Once upon a time, in a universe not too far away, a curious little black panther taking a stroll in the forest, noticed a scruffy otter busy at work. She stopped to say hi, and asked what he was up to (Yes, big cats are curious too!).
The otter looked at the panther in surprise and replied: “Well, I’m building a dam, of course! That’s what us -beavers- do!” The panther started laughing “You are no beaver! I know “dam” well (yes, it was a funny panther…) the difference between an otter and a beaver. I can see you’re building a dam, but that doesn’t make you a beaver.”
The otter furrowed his bushy eyebrows. He looked down at his strong little paws. “Of course, I’m a beaver!” he said, “I’ve been building dams all my life, and I’m pretty good at it, if I dare say so myself!…” he added proudly. The panther commented on what a beautifully built dam it was, before pressing on: “Let me guess, nobody ever bothered telling you you’re an otter, did they?”.
The otter was starting to look a bit flustered… “What the…”. “It’s ok!” offered the panther. “Look at your lovely little tail. It’s clearly made to swim and play, not to build dams!”. The otter tried to discreetly remove the Band-Aid on his tail, hoping -against all hope- that she hadn’t noticed…
The little panther put her paw on her mouth to repress laughter. “I’m sorry for being so blunt” she said, while quietly singing under her breath “blame it on my ADD, baby…”. “I certainly would benefit from being a bit more… “beaverly”!” she pondered.
The otter was giving her a quizzical look. “I’ll tell you what” she offered, “I think I might be able to help you…”. The otter asked cautiously: “Do you know how to build dams too?” “Heck no!” she laughed, “but I’m pretty good at playing!…” He looked at her, absentmindedly trying to catch the tip of her tail, and replied “Tell me more!”…
What happened next, is a celebration of friendship, love, connection, shared laughter (and some tears), and joys -big and small. But that’s a tale for another day. Maybe…
The moral of this story is “be more otter, and less beaver”. No offense to hardworking beavers everywhere, but remember to play, once in a while. Don’t get buried under that dam, especially not because others keep dropping logs on your lap.
Bee's Zen Garden 