Hi, everyone! Welcome!
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There once was a tall oak tree who lived in a small forest. Night and day it complained about its noisy leaves. It protested when the leaves sang songs with the wind. It grumbled about the music they made when it rained.
One day a blue jay landed on one of its limbs and overheard the oak gripe about its noisy leaves.
“You know,” the blue jay said. “I once knew a cactus who lived alone in the middle of the desert. He was a sad and lonely thing with no one to talk to. The snakes, scorpions and other desert creatures avoided him, for he had sharp spikes all over its skin.”
“What has that to do with me,” the tree grumbled.
“Well, every time I land on one of your branches I hear you complain about your leaves.”
“So what,” the tree said.
“The last thing the cactus told me before it died of a lonely heart was that it wished its prickles were leaves, so that it may hear their melody,” the bird said.
“If I never hear another leaf sing I would be a happy tree!”
“That is a horrible thing to say,” the bird said, fluttering its blue feathers. “Your leaves are beautiful and the rhythm they make with the wind and the rain is enchanting. They also attract all kinds of birds, snakes, and squirrels. Your days and nights are filled with cheerful pieces of music, laughter and conversation.
“I don’t need music, laughter or conversation. I just want silence!” the tree yelled.
The bird flew away.
One hot, dry summer day a fire broke out in the small forest. Some of the animals escaped the wildfires but many were killed. The crown fire burned the trees up their length to the very top, and few survived.
The tall grumbling oak did survive, but it was no more than a scorched and leafless trunk with naked limbs. None of the nearby trees survived and were chopped down. The colorful birds and animals were gone and only soot and smoke remained. The oak’s world was gray and silent.
Months passed in a blur. The oak tree began to miss the happy lilting of its leaves and their verdant color. “If only I could hear them sing once more I’d be a happy tree.”
A year passed in the blink of an eye and the sad and lonely oak tree was ready to give up. He thought about the beautiful lush canopy it once had, full of lively green leaves. He missed their songs and music and the birds and animals they invited.
Every night the oak prayed. “Mother Gaia, please return my leaves, so that I may hear them sing with the wind.” But every morning he awoke to bare branches. The pain of living in silence, in complete solitude was too much to bear.
As the life began to seep out of its heartwood, he noticed a little green sprout coming out of the ground a couple of feet from him.
“Little sprout,” the oak tree said. “Grow tall with a strong heartwood and a huge canopy made verdant by a myriad of leaves. Always be grateful for what you have. And, be careful what you wish for because you might just get it.” And with those words the oak tree left the world of the living.
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Do not wish away
the cheerful things in your life
on your grumpy days
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Happy and Morose are this week’s prompt words chosen by Colleen Chesebro ~ The Fairy Whisperer. *The catch is that we can only use the synonyms to these words in our poems.
Colleen hosts a challenge that anyone could participate in called, Colleen’s Weekly Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge every Tuesday, and you have until Sunday to create a post featuring your Haiku, Tanka, Haibun or Cinquain poem. She is an author and poet, and also does book reviews and so much more on her blog. Be sure to check it out.
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Enjoy your day!
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I loved this tale and Haiku today Vashti. So very true! Careful what you wish for on those dark days of life…or in the tree’s case the good days!
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Hi Denise! Happy Friday! Thank you. I’m always thrilled when you enjoy my post. Have a great weekend! ❤ xx
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Beautiful tale
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Thank you very much! 😀 Happy Friday!
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Happy Friday to you too Vashti 🙂
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Thanks for the story and for the reminder. Beautiful! Happy weekend, Vashti!
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It’s always a pleasure, my friend. Thank you! Have a great weekend! ❤
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Aww, right in the feels! Speaks volumes and beautiful to boot, thanks V for sharing this lovely and heartfelt tale!
