All of the animals lived on the long flat valley floor of
what we now know as being the San Joaquin Valley in the state of California. These animals
were very unhappy with their living situation. You see, every den along every river way
was filled to capacity and teeming with life. Every branch on the large and extensive
Forest of Oak trees were occupied, all of the waters of the rivers were alive with tenants
and even the high grasses had its full share of families, they were the fortunate ones,
the protected ones, they were the ones that possessed a home. But what of the others in
the animal kingdom you may ask, if your heart is full of compassion, how did they make
their home in the open expanses? That was the problem, for where ever and when ever the
homeless tried to rest their head or find one area where they could lodge their children,
it did not deter everyone and anyone from running right through their camp and right over
them. The truth is that those animal people kept wandering and looking for that one safe
and secure spot that they could perhaps call home. Since space was extremely precious, a
plan had to be made to insure all had a place to rest their head, and call to their
families from a doorway of safety, but where would that be! The Grizzly, the Mountain
Lion, The Deer, the Stellar Jay, and the Bobcat agreed there was only one who could take on
such a monumental task, one that was qualified to travel a great distance to search the
land to solve this difficulty, and so they journeyed to council with Eagle. Everyone had
something different to say about their particular wants and desires, and yet when Eagle
heard everyone's voice they all sounded the same in what they asked. They all wanted a
beautiful, safe home to call their own. Eagle agreed to take upon himself the task of
finding a place for all those that stood before him. His great wings opened and in three
hops he was air borne, flying higher and higher and higher, circling carefully as not to
miss one small detail of a possibility. Eagle used his strength to fly a mile high in the
sky, and with his excellent eyesight traveling far and wide, he concentrated on looking
for the right conditions so that he could bring home the good news to the waiting animal
people that he had found them a home. With all of his heart he wanted them to have a
peace, and a happiness, or he knew that the great valley may loose some of its most
valuable families. One exhausting day after another Eagle spends in the pursuit of the
perfect place for all of the animal people, but there was no perfect place for all of them
to be found. What was good for one was not good for another. All were so different, with
different needs and wants. After many months have passed, Eagle arrives back to the animal
people to explain that living conditions were no different anywhere else that he viewed,
no matter how far, how wide or how high he traveled. There was only one solution that he
had thought of as he flew over the land each day, it would mean that each and every animal
would have to dedicate themselves to hard and exhausting work together in order to make a
better place to live for all. Did the animal people want to begin such an arduous plan?
COMMENTARY:
This story tells of a group of diverse animal people
working together in an effort to solve a problem in their living conditions, with hard
work, courage and the ability to follow wise directions. A social situation that is
reminiscent in our time as well as being a theme in this story that has survived five
thousand years.
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