‘Words and Feathers’

Robin went for a walk in the park with her mother.

“Mommy,” she said “tell me a story about yourself, when you were a little girl.”

Her mother smiled.

“This happened many years ago. In those days we lived on a farm, not far from a small town. We grew and prepared our own food, and went to town only to buy our clothes, matches, candles, soap, farm equipment and other supplies we needed. We had our own apples, plums, carrots, potatoes, cabbages and our own chickens, geese and cows. We churned our butter and made our own cheese.

“In our school all the grades studied together in one room, and teacher gave each grade a different assignment. And sometimes, all of us listened to stories together. This is one of the stories I remember:

“Once there was a girl, Deborah, who had nothing kind to say about anyone. She met her friend, Miriam.

“ ‘Did you see this new girl in our class, Hannah?’ whispered Deborah. ‘What a funny dress she is wearing! And David? He has such big ears! And Hannah, she cannot even speak well!’

“Miriam was silent, and then she said:

“ ‘But Hannah is helpful to everyone. She even lent me her colored pencils. Her family came from Poland and she does not know English as yet. She will learn.’

“Deborah heard Miriam’s words, and felt bad. She knew that she had wronged their friend, Hannah. Truly, she thought, I would like Hannah to be my friend.

“Not knowing what to do, she went to the rabbi and told him her story. The rabbi, wise and kind, gave her his advice: ‘Go to the market and buy a goose, and on your way back to me pluck all the feathers of the fowl and scatter them along the road.’

“ ‘A goose?! To pluck feathers? And to scatter them along the road?!’ asked Deborah, surprised.

“ ‘Just do as I say,’ said the Rabbi, sternly.

“Deborah went to the market, purchased a goose and did exactly as she was told. Returning to the rabbi, she said: ‘Here is the bird. I have done just as you have told me, and have plucked all the feathers.’

“ ‘Now you must complete your task,’ said the Rabbi. ‘Go and bring all the feathers back to me.’

“Deborah searched and searched but was able to find only two feathers. She returned to the Rabbi. ‘Rabbi, these two feathers were all I could find,’ she said.

“ ‘Yes, Deborah,’ said the Rabbi. ‘The feathers were all scattered by the wind and will never be found again. And just as the feathers, unkind words, once spoken, can never be found again either.’

Robin was silent.

“Mommy,” she said, “I think I know what my New Year’s resolution will be. I would like to invite my entire class to my New Year’s party. This way, no one will be left out.”

“This is an excellent idea,” said her mother, and she hugged Robin to her heart.

This story was inspired by a tale from the Jewish tradition.

Special thanks to Julius Mann for this week’s illustration. He can be reached at juliusmann1@yahoo.com.

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