A Plant Story You Must Read

By: Mark Lester

Evening, the cool winds rush through the valley floor like wild horses running from wolves. The sound of running water fills the entire surrounding as smoke would in a closed room. 

“The moon is shining awfully bright tonight” The little seedling tells her mother tree as the Old Mango gently pulls the earth around her like a blanket. 

“How does it look from up there mother? It must be so much larger” The old Mango looks up for a second, recalling how it was when he too was a seedling. 

With a smile on her face she says, “Yes, it does seem slightly bigger, but it’s just the same size.”

The seedling scratches her body with her tiny root and feels her first leaf at the top of her head. “How did you grow so tall mother?” 

Her Mother placed her finger before her lip “By eating plenty of fruits and vegetables my dear, you don’t get much healthier by eating an all meat diet.” 

Puzzled the little seedling asks her “Mother? What is an all meat diet?” 

The old Mango moves her roots upwards, revealing a small dead fox beneath her roots.

“How did that even get there mother?” 

“Oh, it’s a long story my sweet child but that is what an all meat diet looks like, exactly what it is, dead meat.”

“Quiet already! Hunting requires deep focus, deep focus!” The old owl frowns at the two “Not only is hunting a challenge but your ceaseless talking makes it harder to concentrate on tiny creature. How am I supposed to catch any if you won’t?” 

The Mango cuts him off “Hunt elsewhere! Trying to raise a child isn’t easy either bucko!” 

“You’re lucky I’m not a vegetarian, or you’d be out of fruit!” The Mango looks at her seedling “See that child? If you’re on an all meat diet you’re going to be as ill-tempered as that cranky old owl.” 

“Shhh! I hear a mouse!” The owl surveys the ground, takes flight gently, suddenly a strong thud echoes through the forest. 

“That’s how you kill an owl my child”

The Mango picks up the owl she had just killed with a strong swipe of her branches. “All meat diet is bad, so is vegan, have your first taste of meat my daughter, it’s calcium rich!”