Magical Meadow

If you ever find yourself alone in the woods, especially if you get lost, be sure to look for an unusual clearing dotted by all sorts of flowers. There might even be flowers that you’ve never seen before in your life, yet no matter how mismatching they may be, they will still be incredibly beautiful. As soon as you find such a clearing, find some time to take in the flowers. Lie down, close your eyes, and listen… Try to breathe softly. Freeze, and for a moment you will be surrounded by complete silence. Then, surely, you will come to hear faint whispering. This whispering will become clearer, and you might even be able to make out what’s being whispered…

Every forest is unusual in its own way, and now I’ll tell you what makes them so unusual. No, it’s not the rare plants, the amazing animals that live in the forest, or even the magical clearing — it’s what makes the clearing magical! You’re about to see it for yourself. Get ready to hear the amazing story of the Magical Meadow in the woods…

One day, a boy named Leo was lost in the woods. Of course, Leo didn’t come to the woods alone. He was with his mother, father, and his little sister Lea. They had set up not far from the blue lake for which the forest was famous. Leo and his dad set up the tent, made a fire, and then Leo began to play with his sister. After a while, his attention darted to a fat gray rabbit munching on the grass nearby, looking at Leo. For a moment, the boy thought the rabbit was talking to him:

“Leo, I’m happy to see you…”

The rabbit took off and the boy ran after him. He didn’t even notice when he ended up in a completely unfamiliar part of the forest. Leo did not immediately realize that he was lost. When he did, he wasn’t frightened at all. Instead, he began to look. No, not for the way back to his parents, but for the fat rabbit that ran by. This tall-eared forest dweller now bothered our curious boy much more than being alone in the woods. Suddenly, the rabbit appeared and instantly disappeared. Leo rushed towards him in the hopes of catching up with the elusive creature, but it was now completely out of sight.

Leo finally realized that he had done something wrong. He walked along with his head down, thinking, “how silly was I, running after that rabbit. Mom and Dad must be worried too…”.

The further Leo walked, the more frightened he became.

“Mom! Dad!” he called.

Yet no one answered him. Desperate and tired, the boy slumped down onto the grass, spread his arms and legs, and closed his eyes. He listened to the sounds of the forest around him. The shimmering song of the birds, the chirping of cicadas and crickets, the buzzing of insects, and the sound of the wind rustling the leaves. For a moment, he heard a light whisper. Leo froze and listened attentively to the sound. Where was it coming from? The boy perked himself up and leaned on his hands. What he saw had dumbfounded him. He was sitting in a clearing covered with a never-ending array of flowers, ones that he could see and ones that he could not: daisies, chrysanthemums, irises, bellflowers, tulips, daffodils, roses, peonies, geraniums, dahlias…

Of course, Leo didn’t know all those names. There were even other plants, the names of which your author doesn’t know either. The beauty that unfolded before the astonished boy amazed him so much that he was completely overcome with oblivion. Leo lay down again and, holding his breath, he listened. There came the whispering again. It grew louder and louder, becoming clearer and clearer.

“Does he hear us?”

“Let’s not scare the boy…”

“We’ve got to help him, though!”

“Let me see him…”

“Don’t push, folks…”

Leo opened his eyes; he cried out loudly from what he saw, jumped back, and fell again. Right in front of him, the stem of an unfamiliar flower with delicate yellow petals was wiggling, and on a pale pink cushion in the middle of the flower stood something small, the size of Leo’s little finger. The boy somehow gathered the courage to get closer to the flower and noticed the little figure become more clearly visible. Leo was being watched by huge, round, amazingly colored eyes that belonged to a tiny creature, very much like a man scaled down in size. Except unlike a male, the creature’s skin was crystal marble in color. Its head was large and slightly disproportionate to its torso, reminding Leo of a small pumpkin that he saw at a farmer’s market on Halloween. The creature’s torso was tiny and frail looking. It`s thin arms and legs resembled brittle flower stalks, and its hands and feet were not visible at all. But the thing that struck our brave boy most about the little man’s appearance was the strange hair on his head, which reminded Leo of the cornhusks he’d seen at the same farmer’s market on Halloween. It was bright pink and neatly bunched up, waving with every blow of the breeze. It looked like it was about to fly off the little man’s head, but alas, it was firmly held in place!

