Wise Old 'Possum Woman speaks of how
One Flower lost her colors.
The Legend of the Naked One Flower
In the beginning, there was only a
monotone world. Grey above and grey below. White light, dark earth,
and deep water. Ireesi looked down on the somber world and sadden by
the colorless sight, shed a single tear. Now you know, it takes a long time to fall
from the heavens but upon its impact a plant immediately sprang from the
soil where the tear landed.
The plant had a long slender green stem
with one flower at its end. The brilliant yellow center of the flower
was surrounded by 5 petals. Each petal was different. One was an
intense red, another a brilliant orange, the third was a dazzling
blue, the fourth a deep indigo, and the last a vivid violet.
Ireesi smiled and named her One Flower.
At first, One Flower was happy, but day
after day of looking at a dull landscape was tiring. And a bit
depressing. One Flower called out to Ireesi.
One Flower asked Ireesi to take some of
her colors and share them with the rest of the world. Ireesi answered
her with a warning. “The world is larger than you can imagine
Little One Flower. If I do as you request it may drain you. You will look out upon a kingdom of colors but you will be left naked.”
One Flower understood Ireesi's words.
She did not care what happened to her as long as she could share her colors with all the world. To be happy again, she would make the sacrifice.
Ireesi nodded.
Ireesi's sword stabbed the grey sky and
slashed the white light. Rain fell. An arc between One Flower and the
Wind formed. The arc began to turn red. Then another arc formed above
that. It was orange. On top of that a yellow one soon appeared. And
then a green one and a blue one. An indigo arc came next. And lastly,
a violet one.
The colors poured out of One Flower
into the arc and were carried by the Wind until the world was washed
with every hue and One Flower was left pale and weak.
Because One Flower had been so kind of
heart as to share her colors with everyone, all the plants that grew
around her, reached out through the soil until their roots joined
with hers. The plants shared their food with One Flower and she grew
stronger. A bit of yellow appeared in the center of her bloom,
but her petals and stem did not show even the tiniest bit of a tint.
One Flower looked out upon a world of
color. She looked and looked and looked. One Flower smiled.
And that is why, even until this day,
Little One Flower has no color except for the yellow in the center of
her bloom. That is why her flower is slightly bend as she looks at the world around her instead of gazing at the sky as some other flowers do. And that is why she is surrounded by friends who lovingly share
their food with her because, after all, she shared all of her colors
with them!
A Nursery Rhyme from the Old Country.
One Flower, One Flower,
A petal of violet, a petal of blue,
One Flower, One Flower,
An orange petal, and a red one, too.
One Flower, One Flower
What did you do?
One Flower, One Flower
You gave away every hue.
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