While other eagles rode the wind, one young eagle stared longingly into the sky. For a moment, Eagle Girl closed her eyes and imagined the weightlessness of flight. What must it be like to feel the gusts beneath her wings? To spread them wide and soar?<\/p>\n
Leaving the fantasy behind, she tugged miserably at the strap of a heavy sack tied around her neck. Like most days, her inadequacy as a hunter had been repeatedly proven. She was hungry, tired and angry.<\/p>\n
Turning her beak to the ground, she scrounged for anything that might resemble food. Quite close to her, a mouse poked its head from the earth. She lunged, but the mouse scurried faster than she could drag the heavy sack. The critter dove into a hole and reappeared only three wingspans away, but it might as well have been a distance of a thousand. Seemingly aware of Eagle Girl\u2019s inabilities, the mouse strolled blithely out of sight.<\/p>\n
In the not-too-distance, a pond lay still, reflecting the summer sky. Eagle Girl dragged her heavy burden forward. At least a pond couldn\u2019t run away. She leaned in for a drink, and felt a pebble beneath her talon. <\/p>\n
\u201cA stone!\u201d she cried. She picked it up with her beak and tossed it angrily into the water. The pebble plunked, making ripples that spread in ever-growing circles. <\/p>\n
Then, in the place where the water met the sky, she spotted something else. With eyes as keen as any eagle\u2019s, she watched a small white spot on the far edge of the pond grow larger and closer.<\/p>\n
Eagle Girl had much reason to worry. The burden she bore made her an easy target. As she watched the spot approach, her feathers raised slightly away from her skin in the futile anticipation of flight. She clucked her beak tight, dismissing the ancient instinct with disgust, and simply hoped she wouldn\u2019t have to drag the sack much further that day.<\/p>\n
Ah\u2014it\u2019s only a swan.<\/em><\/p>\n The water moved with the swan, the ripples swirling and bowing until they\u2019d completely reversed direction and moved towards the Earth-bound eagle. In this way, the swan seemed to carry the entire pond as she approached.<\/p>\n Eagle Girl watched the tiny waves and the sky and the loamy ground, and determined only through stolen glances that the swan was an elder and therefore posed little threat. Even so, she stood in front of the sack and flexed one wing in a casual pose that she hoped would conceal her burden.<\/p>\n When the swan came to a graceful stop at the edge of the water, Eagle Girl turned her head sideways, tucking her beak into the feathers of her own throat in the customary bird salutation.<\/p>\n Having returned the greeting, the swan elder lifter her head high on her graceful neck. \u201cHave you a question?\u201d<\/p>\n Feigning interest in her own sand-flecked talon, Eagle Girl pecked a few loose grains as she pondered the query, for while she had many questions, she had never before been asked to say them. The water grew still with anticipation. When a small wrinkle bubbled up near the swan, Eagle Girl feared she was turning to leave and finally blurted out, \u201cHave you answers?\u201d<\/p>\n The swan took nearly as long with her reply. The only movement on the water\u2019s surface was the reflection of a passing cloud. Finally she said, \u201cI have watched and listened and studied and absorbed but still have much to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWas that an answer?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWas that a question?\u201d<\/p>\n Eagle Girl lifted the feathers on top of her head in annoyance. \u201cWell, since I am so unskilled at questioning, perhaps you should start.\u201d<\/p>\n In the ensuing pause, she feared the swan would ask if she <\/em>had answers and she had no answer even for that.<\/p>\n \u201cTell me,\u201d the swan began, \u201cWhy does an eagle sit desolate at the edge of a pond when she owns the sky?\u201d<\/p>\n All the longing of a lifetime swelled within the eagle. In resolute desperation, she stepped aside and dropped her wing, exposing her weakness.<\/p>\n The swan moved effortlessly over the water, finding a better vantage to study the sack. \u201cIs it quite heavy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is.\u201d<\/p>\n She paused again in the oh-so-still water before finally asking, \u201cHow did it come to be tied around your neck?\u201d<\/p>\n Eagle Girl fixed her eyes on the last slivers of light as the sun made its evening journey beyond the horizon. \u201cI have no memory of a time before.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd what,\u201d the swan began with some trepidation, \u201cis within the sack?\u201d<\/p>\n The eagle turned, pushed her beak through the narrow mouth of the sack, and with some effort, pulled out a tiny pebble. She held it up for the swan to see before pushing it back into the sack.<\/p>\n The swan swam in small circles, considering the situation. When she stopped, sun-colors spread over the pond\u2019s glossy finish, surrounding the swan in a whirl of hues. \u201cI believe I may have a solution.\u201d<\/p>\n Every feather on Eagle Girl\u2019s body raised up as a thrill ran through her, but no words could capture a question.