(Warning: This is NOT a children's story)
Once upon a time, there was little girl who stopped talking because no one ever
listened to what she said. No one even noticed that she stopped speaking. Her name
was Bobbi-Ann. One day after hearing love songs on the radio, she began to sing.
Beautiful melodic sounds came from her mouth that at one time revealed nothing.
Those who loved her were entranced by her voice and would listen with bated breath
every time she sang. All day and all night she would listen to the music and sing her
songs. Over time, everyone tired of her singing and no one listened any more.
Nevertheless, she sang, completely content that she was singing and no one heard.
Then one day, a queen heard her sing and thought that she had the most beautiful
voice in the world. She asked Bobbi-Ann to come to the castle so that she could learn
all there was to know about music and singing.
Against her mother's wishes, Bobbi-Ann went to the castle. The queen played music
on a piano and asked her which of the songs she wanted to learn to sing. She could
learn any song she wanted, so she could sing before the court and be judged, which
could lead to much fortune and fame - just for singing. This made Bobbi-Ann very
happy - for all she wanted to do was sing.
On her way home from the castle the first day, Bobbi-Ann had to travel through the
mean, dark forest. Wolves, bears and all kinds of wild beasts lived in this forest.
Bobbi-Ann was supposed to wait for the queen's chariot to take her home, but
because it was such a beautiful, warm and sunny day, Bobbi-Ann didn't see the wild
beasts in the forest and decided to walk home. Besides, the little old lady laughed at
Bobbi-Ann when she said she was waiting for the chariot. "You ought to be ashamed
of yourself, you who are so young and healthy have to wait for a chariot when you are
so capable of walking." So, Bobbi-Ann walked.
She smelled the three wolves before she saw them. She held her head high and tried
not to be afraid knowing that they would sense her fear and pounce on her. She
almost made it past them when the biggest jumped up in front of her and blocked her
way. They tossed her back and forth as if she were a ball. Then the Big Bad Wolf
heard the commotion and had to be a part of the game. "Who's this pretty lady?" he
said. He barked and the tall one grabbed her and held her while the Big Bad Wolf
groped.
All the beasts in the forest were busy playing nearby, but the Big Bad Wolf knew they
would come if they heard Bobbi-Ann scream. So he barked again and the tall one put a
knife to her throat and dragged her into a cave where the four wolves could have their
way with her.
With the knife at her throat, the three held her down while the Big Bad Wolf played. A
bat flew overhead and saw the scene and screeched and screeched and screeched
until the Big Bad Wolf could listen no more and screamed, "Shut up, bat." The Big Bad
Wolf knew the game was over and released Bobbi-Ann. "Remember," he said, "I
didn't hurt you, I could have, but I didn't."
Bobbi-Ann heard the sirens of the woodsmen as she came out of the cave. A part of
her knew they would help her. But it was too late for help. All she wanted to do was
go home. The Big Bad Wolf blocked her way as she turned to go home. "Pretty lady,"
he said, "remember, I never hurt you."
It was a long walk back home through the forest. A woodsman stopped her along the
way and asked if she was OK. She lied. She snuck in her house past her mother, who
never wanted her to go to the castle to learn how to sing. She took a shower and then
forgot everything that happened to her that day. Never again did she want to sing.
A few years passed and Bobbi-Ann shied away from wolves. Then one day, she met a
sheep and married him. She pretended to be very happy. As long as she was with her
sheep than the wolves couldn't pounce on her and make her feel bad. She made a life
and, with a smile pasted on her face, she told everyone she was happy.
Many years passed. Bobbi-Ann grew into a woman. A very unhappy woman, though
she never let on, not even to herself, just how unhappy she was. One day, she had a
dream. She dreamed that someone loved her, more than anyone has ever been loved
before, and she was happy. Then she woke up and was unhappy. Yet, she believed
that someone loved her, though no one told her so.
For the first time in her life, she knew she was unhappy. And she was lost. She
wanted to be loved more than anyone has ever been loved before and she wanted to
love that much in return. She cried and cried. For days and nights and weeks, she
cried. The sheep didn't notice or even care.
"I want a divorce," she cried. Before her eyes, the sheep turned into another wolf.
She knew all along that he was a wolf in sheep's clothing. It never seemed to matter
before, but now she believed that someone loved her, though no one told her so.
She left the sheep and made a new life. And still she believed that someone loved her,
though no one told her so. She tried and tried to be happy. She cried and thought and
tossed and turned until one day, she believed she was happy - and still she believed
that someone loved her, though no one told her so.
For many months, she tried to be happy believing that someday soon someone would
tell her he loved her. She kept the vision in her mind and the dream in her heart and
she tried to be happy. But something was wrong. With every day that passed it
became harder and harder to believe and she felt guilty for not believing enough. She
even thought that was why he didn't tell her - because she didn't believe enough. She
wasn't worthy of being loved the way she envisioned. She couldn't love enough in
return.
Part Two
One day, as Bobbi-Ann sat alone in the forest, safely close to home, she daydreamed.
She dreamed that a little robin sat in the tree above her and sang a song. Bobbi-Ann
began to sing along.
"My what a pretty voice you have," the robin said.
"What a lovely song you sing," Bobbi-Ann replied.
