Once upon a time there was a wee little man who wished his imagination was big enough to create a gift for his niece’s birthday. He sat down immediately and started scratching lines and curves on a piece of paper. He was hoping that from the chaos a form of fun art would emerge, but his strokes didn’t look like art.
Nothing looked like anything, which infuriated the little man. Out of sheer anger he scribbled all the more until his paper was filled with a squiggly mess.
His eyes began to water when a wise old owl perched outside of his window.
“What seems to be the matter?” questioned the owl.
“I can’t seem to do anything creative,” moaned the wee little man. “I had hoped to sketch out a present for my niece’s party, but my creativity lacks something awful.”
“Not at all,” mused the wise owl. “For I see a cool elf in the picture that will amuse your niece.”
The wee man squinted and bulged out his eyes until he finally saw what the owl had discovered. His hand quickly covered the paper with a tissue and outlined the picture with another color until it was easier to see.
“It’s amazing!” cried the little man.
He turned from the owl and began coloring the work. It would be a wonderful, humorous gift for his niece. By the time he was finished a large smile formed on his face, but then disappeared.
“What is the matter?” asked the wise owl.
“My niece has a turtle collection and I wished my scribbles had created a funny turtle for her instead.”
“Very well my little friend,” affirmed the owl. “Turn the original scribbled picture upside down, find the turtle, outline it and color it to your satisfaction.”
The man flipped the picture around and spotted the turtle carrying a service tray. He outlined it and colored it until it looked like a fun picture.
“Thank you Mr. Owl,” said the humble man. “I would never have seen my own creativeness had you not pointed it out.”
“You are welcome,” the owl said. “Now take your gift of creativity to the child and teach her how to see the inspiration that her chaos can bring to our world.”
The wee little man gave a nod, grabbed the picture of the turtle and headed off to the party. He couldn’t wait to see what his niece’s imagination would create.
CJ's Corner 