<\/p>\n Elder Swan went on without need of verbal coaxing. \u201cCan you give me one of the stones?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I suppose I could, although I don\u2019t know what you\u2019d want with them. They\u2019re less than useless.\u201d Eagle Girl stuck her beak back into the sack, skeptical but wanting to hope. When she\u2019d caught another pebble, she pulled it free and then leaned towards the swan. Craning her neck as far as she could, she waited for the swan to take the stone.<\/p>\n Instead, the swan said, \u201cDrop the stone there.\u201d<\/p>\n More skeptical still, the eagle dropped the pebble. It plunked with a small splash, and dropped beneath its own ripples.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s as I thought,\u201d she alleged, cryptically. \u201cIn the morning, return to this spot and drop in another pebble. When I feel the ripples, I\u2019ll return.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then you\u2019ll have answers?\u201d the eagle asked, her doubt clearly offered with her words.<\/p>\n \u201cIn time,\u201d the swan said as she turned to glide away, \u201cyou<\/em> will have answers.\u201d<\/p>\n After a sleepless night, the eagle returned to the water\u2019s edge. With the feathers on top of her head rising with disdain for her own silly hope, she dropped another of her many pebbles into the water. The gentle whirls it created were almost imperceptible, but before long a white spot appeared on the far side of the pond. As it grew larger, the stubborn hope within the Eagle grew as well.<\/p>\n All day the eagle and the swan conversed, their words moving in circles that echoed the swirls in the water. When nightfall was imminent, Eagle Girl woefully said, \u201cA whole day has passed, and still I have no answers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere are many days, Eagle. Many more days.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut, this sack of stones makes each one misery.\u201d<\/p>\n The swan straightened her long neck, lifting her head high. \u201cHas this day been misery?\u201d<\/p>\n The eagle had to admit that day had been less miserable than most.<\/p>\n \u201cAll right, then. Tomorrow, return to this spot and drop two stones into the water. When I feel the second one fall, I\u2019ll return.\u201d<\/p>\n The next morning, Eagle girl returned with a little less hope but a bit more will to survive. Perhaps she\u2019d be tethered to the ground forever, but at least it seemed she wouldn\u2019t have to spend all her days alone. She dropped a small stone into the pond and followed it with another. Her eyes tracked the ripples to the horizon and the gift of an approaching white swan.<\/p>\n When the swan was near, they each bowed their heads in the familiar beak-to-throat greeting.<\/p>\n The swan asked, \u201cHow are you, Eagle?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs I\u2019ve always been,\u201d she sighed. \u201cAnd you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI am as I am today.\u201d The swan\u2019s eyes smiled.<\/p>\n Eagle Girl felt the feathers on top of her head lift. \u201cIs that an answer?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf you offer a fish, I will return with a fish. But, if you only offer stones\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Eagle girl narrowed her eyes as she might when they shone on prey. \u201cWhy do you talk in riddles? You know I have only stones.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDo I?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDo you what? Talk in riddles? Or think I have something more to offer?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI suppose I do.\u201d<\/p>\n By this time, the feathers were rising all over Eagle Girl\u2019s body. \u201cI don\u2019t like riddles. What else could I offer?\u201d<\/p>\n The swan swam in circles, seemingly delighted in the eagle\u2019s distress. \u201cI believe,\u201d she said after a lengthy pause, \u201cyou may benefit from contemplation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cContemplation?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes. Today, think of what else you might have to offer. Tomorrow, if you wish to continue this conversation, return at first light and drop three stones into the water.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThree? More each day? And\u2026 I would hardly call this farce a conversation! Most eagles would laugh you right out of the sky.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAh, perhaps that\u2019s why I live in the water,\u201d she said over her wing as she glided away.<\/p>\n Despite her irritation, first morning light found Eagle Girl standing at the edge of the water. Plop, plop, plop\u2026 three stones dropped out of sight and the ripples spread like wings towards the distant shore.<\/p>\n Not wanting to appear eager, Eagle Girl refused to watch the swan approach. She focused instead on the muddy ground. When she sensed the swan\u2019s presence, she gave the greeting without looking up.<\/p>\n Swan asked, \u201cHow are you, Eagle?