PASTORAL
Carrie E. Nelson

The wind made its maiden call to the trees, the trees made their maiden call to the earth, and the earth trembled and shook so hard it woke all the creatures, large and small.

The moon was about to go down, but remembered he had to wake the sun. The sun smiled and kissed the clouds, and asked the clouds to give the earth a shower so everything would be clean and fresh. And it was.

The flowers sprayed the earth with a fra­grance of all spices and herbs, along with all the musk that they could gather.

The bees smiled and kissed the flowers. The birds were pleased by the surrounding beauty and began to sing. The crickets joined in and played their tune. The frogs croaked and fish jumped, making the waters ripple. The tide came in to meet the waves for a waltz.

The rainbows met their pots of gold, and the gold glittered. The lightning flirted at the thunder. The thunder rolled back at the light­ning, sweetly saying, “We’re still lovers.” The world spun on its axis, telling all that they were loved.

And God was pleased.