The Ostrich and the Child looking for Peace

The stories of the grown-up turned into a cacophony of words, trying to win the heart of all the children in the village. In fact it turned into a competition. The grown-ups decided it was a great idea to find the best storyteller in the village, and they all got more and more keen on the task of creating the best peace story and they got so busy that they forgot the Child.
The Child from the other side of the world could not stand the noise. Luckily enough the Child met an Ostrich, and they became friends at the first eyesight.

“Do as me!”, said the Ostrich. “Put you head in the sand”.
“This is great! I cannot see nor hear! I feel much safer with the head down in the sand.

For sure, the Child started to feel the pain in the back and in the neck. It could not breath, and sand found its way into the nose, mouth, ears and eyes.

“This is not for me, said the Child. Maybe it is peaceful, but my life will not be good in this way.”

“Okey!” said the Ostrich, “jump on my back and I will run you over to some friends that maybe can give you better answers on how to live in peace.”

So the Child did. Jumped up on the back of the Ostrich and off they run.

“First of all you have to talk to my friend, the Hummingbird! She knows how to live his life to the fullest in a very peaceful way.

What is the great mystery? How do you live your life in a peaceful way, asked the Child the Hummingbird.

“Oh, your are asking me? I am too busy to be happy with my friends, and I am flying here and there. I do not have time to talk with. You have to find you own way. Buy!”

“Well”, said the Ostrich, “we cannot hide ourselves in the sand for that answer. She is really a good friend and does not do any harm to anyone. I will take you to another friend, and see if we can find the answer.


The child and the Ostrich run to the other side of the world. The Ostrich has decided that the Child has to see a very different animal to get advice on this great Question of Mystery:

The Ostrich screamed and got scared, and put its head in the sand when they saw the two Grizzly. The Child fell off and was laying flat in the grass a few meters away from the the blueberry eating Grizzlies. The Child did not know that the Grizzlies were meat eats and that it was in great danger, but got up and walked towards them without shyness or any shiver.

“No! We do not know the answer”, said the Grizzlies before the Child had asked the question. They could read his mind. “Normally, we would have eaten you, said the one them with the deep voice and showing off its teeth – but since we are not hungry we will save you till later.”

“Is that it?” asked the Child
“No, no - not all of it. Do you think we are stupid? First of all, you have to know if you had scared us we would also have eaten you. We would stand up on two feet to scare you too death if you would so much as to even looked at our blueberries. If you had eaten them, we would have eaten you. We do not like intruders on our property and we kill for food.
The last thing of advice for you in order to live in peace: find a place to sleep where no-one can find you. Every animal has to have a secret place to hide. To sleep is peace and our dreams are beautiful.”

The Child was in chock. It was a terrible answer. Killing and sleeping? How could they live in that way? The child went into a deep meditation about the answer. They were doing it for food – the killing. And they were doing it because they though someone was stealing the blueberries. Are there not enough blueberries in the world?

“Auh!” screamed the Child. “Do not bite me!”
“Don`t worry ”, said the Ostrich. ”It is only Ants. You were standing in their path and they are walking over you. The Grizzly bears are gone away many hours ago.”

The Ostrich started to use its wings to wipe off the irritating, little Ants. “Wait said, the Child, maybe they have something to tell us.”

What is the great mystery? How do you live your life in a peaceful way, asked the child the Ants.

“We keep peace between us because we help each other”, said the Ants in a singing way as they were in a choir. “We are not only making our house safe and beautiful for the Queen, but we also keep everything beautiful as far as our eyes can see. Do you see the harmony? Everything has its right place. You see, but maybe you do not understand this – but there are many tiny, almost invisible small beings helping you people. We, Ants are not the only ones. There are more of us than there are people on the planet. Bye, parambam-bam - we have to go!”

The Ostrich was now sweating and feeling very warm after using its wings to get the Ants down from the head, nose and shoulder of the Child. “Let us go to the river and get something to drink. I am so thirsty that I can die”, said the exhausted Ostrich.

The Ostrich bent its head down to the river. Screamed out of a trill: “ Come. Look! I have turned into a beauty because I am helping you.”