"I always sing a song when I'm happy," the little robin sang.
Bobbi-Ann sang in response, "So do I, so do I." Then she realized that it was a very
long time since she sang a song. She sang some more. It felt good. She sang and
sang and sang and the robin sang along.
"I'm happy," the robin sang.
"So am I," Bobbi-Ann sang in reply.
Then the robin flew away. Bobbi-Ann stopped singing. She was sad. A rabbit came
out from between the trees and said, "Why are you so sad?"
"I was singing along with the robin and I was happy. Then the robin flew away, so now
I am sad."
"Why do you need the robin to sing along with you? If singing makes you happy -
sing." Then the rabbit ran away.
Bobbi-Ann continues daydreaming. She finds herself in a dark cave. She is afraid.
She has no candle or flashlight. She feels so lonely and unloved. She begins to cry.
From far away, she hears someone else crying. She knows she's not alone. She calls
out, "Please don't cry. I'll stop crying, if you stop crying."
She hears, in reply, "Please don't cry. I'll stop crying, if you stop crying." She stops
crying and dries her eyes. Within a few seconds the distant crying stops.
"Why are you crying?" Bobbi-Ann calls out.
"Why are you crying?" she hears in return.
"I'm crying because I believe that someone loves me but never told me so."
And in return, she hears, "I'm crying because I believe that someone loves me but
never told me so."
The voice sounded so far away and so very lonely Bobbi-Ann just had to do something
to ease the hurt and pain. She called out; "I love you."
Within just a few seconds she heard, "I love you."
It was so long since she heard those words, Bobbi-Ann cried. And then she heard the
other crying.
"Why are you crying?" Bobbi-Ann calls out.
"Why are you crying?" she hears in return.
"I'm crying because you love me."
And in return, she hears, "I'm crying because you love me."
Bobbi-Ann is happy. She falls asleep in the cave, no longer lonely and afraid of the
dark. When she wakes up, it is daytime. Sunlight shines through a tunnel pointing the
way home. She remembers she heard someone tell her, "I love you." She is very
happy. She looks around. No one else is there. She calls out, "Hello, where are you?"
With no one in sight, she hears, "Hello, where are you?"
"An echo," she says.
"An echo," in reply.
She walks through the tunnel, very sad and lonely, "It was just an echo. It was only me
saying, 'I love you.'"
On the way home, she passes a deer in the forest, "Why are you so sad?" the deer
asks.
"Last night I heard someone say, 'I love you.' and I was happy. This morning I
discovered it was just my echo."
"So," says the deer, "you heard someone say, 'I love you' and you were happy and
then you were disappointed to find it was only you. Do I understand correctly?"
"Yes," Bobbi-Ann says.
"What's so sad about that? You must love yourself before you can truly love another."
With that said, the deer scampered away.
As Bobbi-Ann heads for home, she spies a butterfly flitting around in a meadow.
Happily the butterfly flits and floats. "Why are you so happy?" Bobbi-Ann asks the
butterfly.
"Why shouldn't I be? Aren't you happy?" the butterfly replies.
"Well . . ."
"How can you not be happy when there is so much to be happy for?"
"Like what?"
"Like what? Like, the sun and the sky and the dew and the flowers and all my friends
in the forest and . . ."
"I see . . ." Bobbi-Ann replies.
"Think about it," the butterfly says and sits upon Bobbi-Ann's nose.
The butterfly tickles and wakes Bobbi-Ann up. She gently swats it away. But it's not
there. "It was only a dream," she says to herself.
She heads for home and along the way, thinks about what the butterfly and the deer
and the echo and the rabbit and the robin said.
Part Three
That night lying near the lake underneath the stars, Bobbi-Ann is mesmerized by the
beauty and awe of the night sky. "So near, yet so far," she says to herself. "I wish I
were not alone." She hears an owl in the night and no longer feels alone.
The hoot of the owl reminds her of the robin singing and she remembers what the
rabbit said, "If singing makes you happy, then sing." So she starts singing, first to
herself, then to the owl and the lake and stars. The owl and lake and the stars are still
and quiet. Soon, all the birds and bees and animals in the woods around the lake
gather near, enchanted by her singing. I love to sing she says to herself.
And then she remembers the echo in the cave and what the deer said, "You must love
yourself before you can truly love another." And she says to herself, "I love you." And
she loves the owl and the lake and stars and all of the animals in the woods and out
loud, she says, "I love you." And she knows she is loved in return. She is worthy of
being loved so much and she can love so much in return.
And then she remembers how happy the butterfly was with the sun and sky and dew
and flowers. And she understands. Right now she must be happy with what she has
here, for there is love all around her, if she only opens her eyes and her heart and lets
it all in, and loves everything in return.
Then she looks at the stars with love and feels she can reach out and touch them. So
she does. And the stars touch her back. And she knows, "I am not alone. I am loved."
In bed that night, she prays, "Thank you. I have suffered much pain in my life but now I
have touched the stars and they touched me and I know that I am not alone. I AM
LOVED. Help me to love as much in return."
The End
© 1996 Bobbie Ann Pimm
of the exercises in the fabulous book,
The Mythic Path written by David
Feinstein and Stanley Krippner.
Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Book 4 Book 5