Dailies: The woman who could

Photographer: Suzanne Beard

There once was a woman who could talk to animals. She enjoyed that very much because although there are many people who can talk to animals, there are very few who can hear animals’ answers. On her journeys through the forests, on the banks of little streams and strolling through meadows she constantly talked to the animals. She asked them interesting questions: What do they want to get out of life? What do they love doing most and why? Would they change the world if they could?

Sometimes the animals invited her to do things with them. “Come climb with me” the hairy worm would say. “Today you must swim” the fish invited. And then she did.

One day, she was having a conversation with a cow when the cow asked the woman: “How is it” said the cow, chewing her cud, “that you can talk to us animals and understand our answers?”

“Well” said the woman, “one day when I was young I came across a distorted tree. An owl was caught in its branches. ‘Please help me’ the owl pleaded. ‘If you would free me from this tree I would give you something that very few people receive.’

‘But of course I'll help you’ I said. I love animals and would have freed him even without the promise of a special gift. But the branches were all tangled and twisted and it took me a while and a lot of effort to get the owl out.

Released, the owl shook his feathers, moved his feet one by one, blinked his eyes three times at me and off he went. From that moment on I could talk to animals.”

“Aaah” said the cow, “a beautiful story. But something puzzles me – the owl talked to you even before you freed him from the branches and you could understand him.”

“Good gracious” said the woman, “I believe you’re right! What on earth was the special gift then that the owl gave to me?”

And then she flew away.

                                                                                               Story by Bronte Hienz

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