The tall trees in the green forest were moving with the wind. The leaves were playing a soft melody and the sun was rising. Underneath a warm sunbeam, Sammy the Turtle’s little head poked out of his armor.
“What a wonderful day,” Sammy said to himself, “just like yesterday. I’ll go to the fig tree and eat from its sweet leaves.”
Every morning, Sammy moved slowly along the purple flowered path until he came to the fig tree. He ate, he slept, and then he went back to his usual place. One morning, Sammy was walking along the purple flowered path. Suddenly, he heard a noise. He turned his head to see a fawn playfully racing toward him. The fawn didn’t see Sammy, and before he could put his head inside his armor, he was flying through the air. He tumbled across the grass and landed on the rough ground.
When he stopped, there was silence all around. Even the wind and the melody of the leaves could not be heard. Sammy thought that his eyes were closed, but they were open and he didn’t see any light.
“It can’t already be evening,” he thought.
Sammy didn’t recognize where he had landed, so he decided to poke his head out to check where he was. Looking around, he discovered that he had landed in a cave. It was chilly inside the cave but Sammy felt okay. He actually had kind of a homey feeling inside that little cave.
Sammy was hungry. He found a little bush beside him and tasted its leaves. It was very tasty. He saw a scroll that was rolled up and fastened with a lace, hidden in the bushes.
“Wow,” said Sammy, “My grandpa once told me about a scroll that was lost many years ago. He said that it had secret writing on it. Could this be the one?”
Sammy pulled the lace and the scroll rolled opened. It was a map. The map led to an enchanted forest with fruit trees, brooks, and spectacular flowers. It was a place where every animal in the world would love to be.
Sammy decided he would find the enchanted forest, come what may. He collected some leaves inside his shell for snacks on the way and started the journey. Sammy walked almost all day long. By evening, he was very tired. He looked back and saw the cave he’d left behind. It was not so far away.
“That’s as far as I’ve gone?” said Sammy, disappointedly. “I am so slow. It may take me another sixty years to reach this wonderful forest.”
At that moment, Chuck, the squirrel came hopping down the hill. When he saw Sammy, he stopped his hopping and said, “Hello little turtle; may I help you?”
Sammy told Chuck about the wonderful forest that was drawn on the map that he had found.
“Hey, wow,” called Chuck in wonder. “May I join you? I’ve always dreamed of an enchanted place. I don’t know how to read maps, but I am very nimble. I will carry you on my back.”
“Wonderful! Great!” called Sammy, and they continued the journey together.
When evening came, Chuck said, “We’ll sleep here at the foot of the tree until morning.” And they fell asleep immediately.
Morning arrived, the sun was shining and Sammy stuck out his head and called, “Get up Chuck, we should be moving. We’ve only traveled halfway there.”
“My back hurts from carrying you yesterday,” said Chuck. “I’ll walk slowly with you.” They advanced at a turtle’s pace, and felt bad that they still had a long way to go. About an hour later, they stopped to have breakfast from a blueberry bush. Tippy, the blue bird, also landed on the bush and started pecking.
“Everything is so tasty,” tweeted Tippy. “So why are you sad, Chuck?”
“We have a map to an enchanted, wonderful forest, but it is hard for us to walk fast. It will take us a long time to get there, and we don’t want to stay here.”
“So…” said Tippy, “How about if I sing to you? That way, the trip will be more pleasant.”
“Thank you, thank you very much,” said Sammy and Chuck together.
And so the three of them continued on their journey. Sammy read the map and told them which direction to go. Chuck carried Sammy on his back from time to time, and Tippy sang to help make the trip more enjoyable. Every one of them helped the other and together they became a terrific group.
They walked for a few days, maybe a week. They didn’t even notice how much time had passed because they had such a wonderful time together. They passed mountains and valleys, fields, and lakes, nights and days. They had such a wonderful time together that they didn’t notice that they were walking in a circle….and then it happened.
“We have arrived,” called Sammy “It’s here, just like it says in the scroll.” Sammy tasted the leaves of a green fig tree.
“So tasty! Mmmmm it reminds me a little bit of the tree beside my house, but the taste is… mmmmmm…I’ve never tasted such sweet leaves as these.”
Chuck also started eating from the fruits he picked and said, “Correct, Sammy, the food here is simply delicious, the taste of heaven.”
“And the water is so clear,” chirped Tippy in her lovely voice.
“One moment,” said Sammy, “I think this place is exactly like my home. There’s even a path with purple flowers and a fig tree, too.” Sammy continued along the path. “And it leads to my house,” he called, pointing with his finger toward his house. “I’ve lived here forever. We walked in a circle and we came back to my house!” called Sammy, and then he burst out laughing. “Now, this forest looks different! Much better than before. In fact, it’s wonderful!”
“Right!” twittered Tippy. “I recognize this lake; I drink from it every day, but now the water in it looks bluer.”
“Friends, you are definitely right!” said Chuck. “We have always lived here, but every one of us was here separately. But now, being together with such good friends, the house looks joyful and shiny.”
“The leaves are crisper,” called Sammy.
“The fruits are tastier,” said Chuck.
“And the water is sweeter,” twittered Tippy.
“This must be the secret scroll,” said Sammy, “because it led us to look inside our hearts, and now we see that together, everything becomes wonderful.”
“With friends, everything feels great,” added Chuck and picked two tasty cherries for Sammy and Tippy.