in. His father got really worried when he didn't develop any roots even into his second birthday.
"Son, you are a little nut now. But a nut is not what you are meant to be. You are one day going to be a great oak. How great and mighty, is up to you. Don't envy the birds because they can fly across lands and oceans and skies. They are travellers across space. But you can be a great traveller across time. You can see things which many generations of these birds will never get to see, you can outlive the existence of many of them. Soon a time will come when only you shall know of them. You will tell stories of things you have seen and none shall believe you. But to do that you will have to be a strong oak. There are more ways to drink on Streams of Stories than the birds know of. Take roots my lil one, stand your ground, firmly. And one day you shall be a mighty oak, a traveller across time."
The lil nut smiled at these words and soon he had tiny little roots. As the roots dug deeper into ground, they found Streams of Forgotten stories, streams that only ran under the ground now. Soon the roots went farther and deeper than any others' had ever before and the lil nut grew to be a mighty and strong oak, spreading far more under the ground than above it.
As the oak grew, so did his thirst for stories. Afraid that he might drink all the seven rivers, gods decided to turn them all to ice. The coldest and longest winter ever engulfed the earth into a giant sheet of Ice. All the rivers froze. No tree or animal could survive for their was no water anywhere. Only the mighty oak, with his vast reach was able to find traces of water deep underground, where the frost of gods couldn't reach. But the cold did manage to reach beyond The Mighty Oak's bark, freezing the water within him. It was as if he had been stabbed with a thousand little knives. The Mighty Oak let out a mighty roar, a cry of anguish. The Mighty Oak was never heard again.
The rumble of that roar shook the heavens. Scared, and realising their folly, they relented and the winter came to an end. But the Stream of Stories was gone, frozen forever. Only a few brooks here and there searching for the Lost Stream of Stories were left, which most mistook to be the Seventh River, the Stream of Stories.
*** The Death of The Mighty Oak ***
Little drops of tears welled up in lil birdie's eyes. She had come so far, but all in vain.
"So GrandP, does it mean I travelled all the way in vain?" she said, crying, head buried in her wings. A small nut fell on her head and she looked up.
A magnificent sight beheld her. The Grand Old Mighty Oak was no longer there. Gone were the dry branches and wrinkled bark. There now stood the most magnificent Oak one had ever seen, though it looked less like an oak and more like...
"What are you?" said lil birdie, amazed.
The Mighty Oak had leaves and nuts of all colours, nuts that caught sunlight and let out little nut shaped rainbows. The knot which was "weeping" had opened up into a big heart shaped hole from which gushed forth a frothing river.
"The River of..." exclaimed the lil birdie.
The Mighty Oak smiled and nodded, and finally talked.
"Yes, the River of Stories, stories from lands that were once upon a time. Stories I had collected over all these ages. But there are many more to find, many more stories to tell. My father was right, I have travelled across time. But now, once again, I yearn to travel across far lands. I wish to be the lil nut again. Time has come for me to go, to sleep. But I want you to promise something, will you?"
The lil birdie nodded, without even knowing what she was going to promise.
"Take me with you, in search of stories, on travels across distant lands. I want to travel across space, and in return, I shall make you a traveller across time."
"But.." before lil birdie could say anything, the Mighty Oak pushed her away with a swift blow of his arm. The Mighty Oak doubled up, coughing a thousand nuts. The squirrel, who was sleeping till now, woke up to find himself in what he thought was heaven. The skin of the Mighty Oak started to crack and streaks of light shot forth. Suddenly there was a bright flash of light and sound of exploding water. Even the sun had to shield his eyes as he felt like a pale shadow of himself. And then suddenly it went dark.
No one could see anything, just hear the distant sound of water rushing.
"Lookout, the sky is falling" said a lil chicken and covered his head.
Rest looked up and literally saw the sky coming down on them. All instinctively covered their heads with their arms and waited for world to end. The sound of falling sky got louder and fiercer. And then there was a huge...
SPLASH!
The Mighty Oak was all but gone, only bottom part of the trunk remained and it was spouting a steady stream of water, or stories as all those who were there and believers like to call them. That was the end of The Mighty Oak.
The Lil Birdie wasn't sure whether to feel glad at end of her journey or feel sad at her loss. And Mighty Oak had gone before explaining anything to her. That was when the squirrel ran upto her, holding a little nut. It was like any other nut, but was unlike all other nuts which were rainbow colored. The nut looked very much like...