\u201d<\/p>\n Eagle stared into the distance. \u201cI am unchanged. And you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI am as ever-changing as the pond.\u201d<\/p>\n The eagle lifted one clawed foot, gesturing to the smooth water. \u201cThe pond is as unchanged as I am!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, yes, I suppose,\u201d the swan said, as too she gazed out over the water, \u201cif you look only upon its surface.\u201d With that, she ducked her head down beneath the rippling water and when her face popped back up, a small, writhing fish was caught in her beak. She tossed it onto the shore. \u201cHave you had breakfast?\u201d<\/p>\n If Eagle Girl wasn\u2019t so hungry, she\u2019d have left the fish where it lay, but a pity fish was better than none. She swallowed it whole.<\/p>\n Days passed, as they do. Each morning Eagle Girl dropped stones into the pond, increasing the number by one a day. Always, the swan was there to answer her call. They talked about the world as they knew it, and wondered about the things they knew not. A great fondness swelled in Eagle Girl\u2019s heart, and she was certain the swan felt the same.<\/p>\n On the day of fifty stones, the swan again asked, \u201cHow are you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cStill full of questions.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGive me one, then.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy do I have to drag this sack of stones?\u201d Anger flared bright. \u201cAnd what became of the culprit who tied it onto my throat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTwo questions but only one answer.\u201d<\/p>\n With one eye narrowed, the eagle cocked her head. \u201cOne answer for both? And what would that be?\u201d<\/p>\n The swan dunked her head and pulled up a frog. She tossed it towards the shore. With three quick hops, the frog hid itself in a clump of grass, still within the eagle\u2019s reach.<\/p>\n Though hungry, the eagle said, \u201cI don\u2019t eat frogs.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd if you did?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell\u2026 then I would.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cExactly what?\u201d the eagle cried, all her feathers ruffled out, her wings lifting in a show of size that belied her lack of power.<\/p>\n The swan ducked down again, this time returning with a fish. She tossed it to the eagle who, becoming used to the swan\u2019s antic\u2019s, caught it easily in her own beak. After swallowing her breakfast, she said, \u201cThat doesn\u2019t answer my question.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWill answers lighten your burden?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMore riddles!\u201d<\/p>\n Elder Swan circled as she was wont to do. The ripples stretched towards Eagle Girl and outward towards the limits of sight. \u201cEagle,\u201d she said, dipping a wing in to create a larger swell, \u201cwe each live according to our nature.\u201d<\/p>\n Eagle Girl pecked at a loose feather, but listened closely to the swan\u2019s words.<\/p>\n \u201cToday, the fish was consumed to feed your hunger, but the frog will live because you won\u2019t eat it.\u201d<\/p>\n As if on cue, the frog splashed back into the pond, creating its own ripples.<\/p>\n The swan continued. \u201cI will create swirls in the surface of this pond and dive down to find its hidden treasures.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell\u2026 yes\u2026 but what does that have to do with the scoundrel who left me this?\u201d She tugged angrily on the strap around her neck.<\/p>\n \u201cScoundrels will live and die according to their nature, and as long as you search for your particular scoundrel as if that <\/em>is the question that needs answering, you will always drag a sack of stones.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlways?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n \u201cAlways, if\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Knowing the elder swan\u2019s ways, Eagle Girl left to ponder the puzzling answer on her own, not wishing for any more riddles.<\/p>\n Each morning she returned to the pond.<\/p>\n Always the swan answered her call.<\/p>\n Every night, Eagle Girl wondered what questions she was meant to ask in order to get the answers she needed.<\/p>\n By the day of a hundred stones, counting them had become time-consuming and tedious. Why did the swan demand ever more of her as the days went on? It took most of the morning to pull the stubborn stones from the sack and drop them one-by-one into the water.<\/p>\n When Elder Swan appeared, she offered her usual question.<\/p>\n \u201cHow are you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs always, wondering.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd the question?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs it not my right to accuse my offender? Am I not supposed to be angry? Shouldn\u2019t the culprit be punished?\u201d<\/p>\n The swan wordlessly dipped a wing into the water as she thought.<\/p>\n With growing impatience the eagle exclaimed, \u201cI\u2019ve offered three questions! Have you not a single answer?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI have.