First Childrens’ Story from Kathy

Kathy told Gene that she wrote this story (by dictating it to Gene) from a sort of experiential dream state – where the bird appeared outside the window and encouraged us to fly high into the sky.

Kathy would like to make regular contributions to the children’s corner if her health permits, and she also talked about having adults draw pictures that were outlines of meaningful scenes that children could download, and then color.  Kathy went into detail about coloring pictures with crayons – perhaps in a group setting, or individual.   She was excited about all of this, and remarked that she had specific ideas for inspiring children.

Here’s the first contribution – a short story that Kathy dictated to Gene:

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Once upon a time a very beautiful young woman lived in the mountains.  And because she lived in the mountains, she did not get a chance to mingle much with children near her age, except for her brothers and sisters.  But none of them were as beautiful or kindly as she was, in fact she even looked different than they did.

She had raven, wavy hair down to her waist, it seemed almost from birth, with light blue eyes and long, long black lashes.

Her name was Lucia.  She had never heard of anybody named that before, and she always wondered why she was named Lucia.

Once she grew to the age of twelve, she was allowed to have her own room.  What she used to love the most were the birds that flew in the sky.  When she had her own room, with a window that opened to the outside, she started putting little bits of bread or other food on the sill, hoping a bird would fly there and eat from her windowsill.

It seemed a very long time, but one morning she woke up and she saw these beautiful feathers just outside her window.  There was a little bird, looking cautiously and hovering in the air, with wings suspended.  Finally it was too much to wait, so this little bird went to her windowsill.

To Lucia’s delight, the little bird began to eat what she had there.  Miraculously enough, every morning after that, when Lucia woke early enough, and the sun had just risen, that same little bird would come to her windowsill and look for the food – so Lucia would be sure to have it laid out before the sun rose.

One thing that disturbed Lucia a lot was that this bird never made a sound.  It didn’t sing like other birds.  She knew how they sounded with their beautiful little voices of tweeting and singing, but this one never, never, made a sound, except the rustle of wings.

Lucia knew she had a good singing voice, so when she became twelve she thought maybe if I start singing he’ll think he’s just like me, so he’ll get the idea that it’s ok to sing or to make noise.  So one morning, when she was exactly twelve and a half years old, the little bird came to her windowsill, and was waiting, not eating – waiting for Lucia to get up and see the little bird.

So Lucia came over and looked at the bird, and started to talk to it, and then began to sing to it, and then all of a sudden Lucia could not believe her ears.  That little bird began to sing.  At first very softly, and then very slowly it got louder until the sound of that bird reached the mountaintops nearby.

It was the happiest morning of Lucia’s life, when she heard the bird sing.

~ Kathy