"The Mighty Oak!” exclaimed the birdie. And suddenly she understood everything as she held him in her right wing. The birdie made a necklace using some of the bark from remains of the mighty oak, with the Lil Nut in the centre as a pendant and put it around her neck. As soon as she did, she felt a stronger beat in her heart. All others saw the lil birdie bathed in a glow not much different from one of The Mighty Oak.
The Lil Birdie flew off, the lil nut around her neck. A traveller across time, and a traveller across space, now together. The Lil Nut who was once a Mighty Oak gave the Lil Birdie the eternally long life to travel across time. The Lil Birdie gave the Lil Nut the wings to fly across space. To this day they travel in search of stories. They stop every now and then, to rest, and to share their stories with those who are Nuts enough to believe them.
And of course, they pay an occasional visit to their rainbow colored squirrel friend who can't talk or hear, but loves listening to their stories. After all, squirrels love nuts, of all kinds, don't they?
Once upon a time there was a mighty oak, the mightiest and grandest of all oaks. He stood on the top of the highest cliff, right near its edge. He had seen the sun rise from behind the Misty Mountains more than anyone else. When the sun finally went to sleep in the valleys of the White Mountains, The Mighty Oak's shadow would extend all across the lands and just as sun said its final goodbye, the shadow almost touched the Misty Mountains. It was common tradition amongst flora and fauna of the land to rest for a minute under The Mighty Oak's shadow, that was the closest they could ever get to "touch" The Mighty Oak.
The Mighty Oak had survived the longest, darkest and coldest winter, the lone survivor. The winter had failed to break him, but it did manage to enclose the mighty heart of The Mighty Oak in a shell of frozen bark. Thousands of suns after that had tried and failed to thaw the Ice of Indifference. So, the Mighty Oak, who once welcomed all to rest on his branches and eat his fruits, won't let even a bird near. But then it all changed one dark and stormy night.
It was a dark and stormy night. Lightening was flashing all over the sky, but careful enough not to venture near The Mighty Oak, he wasn't kind to trespassers. He was sleeping, dreaming of times gone by when he suddenly woke up. A lil birdie had fallen right into his branches. He shook her off violently and the lil birdie fell near his feet. Enraged by the gall of the birdie, he raised his fist to squash the lil birdie when the lightening flashed again. The fist stopped inches away from the lil birdie.
"Oh!" The Mighty Oak gasped with amazement. In all his years he had never seen such a bird before, an unseen wonder. The Mighty Oak felt something stir within him, a feeling he hadn't felt ever since he was a young tree eager to explore the world around him. His father called that feeling the disease of The Wanderer. To him it was the sense of wonder that only a child can feel, an amazement experienced at discovery of something new. Yes, the lil birdie had made him feel like a child again. He gingerly picked up the lil birdie, made a clumsy nest with some of his "hair" and very gently lay her down. Then he brought his branches closer to shield her from the rain. The Mighty Oak didn't sleep that night. There were no witnesses, but if there had been, they would have wondered if The Mighty Oak was crying or was it just rain.
Next morning it weren't the first rays of morning sun, but musical chirping of the lil birdie that woke up The Mighty Oak. Its left wing was badly mangled and left knew was bent in a strange way. But looking at her singing merrily one could be easily fooled that mangled wing and bent knees are the way all birdies are supposed to be. If there was any pain the lil birdie showed no sign of it.
"Hello GrandP" sang the Lil Birdie as she noticed that the Mighty Oak had woken up.
The Mighty Oak let out a rumbling laughter that woke up one and all in the lands. Even the sun rose from behind Misty Mountains, rubbing his eyes, still groggy at having being woken up before his time. None had ever heard The Mighty Oak say a word, so the hefty laughter echoing across Misty Mountains and Valley of White Mountains made sure that flora and fauna of all ages and colours came to witness the miracle. However, once there, they were all wary of The Mighty Oak and just chose to sit in his shadow. As the last squirrel found its seat, after stepping on a toe and two, the lil birdie started to tell her tale as to how she ended up in The Mighty Oak's care on that stormy night, so far away from home.