Leo couldn’t believe his eyes; he even rubbed them several times, closing them and opening them again, hoping that he was imagining things. But, to his amazement, the moment he opened his eyes again, there were several times tinier people, each on a different flower. They were all looking at him with huge multi-colored eyes and all slightly different in size. Some were a little taller, some were thicker, and the tufts of hair on their heads were all different colors. Most surprisingly, none of them had tufts that were same color — each was a different shade. One of the men caught Leo’s attention. He was, to put it mildly, a little bigger than the others, with a rounded tummy and distinctly protruding cheeks. The small, podgy man had a wisp of green on his head. His huge sky-blue eyes looked at Leo with tenderness and suddenly he spoke:

“Don’t fear us, Leo!”

The boy jumped back in surprise:

“How do you know my name?”

“We know everyone who comes into our forest!” said the little girl with the pink tuft, the one Leo saw first.

“Your forest?” the boy asked.

“That’s right,” the little girl went on. “We are the invisible inhabitants of this forest. Our job is to protect the forest and to take care of each and every person who enters it!”

“Invisible?!” exclaimed Leo. “Then how come I can see you?!”

A skinny little man then spoke. He was taller than the others and had a bright purple tuft on his head.

“At times, Leo, we have to show ourselves… in special circumstances,” his voice sounded soft and calm. He was clearly different from the others in the way he acted, and Leo thought, he must be in charge here!

The tiny purple man Leo thought was in charge hopped closer to the boy, crouching on a loose flower. His movements were so light and free that the flower he had landed on didn’t even wobble.

“Believe me, you’re not the first kid to get lost in our woods. And we’re here to help you!”

Leo calmed down a bit and was even relieved. He thought this was it — he would finally return to his mom and dad.

“I’ll let you in on a little secret — you’re one of the lucky few who can see and hear us!” the Chief continued, amazing the boy.

“Why is that?” asked Leo.

“Well, little one, that’s because adults can’t see us. They simply can’t see things that they think aren’t there. They don’t have the patience! But little ones like you are curious and patient!”

“But that’s not true!” exclaimed Leo. “My mother always calls me impatient! She always says, ‘Son, have some patience and don’t be so nosy!’ and what’s good about that? I was curious, I chased a rabbit… and… and… I got lost…” Leo couldn’t hold it in and started crying.

The little people got worried and started whispering:

“How could we have brought the poor boy to tears…?”

“We must do something…”

“Let him cry a little, he’s a child…”

“What to do, what to do…”

“Folks, control yourselves… He’s neither the first nor the last child in our woods…”

The small people whispered for a few minutes, and Leo kept sniffling his nose before finally beginning to calm down. At that moment, the chubby little person Leo had named Chubbo jumped closer to him and spoke.

“Don’t be sad, little boy…” Leo quite liked his voice, and it even lifted his spirits. He smiled.

“I’m not crying!” answered Leo.

“Then stop it!” squeaked Chubbo. “You must understand, there’s nothing wrong with being curious. A child has to be that way to get to know the world and everything that surrounds it. Your curiosity got you lost, but it’s what brought you to us, which means it will help you get back to mom and dad. Adults can’t see us because they’re no longer curious. They don’t have the patience or the time for miracles. Miraculous things happen often with kids because they believe in them — it’s that simple!”

Leo finally calmed down and now believed everything that was happening. “When I grow up, I will never stop believing in miracles!” he thought to himself,

Magic happens. It’s surrounds us each day. It’s just that, growing up, we stop noticing it and don’t see everyday things as being miraculous. After all, when we are children everything seems fabulous and unusual. The morning dew on grass isn`t just drops of water, but magical beautiful crystals. The Colorado beetle in your garden seems like a beautiful, striped, and absolutely harmless friend, which you could even take in your hands and talk to, not a malicious harmful insect that eats the potatoes you planted.

Of course, Leo went back to his mom and dad and his sister. He had told them about the Magical Meadow filled with flowers and those who inhabited it. Mom and Dad did not believe it but they were so happy to have their son back that they were ready to listen to any story he had invented.

After a long story and hearty dinner, Leo fell asleep sweetly in his sleeping bag in the big tent that he and his father had unfolded that morning. Suddenly, he was awakened by a strange rustling noise, and Leo opened his eyes to see his little sister. She leaned closer to him and whispered so naively in his ear:

“Leo, could you take me to that Magical Meadow?”