There is no telling when this all began or when it will end, but there is a story to tell.

Some time long ago there was a little girl who was different from the others. She did not like to hunt, she shied away from dolls, she did not like animals (much), she hated dresses, she was taller than most of the boys in town and she had the reddest hair that anyone had ever seen... no she was not like the others, but how she wished she was.


One day while walking thru the woods she saw a frog and sat and they conversed, the frog told her all about the secret pond and the most delicious flies to be found there. She yearned to see this pond, to see if maybe there, she could find her hearts desire...the frog said Dunno, maybe.

She left the frog contemplating his last feast of flies and continued on her way. She next saw a deer who had the most beautiful rack she had ever seen. She curtsied to the royal looking buck and smiled when he bowed his greeting in return. She looked into his knowing eyes and had a glimpse of that magical pond. Oh how I wish I could go there, how I wish I was not so different. The buck looked at her and thought, Poor child.

Before she could ask the buck about the pond, he turned and leapt away. Sighing, she picked up a twig and continued to walk thru the woods, not sure where she was headed, but knowing she was not ready to go back home.

She had never been this deep in the woods before, but she was not afraid. The darkness and the shadows had always been her friends, her most faithful friends. She heard a sound and listened as a rabbit hopped into a clearing just ahead and smiled. She sat there and twitched her nose and thumped her paw, calling the human near. The little girl stepped closer and then sat on a moss covered rock and listend as the rabbit told her all about her 20 children and her silly brother.

The little girl laughed so hard and loud that she never noticed how much darker it had gotten. The rabbit wiped tears from her eyes and asked the human Why are you so sad?

The little girl sat and thought long and hard before she answered. I am not like everyone else and I really want to be. I want to play with the other children, have fun and laugh and sing, but I dont think that will ever be.

The rabbit, knowing how rare it was that humans could hear what the forest said, yet alone be able to talk to it in return, just sat and looked at the human and wondered what normal was.

The little girl played with one of her braids and got the courage to ask the rabbit about the pond. The rabbit was surprised, for no human knew the pond existed. Deciding that maybe she was the one that needed the pond more than any of her forest family, the rabbit told her bout the mystical magic of the pond.

Lost in a dream, a dream of being able to ask for her hearts desire and being able to be like everyone else, the little girl did not see the tears gather in the rabbit's eyes.

Yes thought the rabbit, she is one who needs the magic the most. Gathering her thoughts and the little girl's attention, the rabbit agreed to show her the way to the pond. The joy that lit the little girl's face, was almost painful in its beauty.

They ventured further into the woods, one hopping and one skipping, until they saw a small opening in the trees ahead. The little girl stopped and sniffed the air, she could smell the wate; the freshness and crispness of it, she could hear it as it beat against rocks and roots. She was so excited, she didn't hear the rabbit call to her to stop and wait.

She ran to the opening and thru it and skidded to a halt. There before here was just a small puddle of muddy water.... not a pond at all. Feeling her heart breaking, she slid down until she sat on the muddy grass and cried. The rabbit could hear her crying and felt her pain, but could not understand it. Hopping into the clearing and seeing the pond full of lilly pads, frogs, flowers, bees buzzing overhead and her forest family just lazing around the edges and her youngest children playing in the pond, she looked at the human and asked what was wrong.

The little girl looked at the rabbit and asked what do you mean? She looked around her and could see the animals but they were all filthy and looking as if they were in seventh heaven. This is no magic pond, this is just a mud puddle. This was a mistake, I should have known better than to dream, dreams never come true.

The little girl got to her feet and was about to leave when the rabbit hopped in front of her and asked do you really not believe?

The human was a confusing thing, thought the rabbit, full of hope and fear. The little girl looked back at the puddle and then the rabbit and realised that she was wrong to have ever dreamed.

The rabbit raised a paw and asked the human to sit for a second, just a second and nothing more. After she sat, the rabbit asked the human, close your eyes and listen, dont think, just listen.

Closing her eyes, the little girl could hear the bees buzzing, the laughter of the animals, the snoring of the lazy frog and the clicking of the playful deers antlers. She heard the rabbit talking to her in a soft voice. You just dont see the power, the beauty that you are. You can talk to animals... not just talk but you can hear what we say and feel what we feel. You are not afraid to go where no other human has ever gone, you have a curious nature and as such always push things to the limit. You have a heart so full that you don't know what to do with it. You have hopes that others could share your dreams, and hurt because they are too afraid to step outside the norm.

I know you have been branded, Different, Strange, Crazy and yes even, Witch... but you are neither. What you are is a miracle.

Opening her eyes, now filled with tears, the little girl was no longer afraid. The rabbit leaped up onto her lap and took the human's face in her two front paws. Believe in yourself, in your heart, in your dreams... believe and then you will see. Turning the human's face back to the pond, the rabbit waited.

Suddenly the little girl let out a quiet OH MY! and turned excited eyes to the rabbit. I see it.. i really see it..It is beautiful!!

She saw a pond with beautifully clear water, a high waterfall that fell into it so perfectly, she saw the green that surrounded it and the animals having a swim and others just having a great day.

The smell of the water and the feel of it against her face as the breeze blew, wiped away her doubts and fears. She would never be like the others, and now she knew that was ok.

She may never fit in, but she knew that it was not her loss but theirs. Because she now knew she was not different or cursed... what she was is blessed. For her heart will always be full of beauty, courage, love and dreams..... pity that so many people are afraid to believe.


Huggles all.