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Disclaimer:
All
rights held by the author.
No allowance is given for those wishing to gain financially
by selling part of,
or the whole work of fiction in the following pages.
One
day a Farmer went out to his garden to work. It
was a large garden and there were many plants
growing in his garden. The Farmer went through
the narrow windy pathways admiring the numerous
plants growing there. There were pretty flowers
and tall trees. There were shrubs of many types
and their leaves were colourful and bright. As
the Farmer went from tree to tree, from plant
to plant and flower to flower he took time to
admire the trees and to smell the flowers. He
would touch the leaves of the trees, feeling their
texture as he ran his fingers upon the surface.
The
Farmer loved his garden, and every afternoon when
the sun was going down and the day had become cool
he would go out as usual and look over his garden
and admire the many plants and trees growing there.
Sometimes the trees weren't doing well and he would
have to place some fertiliser on them to help them
along. Other times he would just take a hoe out and
pack more soil around the base on the plants to give
them more support. On other days he would cut off
or pull off the dead leaves to make room for new buds
to form on the stems and branches. He paid close attention
to every single plant. But sometimes the plants did
not do well despite all the Farmer did for it and
there was nothing left but to pull the plant out of
the ground and plant another one in it's place.
One
particular afternoon while the Farmer was crossing
a stream that ran through his garden he happened to
come upon a sparrow lying on the ground amongst some
dead and decaying leaves. Noticing that there were
other sparrows around the Farmer wondered why they
were not helping the fallen sparrow. As the farmer
watched he saw that they were busy chasing insects
and pulling worms out of the ground to eat. They were
either unaware of their fellow sparrow or they too
caught-up in what they were doing to show concern
for their fallen comrade.
Though
the farmer was not a sparrow or another member of the bird family the
Farmer had compassion on the little sparrow. Looking at the ailing bird
he knelt down and ever-so-carefully he picked up the feathered creature
and walked back through the garden back to his home where he laid the
little sparrow down on a soft teatowel and went to fill a little bowl
with some water to quench the sparrows thirst.
When
the Farmer returned he found that the little bird had become ravelled
in the teatowel and had nearly suffocated itself. The Farmer slowly removed
the teatowel so as not to scare it, picked up the bird and moved it's
beak towards the bowl of water which he held in his other hand. The little
bird was reluctant to drink at first but soon after a few little beak-fulls
it quickly started to swallow too much and the Farmer had to restrain
it so that the poor little creature did not choke itself.
After
the bird had drunk to its hearts content it felt revived.
so the Farmer laid it back on the soft teatowel and
went to fetch some seeds for the bird to eat. He crushed
the seeds with a mallet and soaked it them some honey.
When the little sparrow had eaten the Farmer sat down
by the bird and he touched the birds head and the
little sparrow was able to speak.
"What
happened to you? Why were you lying on the ground?" asked the Farmer.
"I
was eating with the others when a cat came along and
chased me all around until I became so worn-out I
went and hid myself in a small hole in a tree trunk
where the cat could not get me," the little sparrow
replied. "But the cat waited for me for awhile and
then went away when it grew tired of it's little game.
But by then I was so exhausted that when I crawled
out of the hole I was only able to move slowly and
when I finally reached where the others were I was
unable to feed myself and so I just lay there thirsty
and starving."
"Why
didn't the other sparrows come to your aid and chase
away the cat? Surely they should have realised that
if they group together they could have chased away
the cat," the Farmer said a frown forming on his face.
"Maybe they were afraid for themselves and did not
want to get involved. Or maybe they had tried before
and had failed. Or maybe they didn't care or were
too busy to concern themselves with my plight," replied
the little sparrow quietly and it started to cry,
it's little beak shaking with each little whimper.
The farmer stroked the little sparrows head until
it relaxed again.
"As
I lay there I wondered why they did not come to help me. But after awhile
I didn't care and just gave up thinking about them. And then you came
along. I thought if you would be the same. I wondered if you would see
me and help or if you would carry on with your day and not concern yourself
with me."
"When
I saw you I knew I had to help you. It is part of
me to help not only when someone needs or when they
don't I just like to make myself available," the Farmer
replied.
"I
am sure glad you came when you did because if the
cat had returned before you I wouldn't be alive."
"Well
I am glad I happened upon you too. I can't have a
pretty little creature like you dying in my garden,
now can I," smiled the Farmer, a huge smile forming
on his lips as the two of them broke out into laughter.
After
the laughter had subsided the two of them talked some
more and the Farmer gave the little sparrow a name.
Nina.
When
the little sparrow had fully recovered, the Farmer
took it outside and watched it fly off his palm into
the day. From that day on when the Farmer went to
look at his garden every afternoon he would walk past
the stream and when he got to the spot where he had
first found Nina he would wait for the little sparrow
to come and rest on his palm. They would talk and
laugh together.
Luke
12:6-7
“Are not five sparrows sold
for two copper coins?
And not one of them is forgotten before God.
“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than
many sparrows."
©New
King James Version
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