{"id":154,"date":"2013-04-22T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-04-22T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/63f556ee-3149-44d7-8dcd-eff9e84aaaad"},"modified":"2013-04-22T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-04-22T05:00:00","slug":"green-man-and-the-holy-child-a-story-for-earth-day-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/?p=154","title":{"rendered":"Green Man and the Holy Child, A Story for Earth Day 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

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 I first published this story almost two years ago.  In honor of Earth Day 2013, I am republishing it again with a few minor alterations.  Enjoy, and Happy Earth Day!<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n


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Green Man and the Holy Child<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

by<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

Joseph Anthony<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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The Little Girl leaned in close staring at the mass of upturned earth and roots that had formed at the base of the fallen birch.  There it was: a face; a man’s face, green-hued, eyes closed, sunken deep into the vast system of roots, soil, and lichen.  She looked at the face for several minutes, both fascinated and horrified (more fascinated than horrified though).  She studied it; wondering just how it got there.  And when he suddenly opened his eyes she fell backwards into the ferns.  And when a moss covered arm stretched towards her, she screamed.  And when he spoke, sending bits of earth and lichen scattering into the air, she couldn’t believe her ears. <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cPlease,\u201d he whispered, his voice soaked with earth and shadows, \u201cI mean you no harm.  Our world will be doomed if you do not come.\u201d <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

