Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived near a beautiful crystal clear pond in the middle of a mystical forest a sleepy turtle. The turtle would sleep all morning and only wake at noon. For she enjoyed the night more than the day. “This bright sunlight interrupts my night, why? Oh why can’t it be night all day?” She would grumble to herself. The night you see, was when the turtle could be free to dream all that a turtle could dream. The day, on the other hand, was impossible for a turtle to dream in, for the light would be too bright for the mind to wander. The turtle always preferred the freedom that the night brought “life is to be lived and through my dreams I can be free to be whatever I want to be” the turtle thought to herself. So the turtle would wake and prepare for the night, she thought of all the things that she would imagine that night; and once the night came and the stars began to glisten and the silvery moon shone brightly upon the little one, she positioned herself atop a rock near her pond, making sure that she could see the reflection of the moon upon the pond, and there she would bathe in the glow of diamond white light, and imagined all the different possibilities that the day couldn’t bring. As she imagined and dreamed her mind began to wander and as every night she began to dream. She transformed into a beautiful falcon and soared high above the trees and over the mountains, she watched as the earth went past under her, she felt the immense sensation of joy as she gazed deep into the horizon and took in the views that the earth had created. Once she had enjoyed this feeling enough she began to imagine other things, she thought of the sea and the deepest oceans and as soon as she had she transformed from the falcon to a beautiful silvery dolphin and swam through the waves and through the water at such a speed. She raced other dolphins and dove into the deep blue ocean, every so often somersaulting over the waves. Once again she wanted to feel other sensations and thought of other possibilities and saw from afar the plains that bordered the forest, hypnotised by this delight, she transformed from a dolphin into a majestic wolf, prowling in and out of the forest and running free across the plains. She felt the wisdom that this ancient beast could bring. She felt the heart of the earth beat deep within; felt and experienced nature as never before. Slowly the dream began to fade, and the fog of reality descended back unto the turtle and with a smile and a euphoric look, she awoke and bathed in the morning dew. She felt refreshed and born anew. The images still fresh in her mind of that dreamy night.
She thought of all the experiences she had felt, all from the top of this rock, and as the memory faded the turtle became sad “it is only at night that I can fly, swim and prowl, it is only at night that I can gaze, jump and learn and it is only at night that she might listen to me!” thought the turtle; for you see the turtle believed in an ancient magic, some call it a fairytale, but the turtle knew differently, and there was another reason why the turtle preferred the night. For it was only at night that the moon shone so bright..
The turtle loved the moon; in fact the turtle cherished the moon and would spend all night praising the silvery eye in the sky. You see, the turtle was old, and the turtle had heard the stories from long ago. In these distant times the beasts would tell the tale of a creature that lived on the moon. A creature so beautiful, old and wise that all life revolved around it. This creature, older than time itself, would look down upon the earth and if you listened carefully you could hear her whisper through the leaves and the waves, if you looked carefully you could see her breathe through the wind and the clouds, and if you thought carefully you could feel the answers to your questions through your heart.
This was why the turtle would gaze lovingly up at the moon, always wanting the answers to the question that she posed. Every night she asked the same question-“oh mystical, magical and wisest of us all; the falcon flies high above the trees and sees all over the landscape, the dolphin is fast and lives free within his oceanic kingdom, the wolf fears none and knows all as he prowls through the forest, but what of me? I am but a simple turtle and can only do what a turtle can do!” and so each morning the turtle would return to her bed and, never having heard the answer, and with the images of the night slowly fading into dark, she would fall asleep, with a tear in her eye but eagerly awaiting the following night, when she would again be free.
However the following night something strange happened. As the turtle prepared for her nightly ritual, she noticed that the moon had not yet risen. The stars were glittering beautifully as always in the night sky, but no sign of the moon. The turtle began to feel nervous “what has happened to my beautiful moon? Where is the wisest of all creatures tonight? Has she abandoned me?” Wondered the turtle with sorrow; “but” the turtle thought “maybe if I show that I am still here, even if she isn’t, she might return. She has been my friend for such a long time that I know she wouldn’t leave me too long.” And so the turtle put herself on top of her usual rock and asked her question once more.
This time however no images came, she couldn’t be the falcon soaring majestically above the trees and mountains, or the dolphin racing and weaving in and out of the deep blue ocean or even the wolf prowling through the forest and the plains. All she could be was what she was, a turtle. She opened her eyes and stared up at the sky, puzzled by what was happening. It was then that she saw the wolf, the falcon and the dolphin each sitting around or swimming in the pond. All three were looking at her and each had tears in their eyes.
“What are you doing here? “Asked the turtle “shouldn’t you be flying, swimming and prowling?” she continued.
“We have felt your sorrow” the all said “and we have come to show you what you are missing” They explained. “Each night you sit upon your rock and dream the dreams of your folk. Each night you become us and we in turn become you and each night, when we return, our hearts are filled with sorrow.”
“Why?” asked the turtle “you’re the most important of all the beasts, why then feel sorrow for such a lowly character as myself?”
“Because” they replied “when we become you, we feel what you feel, we know what you know and we love what you love. Through this we learn the value of our lives and the value of the earth, each night we are visited by you, its messenger, and each night we learn to love and praise the mother of us all. And yet through this you do not see the importance of your actions. For centuries your kind has kept the balance between earth and spirit and for centuries you have brought wisdom to us all. You see, we feel sad when you feel sad, and we feel lost when you feel lost, and since you have felt unsure and have questioned yourself, the link and the balance has been unhinged. So we are here to show you who you are. Be happy with yourself for you are the light, be sure with yourself for you are the link and look no further than inside yourself for you are the guide.” With that final comment the turtle was left alone upon her rock and began to cry, but these were not tears of sorrow, but tears of joy, for she knew that she had finally heard the voice that she had been waiting for all these long dreamful nights. And so the following night, when the moon returned and shone brighter than ever before, the turtle sat upon her rock, looked up, smiled and began to dream the dreams of all.
The end
