| No matter what the calendar said, it was the first day of
Spring. Joe breathed deep and his eyes clung to the fresh
white buds springing forth on the wild plum trees. The new
grass was knee high to a grasshopper and Joe's clod hoppers were
soaked with fresh dew. A blue jay was arguing with an eastern
mocking bird he couldn't see and a full busted robin red breast
perched on a lower limb with his eye cocked at a worm hole in the
grass. A little tufted titmouse flitted through the brush and
claimed the fiery flowered redbud tree for his own. No matter
what the calendar said, it was the first day of Spring and Joe was
glowing with the strong wine sap of youth. Even in the winter time Joe walked a mile or two every day across country dells but on this first day of spring he walked three - and he found the unicorn.
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| At first he thought it was a fawn. His foot halted in
mid-air and he grinned with delight. It was wonderful to
see a fawn nestled down in the freckled brush, not knowing it
was seen. Joe determined to hold the moment dear for an
hour if the fawn didn't move. Three minutes, four minutes,
maybe even five he waited frozen in place. Then he saw the
horn and realized he was seeing a miracle, a unicorn fresh from
the womb. Maybe it couldn't even walk yet, it was so
still. The mother? Joe's gaze raked the forest glen
and saw her not. "Gone for water most like." Joe put his foot down with his heart hammering. He knew just what he was going to do, catch the baby unicorn and take it home with him. Like all the forest people Joe knew that when a unicorn cried its tears turned into diamonds. How much trouble could it be to make a unicorn cry? A little pinch? A dip of snuff? And every tear would turn into a diamond. Joe took his clod hoppers off and set them to one side. Touching his clod hoppers made him sick that day; all the kids in school wore oxfords or sneakers. His clod hoppers were old too, coming apart. "With my first diamond I'll get a dozen pair of shoes, and with my second one I'll get new clothes. Won't nobody make no more fun of me! No sir." He inched forward half way on tippy-toes, hardly breathing - he went so slow. Then he slowly lowered himself to the ground and crawled the rest of the way. Only inches from his prize Joe noted the deep breaths taken by the unicorn and wondered how he had come so close. Then his mind worried about something else. "How do you catch a unicorn with your bare hands? Around the neck? it could twist away. One hand around the throat and the other behind the rump? its little hooves could rip him to pieces. Could you catch it by the horn? its little horn might be fragile and break in a sudden snap. Oh my. Oh my. How do you catch a unicorn? Joe decided to slip his strong right arm around the creature's belly and with his left draw that little horned head beneath his arm pit. No sooner thought than done, Joe lunged forward and caught the unicorn just that way. Oh what a frenzy of frantic struggles it put up. It whinnied, it bleated, it kicked, it jerked and it struggled but, with his heart set on diamonds, Joe snatched up his prize and hurried away home. There was a little place in the barn where no one ever went and to this secluded little stall Joe carried his prize, little horn and all. |
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| Just to be sure the unicorn could not escape, Joe put an
old gate across the top. Then he put in a flake of
choicest hay for the little fellow to eat. But the
unicorn did not eat. "He'll be hungry enough to eat by
in the morning," said Joe. He watched his prize with
awe until his mother called him into the house for breakfast. Johnny cake and sorghum molasses was all they had, but with visions of little diamonds dancing in his head, Joe ate it all and asked for more. "He's a growing boy and worth a fortune to his mom," said his mother as Joe's father looked askance at the empty plate. Joe wanted to hug himself with that thought, a fortune? Oh, if only she knew. "There will be a handful of little diamonds to put on my plate this morrow." His eyes glowed. "All I have to do is make my unicorn cry." As the second day of spring came aspringing Joe clad his feet in the clod hoppers and carried himself right outside. What a glorious golden sun glowed in the morning sky. Little blue birds twittered as they tugged little twigs and straw to build their nest in the budding plum tree. A flaming red cardinal dipped to a halt upon the handle of the pump and studied the wall of the well for his ration of morning sun flower seed. A golden-throated meadow lark