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Hi, buddy! I’m so happy you enjoyed it. Have a fabulous weekend! ❤ xx
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Vashti! You did it again! OMG!! I love the story and the Haiku. You are a star!! ❤
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Yay! I’m doing my happy dance, Colleen. Thank you, you’re too kind! I’m having a lot of fun doing these. 😉 ❤ xx
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They read like myths, Vashti. So cool! 😀
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Wow, your story hits home – probably for all of us. And, the haiku poem is perfect! Thank you, Vashti! Big hugs… ♥
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Hi Gwen! I’m happy you liked it. It definitely hits home for me. Hugs and kisses! Have a great weekend! ❤
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We all get those grumpy days the secret is to remember the cheerful ones! Lovely story and haiku Vashti.:)
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That’s right, Marje! You hit the nail on the head. Thank you! Have a great weekend! 😀 xx
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And to you to Vashti. Enjoy! Xxx
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What a beautiful story, Vashti! I Haiku is perfect and something we all need to remember when we’re having a bad day. ❤
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Hello Jill! I agree. Why is it so easy to forget the good things in our lives, whenever we have a bad day? Have a wonderful weekend! ❤
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You’ve done it again! Wonderful story.
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Hi Craig! Aw, that’s so great of you to say. I’m happy you liked it. Enjoy the weekend! Happy writing! 😀 xx
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Amen! High Five! LOVE THIS! ❤
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Hi, Annette! Thank you! Yay! ❤ xx
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I know it was supposed to make me tear up but it did…
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You’re a sensitive person like me, Lynda. Sometimes we feel too much. ❤ xx
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Yes. You are so right.
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Great reminder and a lovely haiku Vashti. Your story reminds me of another tree that complained about leaves that fell every Fall and kept wishing it had the leaves of silver, which were robbed and gold, which too were plucked off and eventually realised what it had was the best! Gratitude is a meaningful word and blessed are those who understand it. 🙂
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Your words are always so pretty, Balroop. Interesting story. Is it a parable? I agree that gratitude is a meaningful word, and one we should live by, it may be the secret to happiness. ❤
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It is beautifully told, I have condensed it within few words. I must have read it in one of the books of my children.
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Reblogged this on Where Genres Collide.
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Thanks for reblogging, Traci! 😀 xx
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You’re welcome, Vashti!
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Oh, I loved the story and the moral Vashti. So much truth in ‘be careful what you wish for’, for often we forget our gratitude for the simple things in life, only to be reminded after they’re gone. ❤
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And it’s so sad when that happens, Debby. Thank you, my friend! As always, I’m happy you enjoyed it. ❤ xx
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Always a treat to read your words Vashti ❤ When is Japan? 🙂 xx
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Aw, thank you. ❤ We leave on the 23rd of this month. I received the edits for 'Son of the Serpent' from my editor and I have until the 17th to finish my revisions. Then I can focus on packing and that sort of thing. It's all very exciting and nerve-racking at the same time. 😀 xx
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How exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So you’ll publish when you return? 🙂 ❤
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Probably, because I have to deal with the formatting afterward. But I am excited! ❤ ❤ ❤
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Well good. A perfect getaway before the gruel! Looking so forward to your book!!!!!!!!!! ❤
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Aw, thank you. Yay! ❤
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❤
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Oh WOW, me and my person loved this. The verse so simple, yet the message so strong. I must remember because even us dogs get grumpy sometimes xx
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Hi Ben! I’m thrilled to see you here and I’m also happy that you enjoyed the post. My blog is a very ‘dog friendly’ environment, so you’re always welcome. 😀 xx
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Thank you Vashti. I think I will like your blog v. v. v much indeed 🙂 xx
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Yay! ❤
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A wonderful, bitter/sweet story reflecting a truth about how to live one’s life. Be grateful for what one has. Enjoyed the read immensely, Vashti. ❤
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I’m so glad, Olga. Thank you! ❤ xx
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What a beautiful story Vashti. I love it. 🌼
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That’s wonderful, Brigid! Thank you. ❤ xx
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I really enjoyed this story and poem! In such a short space, you made me feel for the tree. Great job! 🙂
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Hi, Yvette! I’m so glad. That’s great to know. Thank you! ❤ xx
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There is so much truth in this story and poem, Vashti, and it is so easy to wish your life away and not appreciating the good in this life.
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I’ve seen people do just that, Robbie. It’s a shame. I think the secret to happiness is being grateful for what you have and enjoying it. Thank you, my friend! ❤
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