A Lesson Learned
Title: A Lesson Learned
Author: Tempus Tacet
One sunny day on
the shores of a small
town called cove, a lone
miner was hard at
work. Sweat was
dripping from his
brow as he listened to
the clanking of steel
on stone. Absorbed
fully in his work, the
miner dug away,
dreaming of the day
when his expertly
crafted armor would
be known throughout
Britainia. He was
suddenly startled by
the high pitched
melody of a nuthatch
nearby.
Turning, he saw it perched on a branch, oblivious to his precense. Creeping quietly closer, the miner grabbed the bird with lightning speed. Grinning, he imagined the wonderful smile on his wife's face when he gave her this beautiful creature as a present. However, as soon as it was caught, the bird ceased its musical song, and spoke to the miner. Astonished, and with wide eyes, the miner listened closely.
"Sir," said the bird, "I implore you not to cage me. I am more than a bird...I am a wise wizard, imprisoned in this form. If you release me, I will confide in you a piece of wisdom which I have found transcends time." The miner, mulling this over in his head, decided that he could always catch another bird, but a chance like this would not often present itself.
So, looking at the bird, the miner said, "Tell me this pearl of knowledge, and I will release thee."
The bird spoke in a barely audible whisper, "You must learn...you must learn to never lament the past, and to not believe what cannot be true. "
His speech concluded, he reminded the miner of his promise. The miner, dissapointed by the advice, shirked from his promise and set out to give the bird to his wife. On his way home, he tripped and in falling, released the bird. Flying to a nearby pirch high up in an oak tree, the bird laughed loudly.
"Dear stupid man," said the bird, "little do you know that not only am I a wise wizard, but there is a pearl within my body worth more than any gem." The man, agrivated by his fall, and frustrated further by the bird, attempted to ascend the tree. Midway through his climb, he fell, breaking both of his legs.
The bird floated to the ground just outside of the man's reach, and said slowly and purposefully, "I told you not to lament the past, and you tried to catch me after you let me go. I told you not to be taken for a fool, and you believed that there was a pearl in my body. How quickly you forget..." Leaving the man on the ground, the nuthatch took to the sky in bright song.
