The Snow Castle
One hot and muggy June day, two friends played in the sun.
“It is awfully hot and muggy,” the turtle said to his young rabbit friend. “Come build a snow castle with me and we can be cooler.”
“But I can’t build a snow castle,” the little rabbit said. “I’ve never built anything except a hole in the ground, and I’ve never even seen a castle, snow or otherwise. And, we have no snow to boot.”
“But it is a simple thing to build a snow castle. You only need one thing.”
“Snow?”
“Not at all.”
“I give up.”
“Yes!”
“I think you’ve over-baked in your shell a little.”
“It is hot. And I’m not even wrapped in fur. To the castle, then…?”
The rabbit stared uneagerly at the eager turtle. “But aren’t castles big and grand things? Even if we used twigs and leaves and called it snow, the others would call it silly.”
“That is silly. It’s our snow castle, after all, no matter how big and grand, or what any others have to say.”
The rabbit stared uneagerly at the eager turtle, still, searching beneath her long ears for another excuse. “But … the thing will just melt away, sooner or later, and then what will we have left but extra exertion in the heat?”
“Melt away?” the turtle said with a smile. “It has melted away a hundred times already, anyway. Where do you think the icicles come from? We will use the water for a moat in summer and for ice skating in winter. The fish will be very happy with us.”
“But … perhaps we should spend our time creating something more permanent than a June snow castle, as cool as it may be at the moment.”
The turtle stuck his neck out farther. “There are very few more permanent things you can build on a hot and muggy June day than a snow castle, my frosty friend, except for what you build that day, someday, when you can no longer build a snow castle at all.”
The rabbit thought about this. Then her whiskers shifted and she smiled too. “In that case, I will race you.”
The turtle nodded and pulled his winter cap down snug on his furless head.
** Story inspired by the above picture from Alaina Block (twelve this month) who was asked to create something (anything) creative for a blog post about creativity, eagerly agreed, and was a little less eager about the result. She discovered the quote and drew the picture below, too, on the same hot and muggy June day. **
CREATE is one of Cymplify's seven core values, and we choose to celebrate it in the snow castle month of June ...
We believe the true value of our lives is what we bring to it and leave behind it. Seize the day. Find your own voice and path. Risk making a small difference. Risk making a big splash.
Create your own story or poem inspired by Alaina's drawing, and we will enter you to win a free Change Your Mind book, signed by Alaina's furless-headed father (Ken) and friend (Dave). Send them here.