*** Lil Birdie's Tale ***
written by
The Lil Birdie
written by
The Lil Birdie
The birdie began her tale from the days when she was nothing but a fur ball. She was born on a nest perched on top of an oriental wooden door with fine medieval carvings. The door was part of an old but sturdy house which was all she knew about the world. Then one day, some birds unlike her kinds build their nests in the same house and brought with them stories of far away lands, beyond seven seas and seven mountains- lush with greens- beatific, almost divine. With time the little birdie got bored of the place. The dark walls of the house which comforted her once now seemed depressing. The soft green moss which was creeping up the wall made her uncomfortable and scared her in the nights. Too much familiarity borne an unbearable desire of unfamiliarity. The only trees she knew were the slim eucalyptuses with their bark falling off every now and then. Her home was a little too safe for her liking.
After days of nesting in , hopping around she finally began with her flying lessons one day. After a particular nasty fall she almost stopped believing that she’d ever be able to fly . She gave herself one last chance , deciding to try for one final time. She hopped over the length of a dusty old table and jumped off it. Instead of keeping her eyes open, she kept them closed this time. She was losing height swiftly but a voice from somewhere inside her asked her to flap her wings fast and then to align the wings straight and soar. When she opened her eyes, she was flying.
Euphoria of her first flight raised her spirits and her tiny wings followed them, rising higher and higher and higher…until she reached the ceiling and could go no higher. She thought of the clear blue sky above the eucalyptus tress. The birds had told her that there were no ceilings out in the sky, she wanted to feel the sky, she wanted to reach the end of the sky .Her faith in herself returned, her desire to find her dream strengthened. She told everybody that she wanted fly over the seven seas and seven mountains to the lands beyond- to have dip in the Stream of Stories.
But they told her she was too young, she wasn’t yet prepared for such a long flight and a desolate journey. She needed to pass the Seasons of Skill and Winds of Wisdom before she could even think of making it there. Yet, that very night the birdie left her nest, bid a silent adieu to her kinds. She flew out in the cool navy blue sky in search of the stream of stories, curious and excited. Her adventure had begun.
The mighty oak sensed that the birdie was getting a little sad remembering her loved ones she left behind. He wobbled his head and his dishevelled leafy hair tickled the birdie. The birdie giggled, and returned back to her chirping once again.
She told them that in the coming days she passed so many seasons ….she saw the trees being showered with the heaven’s nectar, shed their skins and the glossy leaves as they grew old. Then the white coldness took every thing under its evil reign .She still survived despite having nothing to eat . The blizzards that brought along fierce winds threw her off course so many times. Yet she moved on. Slowly the cold began retreating and spring was abloom.
One day the sun got extremely fiery by the day and her tiny wings gave up. Tired and thirsty she halted inside a cave. After sometime she heard tap tap of a water droplet hitting some water reserve. She flew in dark, following the sound. And then she found a tiny puddle of sparkling water. She drank out of it and she was thrown into an mystifying realm. She kept on drinking, quenching her thirst. Though the physical thirst was quenched, the thirst for that magical realm increased with every drop she drank. She realized it was the realm of stories that she was transported to. Different stories of different travellers in search of the Stream of Stories unfolded in front of her one by one. Through the stories she came to know that she had to narrate her tale to the puddle for it to refill itself. She also came to know that the seventh river flowing beyond the seventh mountain was the Stream of Stories.
She just had the last part of the journey left to fulfil her dream. She immediately flew towards the last remaining mountain. She followed a tiny brook through the mountains, the valley, and the moors only to land up at the Mighty Oak’s care. There the rivulet vanished mysteriously leaving her without any sense of direction, of what she was supposed to do next.
“What do I do now GrandP?” The birdie asked the Mighty Oak.
*** End of Lil birdie's Tale ***
*** Lil Nut's Tale ***
For a moment all went still and silent, even the winds. Everyone present held their breath and had eyes fixed on the Mighty Oak, waiting for his response. Only sound that could be heard was of something dripping from one of the bigger knots on him, forming an ever expanding puddle around him. All waited for the Mighty Oak to say the words that never came. Soon they all started to disperse and get back to their normal lives, many debating amongst themselves what was it dripping from the big knot on the Mighty Oak. Most believed them to be the tears and the knot to be one of his eyes, though none was sure and none of them will ever know the truth. That was only for lil birdie to know, and the squirrel who was courageous enough to run up to where Mighty Oak's roots dug into the ground.
