Prologue to the Tales of the Valley.

Rabbit whispers to Boy

The Valley is a wonderful place where animals live out their lives facing the usual joys and problems any animals might have. There are prey and predators, accidents, friendships, jealousies, mysteries and other dynamics. There is bravery, shyness, boldness, bullying, learning, fighting loving and dying.  The Valley has a clean stream, a pond, woods, a large meadow, hills and a road. There are also some humans on one edge living in what the animals call “mounds” which we know are houses. There are seasons and weather emergencies like floods and droughts, fires  and freezes.

The animals can all talk to each other since they believe that they can. Some children can talk to them too, before the veil of disbelief cloaks their imaginations. Your storyteller was once such a child, and remembers all the tales told to him by his animal friends during his years living near the Valley. He, too, lost his belief that he could talk to the animals. But he never lost his memory of those wonderful days, when the animals were his friends.

In the Valley, stories are still told of the human child who sat with the elders and listened to their stories, and who often joined in their adventures. Few animals alive remember him, and when a man entered the Valley one day and spoke nonsense, they all ran and hid. They didn't know he was the human they hear about during the cold winters or warm summer evenings. They did sense kindness, and were surprise when a small human called out to them and they understood him. Some of those tales will eventually join the animals own stories.

The child looked with wonder and amazement at a small rabbit, hidden pretty much behind a log, when it asked “Are you going to hurt me?”  “Daddy” cried the boy, “there is a rabbit over there who talked to me.” His father smiled and said, “I know. They once talked to me too. But I can’t hear them anymore. Best you keep this our secret. Okay?” The boy turned to the rabbit and said “My father told me not to tell anyone that I can talk to you, so it will be our secret. I will come back some day and we can talk some more. He told me that when we get home, he will show me the tales told to him by animals in this valley when he was a boy. Bye rabbit. See you soon.”  And with that father and son walked to the road and left. 

Image: http://forum.mflenses.com/userpix/20111/1827_IMGP3356_1024x685_1.jpg