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlways talking in riddles! You\u2019ve offered me nothing, not even a fish!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHave you not eaten?\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, the eagle had eaten. That morning, a mouse had popped up from the ground and she had somehow, miraculously caught it. \u201cThat\u2019s not the point.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIndeed it isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n Turning in anger, Eagle Girl said, \u201cI\u2019m tired of riddles!\u201d She stormed away.<\/p>\n Before she\u2019d gone far, the swan called out, \u201cHow quickly you move.\u201d<\/p>\n Eagle Girl paused mid-step, talons splayed in shock. She had <\/em>moved quickly. Turning back to the swan she asked, \u201cHow is that possible?\u201d<\/p>\n The swan was already heading back to her distant shore. Over her wing she called, \u201cAh, a much better question, don\u2019t you think? Sometimes the right questions are better than answers.\u201d<\/p>\n That night, the eagle puzzled over the swan\u2019s parting remarks. How could no answers and more questions be better?<\/p>\n The next day, she returned to the pond and began carefully counting out one-hundred-and-one stones. That is, until she suddenly came to the bottom of the sack.<\/p>\n It was empty.<\/p>\n She spread her wings and lifted off the ground, just a wingspan, but more than she ever had in the past. She flapped wildly with excitement as she searched for the swan on the Horizon.<\/p>\n Oh no! I\u2019ve counted only sixty stones. She isn\u2019t going to come! <\/em><\/p>\n She managed to loosen the sack\u2019s strap a bit, which brought incredible relief. Then she realized if Elder Swan was there, she might help her loosen it further. All day, the eagle paced the shore, wondering how she could get the swan\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n The following day, she stared mournfully across the still water, missing her friend terribly. She tossed in all the stones she could find, and then all the sticks, which only floated, and many blobs of mud which merely dissipated and turned the water murky. There seemed to be no way to get the swan to come back.<\/p>\n The following day, she returned to the shore again with a new question. \u201cOh Swan,\u201d she called out, \u201cIf you were here, what would you do?\u201d She paced and pondered all of another day away.<\/p>\n The next day, as she began her daily pacing, Eagle Girl remembered how the swan had spoken of treasures hidden below the surface of the pond. She went to the water\u2019s edge and then took another step, and another. The water was up to her tail-feathers and she dared not go any further.<\/p>\n She peered down through the water. Unable to see any treasure, she bent over and tilted until her head was under water. She searched the depths with her eagle eyes until the sack around her neck grew soggy and sank, obscuring her view.<\/p>\n Just as she was cursing the sack for making it impossible to find the answer to another question, it became so heavy with water that the strap slid right over her head. She stared down at the sack, already disappearing under the silty bottom of the pond as the reality gradually took hold.<\/p>\n She was free.<\/p>\n She lifter her head out of the water and felt the lightness of life without the burden she\u2019d carried forever. Then, she tilted her head up towards the sky. Without another moment\u2019s hesitation, she spread her wings and flew. Rising, lifting, soaring until the water below her was only an amorphous bit of blue on the brown and green landscape, she cried out to the world, \u201cLook at me!\u201d The exhilaration! The pure joy of the air beneath her wings! It was so much better than the fantasy; more than she ever could have asked for, even if she\u2019d known what to ask.<\/p>\n Suddenly she knew that the only question she should ever have asked was, how can I leave the burden behind? \u201cOh Swan,\u201d she called out as she dipped and rose again. \u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell me? I\u2019ve wasted so much time!\u201d<\/p>\n Just before she fell into exhausted sleep that night\u2014settled high in a tree, in the proper eagle way\u2014it occurred to her that she hadn\u2019t actually been wasting time. The sack had to be emptied one stone at a time. If it hadn\u2019t been empty, it never would have been loose enough to slip from her neck. And if not for the swan, she never would have begun to empty it and all her days would have been as lonely and miserable as the ones before.<\/p>\n She awoke at morning\u2019s first glow, and swooped blissfully down to the pond for a drink. After an easily-attained breakfast, she rose up and flew across the pond. Her heart was full of gratitude and she wanted to share it with her one, true friend. She glided over the shore, slowly, hovering here and there as she rode the wind, until she found the elder swan floating in a small cove.<\/p>\n \u201cLook,\u201d she called as she dropped down near the swan. \u201cThe sack is gone!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI see,\u201d the swan replied.