For a long time the knot continued to drip, the puddle as big as a pond now and only the lil birdie and the squirrel were in the middle of that island that was The Mighty Oak. The squirrel, who could neither talk or listen, made a small cosy hole in the ground and went to sleep. The lil birdie still had the same expression of awe and anticipation as the one when she had asked,
"What do I do know GrandP?"
"Once upon a time..." the lil birdie heard the wind whisper in her ears. It took her a while to realise it was The Mighty Oak talking, though it wasn't really his voice. It was as if she could hear his thoughts, or maybe she wanted him to answer so badly that she had started to imagine it all. But the lil birdie listened carefully, oblivious to everything else. "...there was a Lil Nut."
Ever since he was born, he had been hearing tales of distant lands beyond the seven seas and seven mountains. All he wanted to do was to be a traveller. Many a times he tried to roll off in his wanderings but always ended up in moss.
"You are a nut, if you were meant to travel you would have had wings, or even feet." his mother would say, as she scrubbed the mouldy green moss off him. But he never paid any heed. All that he wanted to do was fly across the seven seas and see the worlds no nut or oak had ever seen before. HE wanted to tell everyone stories of lands and places far far away, stories no one would believe in. His father got really worried when he didn't develop any roots even into his second birthday.
"Son, you are a little nut now. But a nut is not what you are meant to be. You are one day going to be a great oak. How great and mighty, is up to you. Don't envy the birds because they can fly across lands and oceans and skies. They are travellers across space. But you can be a great traveller across time. You can see things which many generations of these birds will never get to see, you can outlive the existence of many of them. Soon a time will come when only you shall know of them. You will tell stories of things you have seen and none shall believe you. But to do that you will have to be a strong oak. There are more ways to drink on Streams of Stories than the birds know of. Take roots my lil one, stand your ground, firmly. And one day you shall be a mighty oak, a traveller across time."
The lil nut smiled at these words and soon he had tiny little roots. As the roots dug deeper into ground, they found Streams of Forgotten stories, streams that only ran under the ground now. Soon the roots went farther and deeper than any others' had ever before and the lil nut grew to be a mighty and strong oak, spreading far more under the ground than above it.
As the oak grew, so did his thirst for stories. Afraid that he might drink all the seven rivers, gods decided to turn them all to ice. The coldest and longest winter ever engulfed the earth into a giant sheet of Ice. All the rivers froze. No tree or animal could survive for their was no water anywhere. Only the mighty oak, with his vast reach was able to find traces of water deep underground, where the frost of gods couldn't reach. But the cold did manage to reach beyond The Mighty Oak's bark, freezing the water within him. It was as if he had been stabbed with a thousand little knives. The Mighty Oak let out a mighty roar, a cry of anguish. The Mighty Oak was never heard again.
The rumble of that roar shook the heavens. Scared, and realising their folly, they relented and the winter came to an end. But the Stream of Stories was gone, frozen forever. Only a few brooks here and there searching for the Lost Stream of Stories were left, which most mistook to be the Seventh River, the Stream of Stories.
*** The Death of The Mighty Oak ***
Little drops of tears welled up in lil birdie's eyes. She had come so far, but all in vain.
"So GrandP, does it mean I travelled all the way in vain?" she said, crying, head buried in her wings. A small nut fell on her head and she looked up.
A magnificent sight beheld her. The Grand Old Mighty Oak was no longer there. Gone were the dry branches and wrinkled bark. There now stood the most magnificent Oak one had ever seen, though it looked less like an oak and more like...
"What are you?" said lil birdie, amazed.
The Mighty Oak had leaves and nuts of all colours, nuts that caught sunlight and let out little nut shaped rainbows. The knot which was "weeping" had opened up into a big heart shaped hole from which gushed forth a frothing river.
"The River of..." exclaimed the lil birdie.
The Mighty Oak smiled and nodded, and finally talked.
"Yes, the River of Stories, stories from lands that were once upon a time. Stories I had collected over all these ages. But there are many more to find, many more stories to tell. My father was right, I have travelled across time. But now, once again, I yearn to travel across far lands. I wish to be the lil nut again. Time has come for me to go, to sleep. But I want you to promise something, will you?"
The lil birdie nodded, without even knowing what she was going to promise.
