*Inspired by True Story…
Once upon a time, there lived a lovely couple Zender and Denise.
They love to take hikes through the deeper forest as part of their dates.
It inspires them with a spirit of adventure while they make merry their lovely time together.
They are often greeted by songs of the bird and dance of the spirits. They would also be met by the little ants and critters, who bite them mischievously at times.
One day, Zender and Denise were taking their lovely hike through a lush forest trail, within a little valley formed by the waving river and bumbling rocks.
The space was peppered with shrubs of greens that soothes the anxious mind. It was covered in browns of range, that awakens the soul to the cycle of life.
A group of park rangers passed them, and they were obsessively doing their survey of the environment.
They carried clipboards, and were decked from head to toe with gear like a soldier. They walked past Zender and Denise, without much awareness of their presence.
Eyes fixated on their checklist and objectives, they went about their work, paying little attention to the beauty that beheld them at the moment.
After busily trudging past a stretch of palm tree and rocks, the rangers disappeared further into the valley.
“CHIRP CHIRP”, a tune came from young people singing from the slope of fallen leaves by the side of the valley.
Denise’s ears lit up, like a twitching elf to the woods. She nudged Zender in the direction of the song.
They looked intently, as the song sang with a tinge of anxiety…
A brown-white little bird fluttered his wing and winced. His sudden action caught the eye of the couple. They finally spotted him. He was a baby White Crested Laughing Thrush. He was too small and young to take flight from the ground.
The little bird hopped away from the side of the slope. He slipped and slid near a palm tree.
“PLOP”
The baby fell into a ditch by the palm tree.
It was obvious to Zender and Denise that the baby would not be able to climb out of the hole.
They looked around for his mummy and daddy. But saw no one in sight.
A sting of animal-parental instinct tugged on Denise’s heart. She spoke to Zender through her crystal-lighted eyes. He too felt the magical instinct that connected him with his Nature.
Zender climbed carefully into the ditch by the palm tree. He reached out softly to the baby Thrush. When his skin touched the feather of the little baby Thrush, a wind of energy sprinkled across his body. Suddenly, he could hear the baby.
“Don’t touch me! Who are you? I’m not tasty! Ouch Ouch Ouch, who’s biting me?” , chirped Tella, the baby Laughing Thrush.
Zender carried Tella out of the ditch cautiously, making sure he did not traumatise him further.
After carrying Tella out, Zender carefully lifted her wings, and saw many ants embedding their mandibles in Tella’s flesh and feathers.
Zender picked them out one by one.
At first, Tella was freaking out and tried to flutter and hop away.
Zender assured Tella, “I’m picking the ones who are biting you, stay still, young one.”
Upon hearing the words, Tella was amused and found calmness, so that Zender could hear him. Tella stayed still, and stopped trembling.
Denise, who was by the side, also felt the sprinkle of Forest magic that came from Zender’s and Tella’s connection. She could hear the voice of the Laughing Thrush.
High in the crown of the trees by the valley, a song of longing, vibrating with anxiety, rang through the wind of the Forest.
Denise knew that Tella’s mummy and daddy were somewhere in the crown of the Tree. It was as if her animal-parental instinct connected with that of mummy’s and daddy’s.
She made a beautiful and clear call to mummy and daddy, “Your baby is here.”
Tella’s mummy and daddy came down from the crown, and found their baby with Zender and Denise. They were frantic initially. But Denise assured them that they were tending to the little one, and would bring him back to their nest in the shrubs above the slopes.
Mummy and Daddy calmed down, after seeing their baby lying quietly, unafraid of the moment he was in.
After picking all the ants from Tella’s body, Zender and Denise helped Tella up the slopes, into the shrubs of the slopes, where their nest was.
Tella chirped, “Thank you, Zender, I will remember you”, and hopped away into the arms of his parents.
They held him tightly…
Zender and Denise watched preciously.
They turned and looked into the distant forest along the valley path, with a sense of depth and realisation of the magic that they had just experienced.
They are all Nature…
Written by: Darren Quek
Editted by: Wei Shimin
Author’s Note:
This story was inspired by a true real life experience that myself and my wife experienced months ago.
The mantra ‘let nature take its course’ comes up quite often in our discussions with children and amongst ourselves, especially when our programs are conducted in the natural environment. Children and coaches do witness wildlife in various predicaments.
The same mantra that kind of influenced our decision at the beginning when we contemplated on what we should do next. We did not want to interfere but struggled with the decision because we simply could not turn a blind eye to what we saw and leave the baby there, knowing that it would eventually die of hunger or get bitten by ants (we found plenty of them on the baby’s body).
Are humans not part of Nature? If we really want to rescue the bird, can’t they? After much struggle, I squatted, went down and brought the baby out of the pithole.
We even explored the possibility of bringing the baby home, how we were going to care for it, what food the baby might need, etc.
More often than not, we tend to see humanity apart from nature. The truth is we humans are part of Nature. It’s also about embracing and acknowledging our current state of being that is itself Nature…
Library 