The Turtle's Dream
A Children's Story About Community
Dear readers, friends,
this post is a very special one and a bit out of the ordinary for two reasons. First of all, I didn’t write it. My ex-wife Joëlle wrote it as a present for my nieces. My sister asked us to write them a little story to stay present in their lives because my ex-wife and I lived in Guatemala at that time. I have to admit that I was mostly bothered with that task, and not happy about it so my contribution was to come up with 5 keywords which my ex-wife turned into this gem of a story. Later on, after our divorce, I even sent it to various publishing companies because I thought and still think this heart-warming children’s tale deserves an audience.
But that is not the only reason I am publishing it here. The same five keywords Joëlle used for her text I later used to play around with Midjourney, this amazing AI art program I use to create the images for my podcasts and articles. I liked that very first image so much that later on, it became the logo image of my Maps of Ascension. At that time I didn’t even know what I would write about but it turns out that it is the perfect logo for my transmissions. But see for yourself:
How will the sad turtle become happy and climb the top of the pyramid? The story gives a beautiful answer:
The Turtle's Dream
Our story begins on a small beach where people hardly ever go. It was in a very exotic country where there is no snow at Christmas time.
The beach consisted of sand as white as snow with lots of colorful stones scattered on it. The stones gave the beach something very special, as they shone in the white and thus gained even more color and beauty. Behind the beach began the jungle with many palm trees in which monkeys and squirrels hopped around and iguanas climbed up the tree trunks. From time to time, even a jaguar made an appearance, and birds with beautiful, patterned feathers flew around the trees and palms, chirping happily.
In the distance, a huge pyramid could be seen rising out of the jungle. This pyramid was inhabited by people many years ago and was so large that it certainly offered a wonderful view of the sea.
Every year, just before Christmas, a turtle came back here from its long journey through the big, wide sea to celebrate Christmas with its friends and especially with its dearest friend, the little mermaid. Christmas was just around the corner again this year and everyone was already looking forward to it.
The little mermaid lived in the sea together with many fish and other sea creatures, deep down in the water in a house made of shells. But as soon as she heard that the turtle was back, she spent every day on the surface of the sea to be with her friend.
In the evening, the two of them always sat on the rocks in the sea, watching the pyramid and the sunset, and the little mermaid listened to the turtle with rapt attention. Because the turtle always had a lot to tell. It was already very old and had many exciting adventures on its travels through the sea, which the little mermaid wanted to know all about.
This time, however, the turtle seemed very thoughtful and also a little sad.
“My dear turtle, you seem so sad. What's bothering you?” the little mermaid wanted to know.
“Oh, you know...” the turtle replied. “Every year when I come back here, I get a little sadder because I'm reminded that my dream of seeing the sea from the pyramid will never come true. I am already old and very slow and would never make it to the pyramid. Besides, the pyramid is so high. I can swim very well and for a long time, but I can't climb. Ever since I was born here on the beach, the pyramid has fascinated me and I've always wanted to be able to stand up there and look out over the sea that I've been swimming through for so many years.”
This kept the little mermaid very busy. She didn't want her friend to be sad and she would love to help her make her dream come true. But how?
When the turtle went to sleep, the mermaid sat on the stone by the sea for a long time and looked at the pyramid. Then she had an idea!
The next day, the little mermaid talked a lot with the colorful birds and the other inhabitants of the beach and everyone couldn't wait for Christmas. The anticipation grew!
All the animals on the beach and in the sea cheerfully began to decorate the beach for Christmas and prepare everything for the feast: Stones were pushed together to form a table that extended into the sea. This meant that all the animals, whether they lived on land or in the water, could sit together at the same table. Palm leaves were decorated with colorful stones, shells, and beautiful flowers, and snowmen were built from the snow-white sand. The animals collected berries, coconuts, bananas, leaves, and other delicacies for the communal dinner. On Christmas Eve, all the animals sat around the table in a good mood, chatting, eating delicious food together, and enjoying their time together. All, except the tortoise, who still seemed sad.
“Dear turtle,” said the little mermaid, “Today is Christmas and we are all happy that you are back here with us on your home beach and that we can celebrate Christmas with you. You are so sad and we would like to change that. That's why we have a surprise for you...”
At that moment, a couple of large, colorful birds flew in, holding palm leaves in their feet that were woven into a seat for the turtle to climb onto. “But....”, the turtle stuttered in surprise, not knowing what was happening.
“The birds will fly you up to the pyramid on the palm leaves. So you can finally see your beloved sea from above and enjoy the view. We hope you have lots of fun,” the land and sea creatures told her. The turtle couldn't believe it, was beaming from ear to ear, hugged all the animals on the beach, and carefully climbed onto the woven palm leaf seat, ready to take off. Together with the birds, the turtle flew to the top of the pyramid. The turtle became smaller and smaller in the sky until it could only be seen as a small dot on the top of the pyramid.
The party continued on the beach until the turtle flew back again. It was more radiant than it had been for a long time. All the animals started to dance happily, including the turtle this time. They all danced long into the night and the turtle's beaming seemed to go on and on, making all the creatures on the beach even happier. So it was a wonderful Christmas and probably the most unforgettable of the turtle's long life.
I hope you like it. I still hope that “The Turtle’s Dream” will be published as a book one day. If anyone out there feels the same and has the proper connections, I will happily put you in contact with Joëlle.