The Child runs over to look into the watering mirror.

“Ko-koh! Hi there – here I am!” and a fishy face pushed away a beautiful Water-Lily.
What are you looking at? asked the Fish.

“Right now we are looking for water”, said the child with a very grown-up voice. The Ostrich had its head in the sand again, and was hiding behind the child.

“Well, if you drink here. You will die, said the fish. Do you not see that the my family are swimming upside down. The water look clear and fine to drink, but if you drink it - I, promise, it will not do you well. So, if you are not here to drink - what are you up to? asked the very cool Fish with its happy fishy smile.

We are here to find the Great Mystery and to find out how you live your life in a peaceful way, explained the child.

The Ostrich was now drinking and cleaning its face by taking its small wings in the water and taking the dust away from its eyes. With the long feet bent, and was thankfully happy of the taste of water.

“Aha, I understand”, said the Fish with a very sad face. “Your friend , the Ostrich, can drink the water. So can the other animals to, but if they stay at this place and drink, they will die – just like us. That is what happened to the Crocks and the Hippos. Our job is to clean the water. Now it is impossible because it is too much for us to do alone.”

The child could see that the Fish was very old and very wise, and had lived a very tough life.
With tears in its eyes the Fish continue:

“A river is for us life. A river has a beginning and an end, with beautiful curves, streams and ponds. It was so many fun things to do in a river. We did not even notice that we were working. We were just swimming. Then the struggles started. Let me tell you, my Child – DIRT started to come. D-I-R-T!!! How can you clean DIRT through your mouth? This is a situation we cannot accept. What to do? – we, cannot do anything! We are dying in the middle of the River. Our life was in peace – we were swimming the peace. Do you understand my Child? asked the Fish with a very wise and demanding voice. “ I think you have to ask the Grown-ups on this complicated matter. We cannot do anything anymore. The water is too heavy and dirty, and we all are dying. The Child was looking into the eyes of the Fish and the tears were flooding. “Tell your folks that they should not eat us either - they will get sick and die if they do.” The Fish was gone not with a cool smile, but with a crying heart.


“Schwishh, schwish, schwish - I have been listening”, said a soft voice behind the Ostrich and the Child. “The Fish is right”, said the voice with no face.
“Be careful”, said the Ostrich. “ Never listen to a voice without a face. It can be dangerous!”
“The Ostrich is right”, said the voice with no face. “People see my face, and they get very scared. “Schwishh, schwish, schwish - schwishh, schwish, schwish.
Do not come closer! Use your ears. Schwishh, schwish, schwish”

“You people have enough knowledge to live in peace. You have enough wisdom to find solutions to your fights. But do you? No! Why do you not? Who are you enemies? Who do you dare to look into the eyes? Do you appreciate and are thankful for all the help you are getting from the Animals to solve the mess you have created. No! Most of you still eat the Animals with brutality. In some parts of the world the Dogs are your best friends, in other parts they are nothing but a dog that you can kick. In some places the Cows are Divine, in other places the biff cannot be big enough and you overfeed them to please your hunger. You people are very confused. Do Animals not have the right to live like you? Or better way to express this question: Do you see that they offer their help to help you. Even the trees are helping you. Who is cleaning the air? The trees with its leaves….do you….do you…understand….? the voice got weaker and weaker. Schwishh, schwish, schwish - Schwishh, schwish, schwish.“

“It was the Snake”, whispered the Ostrich. “We did not even ask the Question.
Do you think we will find the place of peace?” asked the Ostrich the Child.

“No!” said the Child. It is not a place. “It is a way of living. We have to move on.”

“I will take you to a place”, said the Ostrich. “It is a place where hundred Monkeys lives.
They live in the forest by the Tiger Cave Temple. They have lived in harmony and peace as part of the Temple for more than hundreds of years. Jump up – I will take you there”, said the Ostrich with a determined voice.

There was no time for the Child to be hesitant. It was very unhappy and even more confused. Maybe the Monkeys could cheer it up again and bring a smile into its heart? This journey on the back of the Ostrich to find a solution to the Great Mystery – how to live in peace – was more than tiring, it was giving him the insight into something impossible. The Child looked very old in its face.