"Take me with you, in search of stories, on travels across distant lands. I want to travel across space, and in return, I shall make you a traveller across time."
"But.." before lil birdie could say anything, the Mighty Oak pushed her away with a swift blow of his arm. The Mighty Oak doubled up, coughing a thousand nuts. The squirrel, who was sleeping till now, woke up to find himself in what he thought was heaven. The skin of the Mighty Oak started to crack and streaks of light shot forth. Suddenly there was a bright flash of light and sound of exploding water. Even the sun had to shield his eyes as he felt like a pale shadow of himself. And then suddenly it went dark.
No one could see anything, just hear the distant sound of water rushing.
"Lookout, the sky is falling" said a lil chicken and covered his head.
Rest looked up and literally saw the sky coming down on them. All instinctively covered their heads with their arms and waited for world to end. The sound of falling sky got louder and fiercer. And then there was a huge...
SPLASH!
The Mighty Oak was all but gone, only bottom part of the trunk remained and it was spouting a steady stream of water, or stories as all those who were there and believers like to call them. That was the end of The Mighty Oak.
The Lil Birdie wasn't sure whether to feel glad at end of her journey or feel sad at her loss. And Mighty Oak had gone before explaining anything to her. That was when the squirrel ran upto her, holding a little nut. It was like any other nut, but was unlike all other nuts which were rainbow colored. The nut looked very much like...
"The Mighty Oak!” exclaimed the birdie. And suddenly she understood everything as she held him in her right wing. The birdie made a necklace using some of the bark from remains of the mighty oak, with the Lil Nut in the centre as a pendant and put it around her neck. As soon as she did, she felt a stronger beat in her heart. All others saw the lil birdie bathed in a glow not much different from one of The Mighty Oak.
The Lil Birdie flew off, the lil nut around her neck. A traveller across time, and a traveller across space, now together. The Lil Nut who was once a Mighty Oak gave the Lil Birdie the eternally long life to travel across time. The Lil Birdie gave the Lil Nut the wings to fly across space. To this day they travel in search of stories. They stop every now and then, to rest, and to share their stories with those who are Nuts enough to believe them.
And of course, they pay an occasional visit to their rainbow colored squirrel friend who can't talk or hear, but loves listening to their stories. After all, squirrels love nuts, of all kinds, don't they?
[ THE END ]
3 comments:
LOVED THIS ONE...
will be back :) But read this from here....just came here on random...and saw this...didnt login to sulekha..but whe I saw this, checked there..
:)
You have astounded me completely this time :) And i have to say , you are teaching me the art of writing fairy tales the way no one ever could.
The first act which describes how mighty the oak is , fabulous. His existence is of meaning to the entire flora and fauna...even his shadow is pious , precious :)
next comes my favourite part of the act. when a little birdie thaws the ice of indifference :)
***
act-3 is beyond words. The way you merged the birdie's tale , the themes of the nut , the oak ....and unexpected appearance of the squirrel as well :D
from tears to eyes , to the open door of the Oak's mighty heart :) it was a mesmeric journey.
The little nut's story sends a very beautiful message you know . To not to copy others but to take pride in being what you are :)
so the fidgety nut decides to stay put :)and boy! he did grow big ha :D
you explained the mystery of lost stream as if you knew it all along ;).
was it a death ? more like a new birth :). infact interestingly i'm reminded of the horcrux theory...a bit of oak's soul seeps within the birdie , the nut ofcourse and the squirrel too...who loves listening to stories just like the oak which dried up every other stream in his thirst!
i actually laughed out at this. whatever gave you the idea BigB???
"Lookout, the sky is falling" said a lil chicken and covered his head.
hahaha...:D
and the best was the fact that the birdie and the nut were to remain together forever :)
Thanks for narrating such an amazing story which i'd remember always.
And you might be the Oak , the nut , the squirrel , the storyteller and so many other names you got :) but the essence remains the same. you are a 5 year old BigBoy first.
and well...am a lil nutty birdie ;)teehee
You have been busy. Took me a while to navigate this page (dumb, I know) and find new posts. I bookmarked it on the Dark Angel page and never realised anything since. =( I know. I suck.
We got 3 fish. We called them Morris, Horace and Borris. I am thinking of writing a children's tale from the POV of Morris (he's the most advnturous one) and making me and Stu Gods. =) What a concept!
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