…”Based on a true story”
Once upon a time there was a little girl named Adra who lived with her grandparents on a farm. She had been saddened by her friends bullying her at school.
Noticing her sadness one day, her wise grandfather told her that a Golden Egg was waiting to be found.
Adra, with visions of a Golden Egg filled with yummy chocolate nougat, set off on a journey to find the Golden Egg! She headed towards the farm well and pulled up the wooden bucket filled with water from the bottom of the well. When she looked in the bucket, all she could see was her reflection in the water of the bucket. No Golden Egg.
She set the bucket aside and continued her search. Mugi, the cow, greeted Adra at the gate with her beautiful cowbell sparkling in the sunlight. Adra thought for sure that Mugi would have seen the Golden Egg but Mugi replied, "No Golden Egg here. I only make cow pies."
The wind nudged Adra to go and speak with the pigs with the curly tails but they were much too busy to speak with Adra as they devoured their dinner with happy noises that only pigs can make. Petunia Pig did take a moment to lift her head showing a face covered in food. Petunia told Adra that she thought she saw Grandpa put a Golden Egg in the tractor.
Excited now, Adra ran towards the bright red tractor and searched everywhere. All she could find was a shiny new tool. "Oh well", she said, shrugging her shoulders.
Adra looked everywhere she could on the farm, even inside the clay oven where the delicious breads were baked. No Golden Egg.
Disappointed and giving up, Adra sat on the wooden stairs outside her home. The only sound she could hear was of a tiny red bird chirping a happy tune as it flew by. At that very second something snapped within her. Hearing the joy of that little bird helped to totally eradicate the disappointment she felt earlier.
What happened next, astonished her. A shaft of light streaked through her body from head to toe and then everywhere she looked she saw golden sparkles. The golden sparkles were dripping from the trees. The fur on her dog Acta's back was all golden. The flowers in the garden were laden with gold. The grass was covered in sparkles. The rays from the noon sun radiated golden sparkles. Even her dress was covered in gold stars. Adra blinked at the incredible beauty she saw around her. She felt if she could see inside her heart that she would also see sparkles! She rubbed her eyes and pinched her leg thinking that this was all a dream. But no, what she saw was not a dream, it was very real. As Grandpa walked over towards her, it was as if the golden sparkles were showering his body.
Grandpa asked, "So, Adra. Did you find the Golden Egg?" Adra replied, "Oh yes, Grandpa. It was here all along. I just couldn't see it. The Golden Egg is not a physical piece of chocolate or anything like that. The Golden Egg is seeing the beauty of everything and everyone around me. Nothing is more precious than that."
Adra continued, "This is what I must remember at times when I am sad or disappointed about life. I must remember that there is joy and beauty in everything and open my eyes wide to see it."
From that moment for the rest of her life, Adra was never ill. Because she valued herself with such certitude and forever cherished everything and everyone around her, her immune system was continually capped. Amazing.
Where is your Golden Egg?