The Asparagus and The Bear

Once upon a time everything in Nature had a voice, and when Man was first created Nature spoke with him and taught him. Man grew wise from Nature’s instruction, and as time passed Man came to know and understand Nature and her inhabitants, and together they built a monument as a covenant between them. But slowly Man forgot his agreement with Nature, and the inventions He designed to assist Nature, became devices to subdue Her. Slowly Man and Nature grew apart and Man stopped listening to Nature and stopped hearing the voices of the animals, and the whispering of trees, and music of the rivers. Nature grew angry and Man grew fearful, and in the forests where the Men of old once walked and spoke with Nature, silence grew complete.

In one of these forests there chanced to grow a wild Asparagus, planted, as it happened, by a passing breeze. The Asparagus heard of Man from The Trees and from The Earth, and drank water turned bitter with rage. The Asparagus longed to see the outer reaches of the forest, to see Man and learn why The Forest was angry, and why the water had turned bitter.

One day, as the Asparagus drank the bitter water, A Bear came lumbering through the woods.

"Excuse me!" called The Asparagus. The Bear paused and looked around, not seeing the Asparagus at first.

"Here!" The Asparagus shouted. The Bear then saw The Asparagus and came near, stooping low to listen and to speak.

"There is still one with a voice!" Said The Bear with a smile, "It's been too long since I've heard your family speak, little Asparagus. What may I do for you?"

"Well," Said the Asparagus, a bit frightened by The Bear's muzzle so near him, “I- well.”

“Don’t worry little one, say what you wish to say.”

“What are you?”

“What am I? I am He that Walks the Woods; the Oldest of the Ancient; and A First Creation. But that is not what you want to ask is it, little one?”

“No. Well, not entirely.”

The Bear chuckled, a low sound that frightening The Asparagus more.

"Then pull your courage and ask, little one, if you never ask a question you’ll rarely find an answer."

"Well, I saw you were heading West, where Man is said to live. The Trees and Earth here are angry with them, and the water is bitter because of their rage. I want to see Man, and learn, if I can, what it is about them that makes The Forest like this."

The Bear was silent for a moment then said, "Have you already asked the Earth, and the Trees why it is so?"

"Yes, they tell me that man is forgetting them, or they sing old songs, or they say nothing at all. But they won’t explain what they mean."

"Then you’ve done what you may.” The Bear said, “Do you understand that for me to take you to see Man, you will surely wilt and wither and can never return to this place?”

"I know,” Said The Asparagus, “for me to move I need to be plucked from the Earth; but I don't mind, if I can see The West and see Man for myself, then I think I can bear these things.”

"Then I shall take you.” The Bear reached down and picked The Asparagus. The Asparagus winced at the pain of being plucked, then fell numb as The Bear took them to the edge of the Forest. They moved in silence, The Bear carrying the Asparagus in his fore-paws and walking on his hind legs.

“Why were you going to the land of Man?” Asked the Asparagus at length.

“There is a grave in an ancient place,” Said the Bear, “Where Ancient Man was lain to rest. Though none now know it, and, like so many other things, Man has forgotten that story.”

“Why did they forget?”

“Perhaps you can tell me once you’ve seen them.”

The Asparagus and the Bear reached the outskirts of the forest and nearby by was a settlement of Man, where their cities were and dark clouds rose quietly into the sky.

"Why does the Air taste so different here?" the Asparagus asked The Bear.

"Because of Machine, a creature Man created to make His life easier."

“Why do they make clouds?”

“The clouds are the waste from Machine’s meals. Man feeds Machine with fire, like you feed from water, and Machine excretes the clouds. But those clouds are not like the clouds which bring rain; they are heavy clouds that turn the water bitter.” Said the Bear.

“But doesn’t Man need water also? How can He drink such bitter water?”

“Machine helps man find good water, but slowly Machine is taking over Man’s life and one day Man will be like Machine and need only fire to live.”

“Does Man want to be like Machine?” Asked the Asparagus.

“They know not what they do.” Said the Bear, “Long ago they were like Nature, and lived from The Earth and understood that they are from The Earth. Knowing this, they made a covenant with Nature and built a stone temple, a memorial, to represent their agreement.”

“What was their agreement?”

The Bear smiled, “Nature agreed to provide for Man, and in return Man would use His intellect to act as overseer of Nature. Man initially created Machine to assist Nature that She might better fulfill her promise to Man. However, as Machine grew Man began asking more and more of Nature, and began delving deeper into the Earth and drawing more of Her provisions until she bent beneath their power and was subdued. When Nature could no longer stand, Man stood in Her place and claimed dominion over Her and Her inhabitants.”

