A Children's Fable: The Lonely Mushroom

this is a story that was inspired by a friend of mine's story. I don't remember what it was called, but it had something to dowith a Kiwi. I like mushrooms better, because I seem to be a lot like a mushroom. Kept in the dark, and no body likes me exept fo

 

 

 

   Once upon a time there was a lonely little mushroom that lived deep in the middle of the forest. It was very dark and very quiet where the little mushroom lived, but he didn't mind it. He liked being by himself, because he didn't know any other way of living. No other living creatures had come his way in his whole lifetime, so he was content with where he was. He was just like any other mushroom, with big white splotchy spots, and a big red cap to make any other mushroom jealous. His stem was a creamy white, and when the rare beam of sunlight that had fought it's way through the treetops hit it, it shone like the moon, or at least what he imagined the moon would look like. He was always happy, and always care-free. He would happily dance about in the fallen leaves, singing songs that he made up himself. One day while he was dancing and singing a song about being bathed in light, he heard a strange sound. It sounded like bells, and he cocked his head to hear it better. It sounded like it wasn't too far away, and being the curious little fungus that he was, he decided to investigate. He picked up his little stem and trudged his way through the leaves and underbrush. It seemed like a very long time before he felt like he was getting closer to the mysterious sound. He finally could see a light through the thick bushes. He reached his hands out and parted the bushes, looking through the little hole he had created. The light was almost blinding, and he had to look away for a moment. When he got used to the intensity of the light, he peered through the hole, and gasped at what he saw. In a ray of brilliant sunshine, there were two flowers of a sort that he had never seen before. They were singing and swaying to the beat of their own music, laughing and joking with the most beautiful voices the mushroom had ever head. Mushroom was only used to the sound of his own voice, and when he heard these voices, he was compelled to join in with them. He made his way through the bushed, and threw his own deep, earthy voice into the mix of tinkly, chimy sounds. The two flowers stopped swaying and singing, and turned to look at him. Mushroom blushed a little under their stare, for their eyes were as beautiful, if not more, than the rest of them. "O-Oh, hello there. I'm Mushroom, a-and i just heard y-your pretty voices, and wanted to see where it came from," Mushroom said shyly. The two flowers looked at each other and giggled. Mushroom laughed too, but he didn't know why. The first flower looked at him intently, like she had never seen a mushroom like him before. "Excuse me," Mushroom piped up as he withered beneath the intent stare of the flower "but I must ask who you are. I have never seen such plants as beautiful as you are." The flowers looked at him in astonishment. "We are Daffodils, the forest's most beautiful and musical flower. Surely you must have heard of us?" the second Daffodil said. Mushroom shook his head. "I'm afraid I haven't. I live in a secluded part of the forest, away from other plants and animals. All I know is myself, and the few who dwell in the dark with me." The Daffodils gave each other a weird look, then turned back to Mushroom. "Well, my name is Daffy, and her name is Diffy, and we are the most talented of the Daffodils of this forest," said Daffy with pride. Mushroom looked up at her with admiration as the sun shone of her pretty, butter-yellow petals. "Could you teach me to be as talented and as beautiful as you are?" asked Mushroom. Diffy smiled at him the best a flower could, and nodded her head. "Of course! Talent is not so hard to come by if you just practice a little, and anyone can be beautiful if they try." Mushroom was filled to his cap with glee. He couldn't believe that he had stumbled upon such perfect specimens of grace and wonderment as these two. He scooted his little body closer to the rock that the Daffodils were perched upon, and tilted his cap back so he could look up at them. They bent down and tried to teach him how to sing with a melodic and chimey voice, but no matter how hard they tried, his voice was just too deep and rich. They went through scales, arpeggios, and they even had him sing an octave higher than was ment for a mushroom, but still, he could not sing like they could. "Here, try eating some honey. Maybe that will make your voice sweeter," said Daffy, but all the honey did was clog Mushroom's throat up. They frowned and hummed over how they could get Mushroom to sing like them, but the Daffodils could not think of a way. "Well, maybe we should skip that part for now, and go on to being pretty," Daffy suggested. "Yeah, that's a good idea~! Being pretty is much more easier than singing," agreed Diffy. Mushroom looked up at them with hope, not disheartened by his lack of whimsical singing. "So how do I get to be as gorgeous as you?" asked the ever-eager Mushroom. Daffy put a leave to her petals and thought. Diffy reached over and pushed against Mushroom's cap. "First of all, this has got to go. It's terribly ugly, and it brings down your looks." Mushroom gave her a look of horror while holding onto his cap. "This? But this is a part of me! I can't just get rid of it!" he exclaimed. Daffy gave him a confused look. "Why not? When we get withered leaves, we peel them off without hesitation," she said. Mushroom just shook his head. "Why would you do that? You were given what you have for a reason, and you shouldn't waste it just because you don't like it," he said, and the two Daffodils just laughed together. Mushroom frowned. He didn't understand these two, but they seemed to know best, and to know more, so he continued to listen to them. "Well, since you insist on not getting rid of that hideous thing, we'll have to try a different approach," said Daffy as she pulled her roots up and walked further into the forest. Mushroom watched her as she bent over and picked some berries up off of the ground. "Here, smear these over those demeaning spots you have, and you'll look sooooo much better." Mushroom took the berries from her with a look