She stepped closer searching his gold-flecked eyes.  They were ancient and filled with a sorrow so visible it cut right through her fear and went straight to her heart.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cWhy do you need me?\u201d she asked.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201c<\/font><\/font>You know about circles,<\/span>\u201d he smiled, little white moths fluttering from his mouth as he spoke.  \u201cYou are careful where you walk.  You touch with your eyes and hands with reverence and kindness.  You give my people secret names and run your fingers through the tops of the ferns like your mother running her hands through your hair.  I\u2019 have heard you telling stories to the salamanders and to the stones in the creek.  I heard you use foul language when you found the pile of beer bottles and fast food wrappers by the pond.  I saw you carry the trash home.  And,\u201d he said, lowering his voice, looking into her eyes with a smile, \u201cmy bride saw you lay your hands on the wounded deer and heal him.\u201d  The Girl blushed.  <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cOK,\u201d she said, \u201cbut that doesn\u2019t answer my question.  Why is your world doomed?  And who are you?\u201d<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cForgive me, I am Green Man, Father of the Earth.  And I misspoke a moment ago.  I should have said, \u201cOUR worlds will be doomed if you do not come.\u201d<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cBut why?\u201d she said, almost shouting, \u201cWhy will they be doomed?\u201d<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cDisillusionment,\u201d he said with bits of leaves falling from his lips.  \u201cThere are so few in my world who believe in your kind anymore–so much destruction, poisoning, and senseless ravaging.  There are many in my world who want to destroy your race.  But they don\u2019t understand the circles like you and I.   And so I thought you could teach them.\u201d<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cMe?\u201d<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cYes.  They hardly listen to me anymore.  So I thought if they heard about the circles from one of your kind\u2014one they can trust\u2014then perhaps they would reconsider their plan of destruction.  Besides, my bride, the Green Woman, or, as you call her, Mother Earth, thinks it\u2019s a good idea.  After she saw that deer spring back to its legs and bound away into the woods, she told me if anyone could save us\u2014it would be you.\u201d<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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The Little Girl closed her eyes for several minutes.  The woods hushed to hear her reply.  She knew what she would do.  She took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and then reached out placing her hand in his.  She half expected his arm to crumble like a rotting log, but instead it was strong and powerful.  He smiled and she noticed tears forming in the corners of his eyes like dew forming in the grass.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cNow what?\u201d she asked.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cWe go in,\u201d said Green Man, \u201cthis is a door.\u201d<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cWill it hurt going through? It looks so crowded.\u201d<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cNo child, the door will widen for you.  It will not hurt.  Tickle perhaps, maybe a few little scratches, but nothing serious.\u201d <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cShall we?\u201d He asked.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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She nodded and then he pulled her through the roots and earth.  She felt sticks and cool, moist dirt pass through her.  A few twigs got stuck in her hair and more than one stone bumped her sides.  The finer roots combed through her body and her soul, removing any last doubts she may have had about herself. <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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When they arrived on the other side she saw a world of brilliant green infused with golden hues.  There were eyes everywhere\u2014every leaf, flower, tree, rock had eyes.  All of them watched her curiously.  Most looked suspicious.  Some filled with tears when they saw her.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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As they walked hand in hand she saw Green Man\u2019s full body for the first time.  It was completely draped in moss and leaves.  It trailed vines and clumps of earth and stood over 9 feet tall.  His arms and legs were covered with lichen and sticks, leaves and bits of white, curling bark.  His hair was one big mass of ferns and his back was dotted with mushrooms.  She smiled and somehow felt safer than she had ever felt before.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cWhere are we going?\u201d she asked.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cTo the council,\u201d he said, stopping suddenly.  Someone was running towards them.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cMy bride,\u201d he shouted, \u201cwhat is it?\u201d<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s begun,\u201d Green Woman said, her voice trembling.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cWhat?!\u201d Green Man shouted, \u201cI was not there for the final vote!\u201d<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cThe council did not want to wait for your return.” Green Woman said.  “They did not think she would come.\u201d  The Green Woman looked down at the Little Girl with eyes dark as night.  \u201cBut I knew she would.\u201d<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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The Little Girl looked up and felt as if she were looking into Mother Nature Herself, which indeed she was.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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Green Woman looked a little like her groom, only her hair was studded with morning glories and her dress of vines and leaves flowed like an elegant river of a thousand shades of rippling green.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cWe must hurry,\u201d said Green Man.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cIs it too late?\u201d the Little Girl said.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cThere is no such thing as too late,\u201d Green Man said, \u201cnonetheless, we must hurry.\u201d <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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 He swept down and lifted the Little Girl onto his shoulders.  She felt as if she were riding a walking tree.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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They ran along the grass covered street.  Flowers and trees ran after them on their legs of roots.  Rocks tucked their faces in and began rolling along side them.  Frogs, toads, deer, bears, and many other animals followed with them.  When the Little Girl looked behind them she even saw a river flowing towards them with fish leaping in and out of the water as it moved.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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Meanwhile, back in the Little Girl\u2019s world, trees were snatching unsuspecting hikers and hurtling them down mountains or devouring them instantly in gaping mouths.  The ground was opening beneath the boots of loggers.  Roots with inescapable grasps were grabbing the ankles of fishermen standing along the riverbanks.  Backyards with swing sets and swimming pools suddenly disappeared in massive sink holes.  Entire rows of houses lifted, heaved, and feel backwards into the waiting crunching mouths.  Storms ignited over lakes and golf courses, sending lighting\u2019s death-inducing fingers crawling everywhere like electric spiders.  Within minutes thousands world over were gone.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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Green Man burst open the doors of the council.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cHow dare you!” He shouted.  \u201cHow dare you dishonor me by acting without my voice!  I demand you stop the destruction at once and hear my witness!\u201d<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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The room was filled with enormous mushrooms and trees\u2014all with staring eyes.  Some of the members bent over scratching crooked letters in tablets of stone.  <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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And when the council saw the Girl it fell silent.  She scrambled down Green Man, brushed herself off and walked confidently into the center of the room. She looked back where Green Man and Green Woman stood.  They nodded.  She bent down and all eyes followed her as she lifted a small stone the size of an almond to her face and whispered something to it.  \u201cThank you,\u201d she said to the stone and then stood up, and to the amazement of the council members, walked behind their chairs and began drawing on the smooth, hard wood floor.  <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cIs this OK?\u201d She asked the floor.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cYes,\u201d it whispered like a snake, \u201cYesss.\u201d<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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Slowly and carefully she inscribed a huge circle around them all.  And when she was finished she stood and turned, looking each council member in the eye.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cYou are blind,\u201d she began, \u201cfor every one of my kind that you remove, you lose one tree, flower, or stone.  And my people are just as blind.  For every tree we remove, a person somewhere, someplace, dies.  And so it ever shall be.  You see,\u201d she continued, gaining momentum and strength as she felt Green Man and Green Woman watching her, \u201cwe were spoken from the same Word.  The same Word that sang you sang us.  We are formed from the same soil and when the Creator breathed Spirit into us, He breathed Spirit into you.  We are bound with unbreakable bonds.  And so I say again, if you destroy us, you destroy yourselves.\u201d<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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She paused looking around the great room, and before anyone could respond to what she had just said, she started again.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cThe opposite is also true.  When one of my kind plants a tree or a flower, one of my kind is born in some other part of the world.  When one of my kind is born one of your kind blossoms or hatches from a seed.\u201d<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cIs all of this true?\u201d interrupted one of the members, \u201cwhy were we not informed?\u201d<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cIt is.\u201d She replied, \u201cand you were informed.  You knew.  Everyone and everything knows we are connected.  It is just so many of us refuse to believe it.\u201d  <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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Just then the doors to the council room were thrown open and in strode an army of silver and white birch trees, each one carrying a dead tree in its giant branches.  <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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The council members rose and gasped.  <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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One of the birches held a dead sapling, and cried, \u201cStop the destruction!  For every one of the humans we destroy one of our kind falls.\u201d<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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\u201cSo it\u2019s true,\u201d whispered the council.  <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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And as the council members erupted into loud discussions, the Little Girl began walking from dead tree to dead tree, touching their petrified faces.  One by one the dead trees rose up verdant green.  Each one she healed bowed to her and began forming a circle around her.  The council fell silent as they watched her resurrect the fallen trees.  She laughed as the trees entwined their branches and began dancing in a great circle of green around her.  The spruce trees began playing violins that they formed instantly from their own branches.  The bamboo trees kept time clapping their hands like claves.  The rivers flowed around them in rhythm to the music.  All of the animals joined in.  Green Man and Green Woman joined hands and spun around sending twigs and leaves and butterflies sailing around the room.  And the council rose as one and sent word to all corners of the earth to stop the destruction.  It also sent out all the rivers to begin flowing backwards until time turned back to just before the destruction began restoring everything and everyone to its proper, living place.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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And while there was still work to be done, much progress was made that day by Green Man, his bride, and a Little Girl who knew a great deal about circles.<\/p>\n

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Copyright Joseph Anthony of the Wonder Child Blog<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

 I first published this story almost two years ago.  In honor of Earth Day 2013, I am republishing it again with a few minor alterations.  Enjoy, and Happy Earth Day! Green Man and the Holy Child by Joseph Anthony The Little Girl leaned in close staring at the mass of upturned earth and roots that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11,2,16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}