Rainbow Fish - (A Fable)

 

There was this lazy, little town high up on the mountains and in the middle of this town was a very large, oval-shaped pond. The pond was full of many different colored small fish that made them look like little rainbows. They swam happily around the pond from morning till night.

Except for this one fish. He swam sadly around the pond all by himself. This fish was so sad because his body was all brown without any color on it. To make things worse, the other fish would not swim and play with him because he was different. This went on every day, day after day until early one morning, a small boy was playing near the pond and dropped his rainbow ring in it by mistake. Now, the brown fish was swimming by, and the ring got stuck around his body and wouldn’t come off.

As fast as lightning, a large group of colorful fish swam over to the brown fish and couldn’t believe their eyes. There were beautiful, sparkling, rainbow colors on the brown fish’s body. Not one fish realized the colors were coming from the little boy’s rainbow ring.

From that day on, brown fish wasn’t sad anymore. He was colorful, too and all the other fish made sure he was included with them. As happy as the brown fish was now, he told all the colorful fish how sad he was when they excluded him. He told them no fish should be left out because it is different.

Feelings are the same no matter what color you are!

Ellen G.

Writing Prompt: Begin a Fairy Tale

 

No one remembered who planted the first forest, not even the oldest animals. The wind blew through the shimmering faint green, rose, and blue trees. The branches chimed in delicate tones. In the center of the forest stood a single ordinary tree, silent. The tree twinkled deep red and green and silver. The tree is the only thing in the world that can keep a secret.  

Georgia

Writer's Toolbox: Personification (a writing exercise) - Georgia

 The beach was lonely waiting for someone to sit for a while. 

The sun stretched its fiery fingers on the rainbow of beach umbrellas.  

 

The tired old house sang along with the wind while the walls swayed.

Bijou

 

Bijou knew something was wrong. He watched me closely, his soft eyes steady, as if he could feel the shift in the room. Without any prompting, he came and sat beside me, placing his tiny paw gently on my arm. 

When I cried, he didn’t pull away—his quiet purr was soft and comforting, like a steady hand. In that moment, he was not just near me, but truly present, understanding my mood and caring in the only way he could. 

When I finally calmed, he snuggled close, gave me a few gentle head butts, and then, satisfied I was alright, returned to his favorite box.

Georgia

Rainstorm

I couldn’t resist stepping outside when I saw the sky turning a gentle gray.  

I opened the door and outside I let the rain fall on my face, cool and alive and the world paused. 

 Georgia

A Blessed Event

 

Two robins were perched on my backyard lawn deep in tweeting conversation. Clearly, from their colors, I could determine they were male and female.Their songs and behavior did not come across as a mating meeting. I judged it to be more about real estate. “Hey honey, where do you think we should build that nest? Will that bush do? Should we build in that tree?” It appeared, to my joy and appreciation that they settled on the pyracantha bush outside my large kitchen window. Good choice! The thorns would keep squirrels and cats away from their nest. The branches are sturdy enough to anchor it.They’ve picked a spot that’s safe cool and comfortable. Shortly, they  got busy gathering twigs, grass, leaves and mud. Wisely, they  pulled straw from a neighboring hanging planter. They both do the gathering, but only the female does the nest construction. She needed a few days to complete the architecture which includes weaving and sculpting. We females know how to get things done. This nest is not a bed for the parents; they sleep elsewhere.It is an incubator for the eggs. The perfect nest must serve as a baby cradle to keep the eggs and babies warm, dry and safe.

 

I really think these robins chose this pyracantha bush because they knew what joy and pleasure it would give my family to be able to watch the entire drama. Every morning, we would start the day with a visit to the blessed event; one egg a day for four days and the incubation period starts.

The mom spent most of the day sitting on the eggs, taking occasional time off to grab a bite of insects, worms and caterpillars. During this period, she actually moves the eggs around. In about 2 weeks, the eggs started to hatch, one a day. The chick, using its beak, poked a hole in the shell, struggling sometimes the whole day to free itself from the shell. 

 

What a joy to watch both parents appearing with food for those four hungry little open beaks. Such traffic, parents flying in; parents flying out. Mom still sat on the chicks to keep them warm and dry. The parents have full time jobsThey protect the nest, find food and feed the hungry open mouths. In two weeks the chicks were the size of their parents.When they were about 2 weeks old, they are fledgelings and ready to leave home. Sadly, my family did not witness their departure. In the morning, they were in their cozy crowded nest, and when we looked, later that day, they were gone, without saying goodbye to us.In subsequent seasons, we  have never had the joy of watching nature play this familiar role since sadly,  the gardener pruned the pyracantha bush.

 

 

Ethyl Haber

Grateful

 

Every morning as soon as I wake up, I say, “Thank you God for this day.” I sometimes think, “I don’t know what I’m gonna do with it, buts thanks.

I’m grateful for my son. He’s all grown up now and as long as he’s in my life, there’s a tremendous amount of gratitude for his existence.

There’s extreme gratitude for my house. Having a roof over my head, water, heat and sunlight coming through the windows means a lot to me.

My family, friends, teachers, and acquaintances; I have gratitude for all of them because they all add a touch of happiness to my life.

I’m grateful for my health. I’ve heard people say when you have your health, you have everything.

Having enough money makes me feel grateful. Being able to pay my bills, buy groceries and have a tv to watch gives me a basic feeling of comfort.

I would be remiss if I didn’t say I was grateful for my bathroom. After all, it’s the first room I use when I get up in the morning. Thoughts like using an outhouse in the freezing cold of winter or digging a hole deep in the woods ran through my mind which gave me tons of bathroom gratitude.

Gratitude is so important because it makes you think more positively about the things you have in your life.

Ellen G.