<\/p>\n The eagle had expected more. She pruned her feathers, stretching them out in the sun as she spoke. \u201cI\u2019ve missed you, Swan. How are you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI am as I am today and tomorrow I will be as I will be.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cStill talking in riddles I see.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI am well! I am better than well! I am\u2026 wonderful. And I\u2019m so glad I found you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHave you another question?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, many, I\u2019m sure, but always it\u2019s seems I\u2019ve asked the wrong ones.\u201d They were silent for some time. Finally, she asked, \u201cWhat now?\u201d<\/p>\n The swan answered, \u201cBreakfast.\u201d She ducked down, caught a fish, and came up swallowing it.<\/p>\n \u201cBut\u2026 what about me? What do I do next? What happens to\u2026 us?\u201d<\/p>\n The elder swan pecked at her feathers, cleaning and pruning, but did not respond.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t you have a single thing to say?\u201d the eagle laughed, hoping to bring some of the old humor back to the swan.<\/p>\n \u201cQuestions and more questions,\u201d was all she said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut still no answers?\u201d Eagle Girl brought her wings in tight, and stood silently, waiting. The wait extended through two gusts of wind.<\/p>\n Finally, the swan said, \u201cEagle, we live in different worlds. I live only in the realm of this pond while you own the sky. Surely you can answer your own questions, now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut\u2026 I like to hear your riddles. I\u2019ve missed your answers, cryptic as they are, and\u2026 I thought you liked to talk to me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI hear your gratitude and the joy you display brings me joy as well. But our time together has reached its logical end.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLogical\u2026 end? But why? Just because I have no stone to offer? Just because I can fly?\u201d<\/p>\n The swan looked out over the water. Ripples spread toward her, calling her in another direction. \u201cI have to go now, Eagle. Take care. Enjoy the sky.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, Swan! Wait! Why? Why would you leave?\u201d<\/p>\n A thousand more questions were at the tip of her beak, but the swan was already moving out of sight. Eagle Girl lifted up, and flew over the swan, swooping back and forth, soaring on the wind, but the swan was only a small white spot, and growing smaller as the eagle rose higher. <\/p>\n In time, Eagle Girl found her own answers. Still, she often returned to the shore where she\u2019d first watched a white spot appear on the horizon. Sometimes she looked into the water, trying to catch a glimpse of the burden she\u2019d once carried, and other times she watched the ripples in the water and wondered which ones called to the swan. It had been difficult, but she was gradually getting used to living without the swan. What she might never get used to was the gratitude she had for a sack of stones, without which she never would have found the answers, or the greatest questions of her life. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n A slightly revised ending to The Eagle and the Swan:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo, Swan! Don\u2019t go! Why would you leave?\u201d<\/p>\n A thousand more questions were at the tip of her beak, but the swan was already moving effortlessly away.<\/p>\n Eagle Girl rose above the water to follow. She swooped back and forth and saw her reflection in the image of sky on the pond\u2019s smooth surface. The swan dipped a wing and ripples broke through the illusion, exposing the secret of depth\u2019s abundance. From where she flew, Eagle Girl saw that all the swan\u2019s answers were there, waiting to be discovered.<\/p>\n Seeing the murky depths beneath the swan brought a new clarity to the eagle. She rose until the swan was only a white spot in the small sky-like pond. Then, with a last goodbye, she turned her eyes upward. She soared, her wings creating ripples of their own, and discovered the secrets of the sky.<\/p>\n Eagle girl often returned to the shore where she\u2019d first spotted fate in a bit of white where the sky met the water. She watched the ripples and wondered which ones called to the swan. Her gratitude was bigger than the pond and the endless sky. It spilled over as thanks to frogs and fish, to the swan and the shifting winds, and even to a heavy sack of stones, without which she never would have found the answers or indeed even discovered which questions to ask. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n We Come From Love, We Are Made Of Love, We Are Love! Everything else is false.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" While other eagles rode the wind, one young eagle stared longingly into the sky. For a moment, Eagle Girl closed her eyes and imagined the weightlessness of flight. What must it be like to feel the gusts beneath her wings? … Continue reading