120.  Nature’s Beauty

Mom and I were walking through shaded woods on a neighboring farm hunting for mushrooms when we came across a beautiful lady slipper. “What a pretty flower,” I said. “Let’s pick it and take it home.” “Oh no, we mustn’t pick it,” Mom responded. “Then it will surely die. We’ll enjoy it while we’re here, but leave it to bloom and live as long as it can. Then others can enjoy it too.”

THE PRINCESS AND THE LADY SLIPPER

Deep in the forest in a moonlit glen,
The pixies come out to play.
They always come in the dark of night,
For they mustn’t be seen by day.

They sing and dance and play their games,
In the glow of the firefly’s light.
And if by chance you’d see it,
You’d think it an amazing sight!

They tell of a magic night one spring,
When the Princess came out to play.
A prince appeared, asked her to dance,
And they danced the night away.

Was it the magic of the springtime?
Or the full moon up above?
For everyone there that night would say,
The glen was aglow with love.

To remember that magic night they danced,
Beneath the bright Big Dipper,
They fashioned a flower from her shoe,
A beautiful lady slipper.

Of course, it only blooms at night,
When the pixies come out to play,
Deep in the forest on a moonlit night.
Or, at least, that’s what they say.