trilled from the meadow and the grass glistened with gleaming dew. Joe dragged in a deep breath of fresh crisp air and sailed with clod hoppers only skimming to the barn to see if there his treasure still lay. Sweet horn looking soft, yes the unicorn was still there. Not so white, nor even so gleaming as he was the day before, the little unicorn still would not eat nor let Joe moisten its tongue with water from the mrlted snow. The shine from his coat was gone and the hay had stained his cheek a scummy green. "Cry a little, just for me," Joe pleaded. "Diamonds I do want, I do - but only a few. Cry a few tears please, just for me. The little unicorn stared at Joe as if his eyes were made of horn and would if he could bore a hole through Joe's breast and trample him beneath his feet. Joe backed away just a step and said: "Another day of hunger shall bring tears to your eyes. A pocketful of diamonds is all I ask. Why, you won't mind at all." |
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| Joe backed away into the sun. Away from the
shadows of that old barn did he flee, and soon he was
flying down the trail of his morning walk. As the
white buds of the wild plum trees closed him in Joe
breathed deep and his eyes clung to the new grass just
was knee high to a robin as it stamped its foot near the
open hole of a worm. A blue jay was arguing with an
eastern mocking bird he couldn't see and a red tailed
hawk skimmed the cloudy fleece that danced across the
sky.. No matter what the calendar said, it was the
second day of Spring and Joe was glowing with the
radiant wine sap of youth. And then he saw the
unicorn. Bigger than a red welsh pony but gleaming white, the unicorn was tippy toeing from brush to brush and sniffing hopefully at each one. "Why, it's the mother of the little unicorn I have caught," thought Joe. "Her heart must be breaking, aching for sight of the little guy. How like my mother she must be, with a heart full of love, just for me. She must be hurting now. Oh this I cannot stand." Joe turned. Back through the rows of daffodils he fled. Back to the barn he ran. Into his arms he gathered once more the little unicorn he had stolen. His clod hoppers were only skimming the fresh glistening dew as he carried his treasure back to the forest glen. The mother saw him coming and noted what he hauled. She whinnied frantic greeting but backed away from the boy. Tears glistened from her eyes and fell to the ground like rain. Not a one turned into a diamond. Not a one turned even into metal of precious weight. Her tears were like water and soaked into the ground. The stories were untrue. "I was risking his life for something the little fellow could not do," Jack said. Joe put down his burden and it raised up on shaky feet. A whinny it shrilled across the forest glen so still. Joe urged it forward and with glistening eyes watched it go. When the noses of the twain did touch Joe sank down upon the ground, his chest so tight. His joy was so full he wanted to hug himself with all his might. The mother unicorn glanced his way, stamped her foot as if in threat, and urged her son into the thickening shadows. A breeze wafted sweetly through the trees whence they had gone, and Joe smiled through his tears. His clod hoppers scarcely touched the ground as he hurried home. He burst into the house and threw his arms around his mother. "Mama, mama. I love you." She laughed and laughed. "Oh my little Joe. You are worth more than a sack full of treasure to me." "Mama, "I saw a unicorn and I held him in my hands, but I let him go." "Why did you let him go?" she asked softly. "His mother missed him, and I thought of you." he replied. "Oh, Joe," his mother cried, "You have made me so happy." Something hard struck Joe's hand and he glanced up to see little diamonds falling from his mother's eyes. Suddenly he knew why there had been no diamonds there when the mother unicorn cried; It's only the happy tears that can turn into diamonds. |
the end
About the author: Lin Stone takes keen delight in producing articles that parents can read to their bright children. ""If children tried to read this by themselves, this would be over their heads. But when the parent reads one of these subjects it opens up a dialogue between parent and child that can lead to better family togetherness." Parents can find other suitable topics, just Click HERE to see a larger index of the writings of this author.
Mr. Stone
also maintains a National Directory of the best insurance companies on the web and a National Directory of the best car insurance companies on the web.
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