of disdain, but tried it non the less. The Daffodils laughed and clapped with glee after he had covered his white spots with juniper berry juice. Mushroom plodded over to a small puddle of water, looked at his reflection, and about retched. He looked a fright. He reached his hands into the water and quickly washed the juice off. "Why did you do that?!" said Diffy. "It looked nice on you!" "I don't really like looking like I have just rolled in rotten fruit," Mushroom replied. The flowers snorted and turned away. "Suit yourself. I guess there's no way to make you beautiful, or to give you a lovely voice. You shall always be an ugly mushroom that can't sing. I pity you, really I do," said Daffy, and Diffy nodded in agreement. They pointed and laughed at Mushroom, calling him names such as "flat-cap" and "ogre voiced fool". Mushroom stared at the flowers with hurt, and finally couldn't take thier name-calling any more. He turned and plodded away as fast as his little stem could take him, the insulting flowers' laughter chasing him. No matter how far away Mushroom got, he could still hear the awful names that the Daffodils had called him ringing in his ears. He put his hands to the side of his cap and ran as fast as he could, tears streaming from his eyes. He finally stopped running when he realized that he had ran too far, and he was now in a part of the forest he had never seen before. He looked around, and the moment he paused to do so, the Daffodils' mocking voices hit his thoughts. Mushroom sat down on a rock and full-out sobbed. He covered his eyes and cried for a long time, hurt and embarassed by the Daffodils' mean comments. He cried so hard, that he didn't notice a little caterpillar, with odd but alluring butterfly wings sprouting from its back, trudge up to him. His tears landed on the caterpillar, and it squeaked in protest. That brought mushroom out of his crying fit. He looked down and saw the poor little caterpillar trying to wipe the water from its wings. Mushroom instantly felt guilty. He reached down and helped the caterpillar wipe the tears from its wings. "I'm *hick* sorry, little guy. I didn't *hick* see you down there," said Mushroom as he tried to hurriedly wipe the tears from his face. Caterpillar just looked up into Mushroom's face, watching him try to conceal his emotions. "Why so blue, Mushroom?" asked the strange caterpillar. Mushroom looked down at the little creature with shock, surprised that it was concerned for his well-being. "It's good to find a face that cares. I came upon two Daffodils that were the most beautiful things I had ever seen, and they had voices like angels, but they were cruel, and they called me names," Mushroom said. The capterpillar nodded its head as it listened to Mushrom's explanation. "How does that make you feel, Mushroom?" the caterpillar asked. "Terrible~!" Mushroom responded, and he continued to cry. "There, there," said the caterpillar as it patted Mushroom's stem in comfort. "They said they were the most special and the most beautiful of all the forest plants," said Mushroom through tears. He was feeling sorry for himself, and talking about it wasn't really helping his situation. The caterpillar put one of its sets of hands on its hips and snorted. "What do those Daffodils know? All they ever see when they look out in the forest is their own reflection. They are vain for thinking themselves as more important than others," said the caterpillar. Mushroom sniffed. "You really think so?" "Think so? I know so," said the capterpillar, and he stepped back a few paces, and transformed into Kemari, the wood nymph that had created the forest and everything in it. Mushroom gasped and stared up at her, rubbing his eyes as he did so. She smiled down at the mushroom, 4 feet taller than he was. "It's you..." Mushroom breathed as he bowed before her presense. She gently lifted Mushroom back up into his normal position. "No need for that, Little Mushroom. Here, I want to show you something," she said as she held out her hand for the mushroom to jump into. They flew off through the forest until they came upon a small spring of sparkling, clean water. Kemari set Mushroom down, and they walked together to the water spring. "I want you to look down into that water, Mushroom, and tell me what you see," she said. Mushroom carefully scooted over to the water, and peered down. All he saw was his reflection. "All I see is myself," said Mushroom with some confusement. Kemari smiled. "Of course you do, because all that matters to you, is you. What others think, and what others say, should mean nothing to you, Mushroom. I created you to be the way you are, and you shouldn't let anyone try to convince you to be any other way. I love you, and that's all the love you need," said Kemari. Mushroom looked up into her face and smiled, tears glistening in his eyes. Kemari smiled back down at him, then reached out and touched the water. The surface rippled and dimmed, showing a picture. "Now look into the water, Mushroom," Kemari said. Mushroom peered down, and he saw Daffy and Diffy, wilted and lost of their petals. Mushroom giggled as he looked at their beraggled appearances. "You see? These flowers, that relied only on vanity and appearance alone, have nothing left when it is taken away. You are so different from them, because you have more to live for than just your looks. You have a kind heart, and a rustic nature that everyone should love. Tell you what:  I will send more animals your way when you go back to your place in the woods, so you will understand what I am saying," Kemari said as she stroked the side of Mushrooms head. He reached his small arms out and wrapped them around his creator's ankle. She smiled down at him, and then he let go. "Thank you, Kemari, all that is good and mother to us all of the forest," said Mushroom. She nodded, then transformed into dragonfly, with the same butterfly wings that her caterpillar form had. Mushroom watched her fly away, and smiled to himself and sang as he plodded home. Days past, and sure enough, Mushroom had more company in his part of the forest than he could ever imagine. He had pleasant conversations with all sorts of creatures, such as ants, squirrels, and deer. They all loved him, and cared for him just the way he was. He never had to change a single thing about himself, and he was happy with that.