For the Ostrich it was the opposite. It was travelling with an optimistic spirit and was very happy -even trilled that they were soon to arrive. It was not even scared in the thoughts of looking into the eyes of the Tiger. “The Monkey they are happy and caring. “Johoii. Johoiii – soon to be there!” the Ostrich was singing to cheer up the Child.


“Ding. Dong. Ding. Dong” The Temple bells were ringing.
“Wake up. We are here. Time to buy banana and gifts to the Monkeys!”
The Ostrich was full of joy.

“Okey”, you take the lead”, said the Child with a bored voice.

“Hi, friends. We are here to ask you this important Question! Come over. We arrived from the other side of the world.

Walking side by side over to the shadows of the trees, they could see the Monkeys.

“This is really it”, said the Ostrich. “Look at them. Are they not sweet?”

In that instant: “Eeeeeeeeeech” – a noise higher than the bells.

Tree big Monkeys jumped down from the trees an on the back of the Ostrich.

“Give it to us. Give it!!! Give us the banana and the sweets. We will not tell you any of our secrets before you give IT! said the biggest Monkey with yellow teeth flashing in the face. It was not a smile. It was a command of deep aggression.

“Oaaaaaaahhhh”, screamed the Ostrich. “Are you mad – what is on your mind? It is gifts for you. I am giving it to you from my heart.” The Ostrich threw everything on the ground and run off in circles with the wings crawling like crazy.

“Puuuh, what has happened to them? They have really changed. They were much more kind when they were wild”, agreed the Ostrich with itself.

“That was funny. You looked great. Not even scared” smiled the child with increased spirit. “Let us go over to the Tiger Cave and talk about it.

“Well, I am not sure”, said the Ostrich. “Wild Tigers! They can be very hungry and why should I be going into their cave? It is like being asked to be eaten. Not me! Not even hiding my head in the sand will save me. They will eat me without me seeing it – no thank you. You go on your own!”

“Come on – it is not like that. It is a place where they used to have Tigers behind bars. Now it is a place for prayers. The Tigers have gone to the other side many, many years ago.”

“Welcome, my friends”, a mild voice and a mild face welcomed them. “I am very sorry for the welcome you got from the Monkeys. They have changed. We do not understand them anymore! Come here, Peace be with You!

“Yes, finally – we are at the right place,” with sentimental and peaceful eyes the Ostrich looking at the woman in front of the Tiger Cave.

“It was better when we had the Tigers”, said the woman, “we could then feed the Tigers with the Monkeys. It was a natural balance at the time. The Monkeys are more and more in number, and they are more and more aggressive. It is like our gifts are going to their head. They never get enough. Anytime, they attack us and jump on or heads and ask for more bananas. We dare not to walk out in the forest anymore. It is too dangerous.
And you know what? The Monkeys do not even say thank you - nor do they eat all the bananas! I have lived my whole life in peace and done my best to live with a thank you in my heart. Now, I do not know what is right and wrong anymore. Have you seen the begging children in the streets? The world has not enough food to give them, and still the children are so hungry that they cannot raise their voice. It was really better when the Tigers were alive.
Have you seen the Garbage Mountains? Have you seen the children and the rats fighting for the food? It was really better when the Tigers were around! I am really sorry. I do not have the answers to your Question. I can only live by my prayers that you find solutions to our problems with the Monkeys. This is in my backyard and the longest view I am able to give you. Your problems come from the other side of the world, and I have to advice you to go there to find the answers. I live in peace with each breath I take, without being attacked by the Monkeys. Bye, bye and good luck!

“I do not believe my ears”, said the Ostrich. “She thinks that the solution is to get the Tigers back.”

“You are right. The cause of the problem might not be part of the solution. Hmmm, she was mixing up our Question. She only focused on the problem with the Monkeys as a way to get the peace back, but did not see that she was carrying the solution to the Great Mystery in her heart. Well, she advised us to continue our journey – let me jump up on your back. Where do we go?” asked the Child with resolute and mild eyes.


“I do not know. But I will take you there”, answered the Ostrich.


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