The Magical Deer Once upon a time there was a forest filled with deer.
This herd of deer knew no other way of life than constant competition.
They would spend their days snatching balls,
Racing,
And endlessly arguing about who was fastest,
Smartest,
Or most talented.
Since they knew no better way of living,
This was simply how they existed.
There was no leader in this forest,
No king,
No queen,
Just an endless cycle of fighting and crying.
One day,
A new deer came from a faraway land.
He was different.
Unlike any deer they had ever seen,
He was colorful and his body seemed to shine with so much light as though a rainbow crystal glowed within him.
One crisp morning,
Something unusual happened.
The smallest fawn in the herd was trying to kick a ball into a goal,
While the new deer was watching on the sidelines.
The fawn,
Naturally much tinier than this new shiny deer,
Struggled to control the ball,
His movements uncertain and clumsy as he ran toward the goal.
And to everyone's surprise,
Instead of snatching the ball or showing off his superior skills,
The shiny deer waited.
And when it was his turn,
He ran faster than any deer they had ever seen and scored a goal.
But instead of boasting,
He carefully returned the ball to the fawn,
Encouraging the little one to try again.
All the deer stared wide-eyed in amazement.
They had expected the new deer to show off,
Demand a race knowing he would win,
Or tease the baby deer,
But he didn't.
The new deer showed them something entirely new.
Cooperation,
Patience,
And pure confidence without the need to feel superior,
As well as genuine joy in another's growth.
The next day,
All the baby deer in the forest wanted to play with the new deer.
Soon there was a long line of deer waiting their turn.
This continued until all the deer became friends with the new deer.
Before long,
The forest was filled with fun instead of fights.
One day,
The elder deer gathered.
Mothers,
Fathers,
Grandparents,
Aunts,
And uncles,
And noticed that the forest was no longer a place of constant conflict,
But a community of connection.
They asked the new deer to become their king,
As they had never seen so much joy,
Camaraderie,
Cooperation,
Sisterhood,
Brotherhood,
And they wanted to learn more from him.
To everyone's delight,
The deer agreed.
During the celebration of his kinghood,
All the deer gathered to show their support for his leadership.
A little girl approached him and asked,
Where do you come from,
And why do you shine with so many colors?
A hush fell over the gathered herd.
No one had ever asked him that question,
Though all were curious.
The deer king smiled as his eyes softened.
I come from a magical forest far,
Far away.
A place where deer aren't ruled by impulse,
But guided by something deeper.
No one tells us how to be or what to do.
Instead,
We learn by observing,
Doing,
And being.
For instance,
When I was young,
I noticed that eating candy gave me a burst of excitement.
A high.
But later,
My stomach would hurt.
I'd feel moody,
And my light would dim.
So,
I learned to avoid candy.
And by not giving in to the desire to show off,
My light seemed to always remain steady and bright.
I also learned many other things,
Like sharing,
Taking turns,
And resisting the urge to show off.
Made my light stronger and steadier.
When I made these choices,
They didn't give me instant excitement or gratification,
But they felt truer and lasted longer,
Kind of like planting a tree that grows stronger and taller every day.
It's not about winning in my world.
It's about growing.
In our magical land,
We call this inspired action.
It means pausing to think and choosing actions that brighten our light.
But we know that everyone's light flickers differently.
Some days it burns bright,
Some days it's dim.
And that's okay.
We don't abandon those whose light seems weak.
Instead,
We stand beside them,
Share our warmth,
And remind them of their own inner brightness.
The entire forest sat in silence after the king finished speaking.
The stillness was so profound,
It created a ringing in their ears.
One by one,
The deer thanked their new dear king and bid him goodnight.
That night,
They all had the deepest,
Most peaceful sleep they had ever had.
They dreamt about the most beautiful things.
They saw a light so bright in their sleep that they thought they could touch it.
They remembered things they didn't even know they knew.
And the next morning,
Every single deer woke up with a bright light shining from within,
Just like their dear king.
They had created a magical kingdom within their own forest.
And from that day on,
Each deer had the choice to keep their light shining or not.
The End