They looked around at the buildings, and the passing vehicles, and the crowds of people. “From Nature’s provisions Man created Currency,” Said the Bear, “and with this Currency they trade and govern themselves and have built all that you see here. They strive for Currency because they believe Currency is the most valuable thing.” The Bear sighed heavily, “These things they have made are made of Earth, and of Trees, and of Rocks, yet Man claims that these are His Currency.”

“Is this why The Forest and Earth are angry with man?" Asked the Asparagus

"This is part of the reason they are angry at him. When Man was young, He loved us and we loved Him, but Man does not love us like he once did, and so Nature mourns and grieves as Man continues to neglect her.”

The Asparagus gazed in wonder at the buildings of Man: The houses, and factories, and stores, and saw that the buildings were made of wood and stone, and that trees and crops of Nature were tethered outside and inside of them.

“Why doesn’t Man love us anymore?" The Asparagus asked

"Because He grew arrogant in his wisdom,” said The Bear “and has forgotten the agreement His ancestors made. Still, some members of Man do claim to love us, and so some strive to help Nature because She is beautiful, some because they can gain currency from Her preservation, still others because they do care for Nature and her inhabitants. But few believe in Nature’s wisdom, few listen to the trees as they sing the Old Songs, few speak with the River, or remember their heritage in The Earth and The Water.”

The Bear sighed and they left the settlement of man.

"We have been pleading for so long,” Said the Bear, “but our voices grow weary. They cannot hear our voices through their walls, and Machine has stopped their ears and replaced Nature as Man’s companion. Though Nature called, Man never responded, and so She has fallen silent in grief and despair, praying still for Man to hear her voice.”

“Why does Nature still care for Man?”

“Because Nature, like Man, was formed by The Beginning and The End,” The Bear said, “and because She remembers The Creation , and keeps the promise she made, and She sees how distant Man has grown from our Beginning.”

“I don’t think I understand.” Said The Asparagus,

“Not everything makes sense at first. According to Man I am a spirit of Healing, so perhaps I chanced upon you to heal you, and healing is a process, full of twists and turns which make very little sense. Man has seen the process, and understands the mechanisms of the way flesh mends itself, and how the emotions heal and how things scar, but don’t they see the Mystery of life in that knowledge?"

The Bear seemed to be thinking aloud now

"I'm so tired." The Asparagus said,

"You've started to wilt," Said The Bear, "But I have one more place to take you." The Bear began running through the world of Man, unseen by their busy eyes and felt as little more than a summer wind. After a while The Bear stopped.

"Here we are, little one." Said The Bear.

"Where?" Asked The Asparagus.

"This is a place Man does not understand, a sacred place, an ancient place. When I was very young, Man built this place with the help of the Four Winds; The Earth; Lady Water; The Animals and Nature herself."

"Why did you build it?"

"As a symbol of the covenant between us, as I have told you, and also in remembrance of the one we all loved deeply.” The Bear looked down at The Asparagus. "And now He and our covenant lay forgotten beneath us, remembered by few but The Oldest of Creatures." The Bear fell to all fours and dug a small hole with his claws,

"What happens now, Old Bear?” The Bear smiled kindly down at The Asparagus.

"You will join the Earth, little one, as dust and memory.” The Bear placed the Asparagus in the little grave he had dug, then said: “As I was passing by you called out to me, and you told me you didn't like the Earth where you were planted, because the Earth and the Water were bitter. And, even though you knew you would wilt, you wished to see Man, and learn the Truth. I have taken you from that bitter Earth, and bury you here where the Earth is pure. Though this place and its meaning are fading from memory, Nature still lives here, for a while longer at least.”

The Bear began brushing the dirt over The Asparagus, and The Asparagus could taste the sweetness of The Earth that enclosed him and could feel the joys and sorrows of those who built it. The Asparagus remembered being a seed, drifting in the wind and coming to land in the forest where The Earth was bitter, and was thankful that The Earth he where he was being buried was warm and nourishing, filled with affection and strength.

“Will you forget me, Old Bear?” Asked the Asparagus from the Earth.

“I will remember you, little one.” Said The Bear as he began singing an Old Song of remembrance in the language of the Creation, paying homage to the Ancient Man, and to Nature, and the Covenant they’d made before The Beginning. And there to this day a patch of wild asparagus grows near the dust of an ancient man.

As for The Bear, it is said that if you sit quietly in the woods near dawn or dusk and listen closely, you can hear him singing as he walks the world, grieving while he slowly fades from memory.