User blog:Forestpaw13/Heron and Somonides

Heron and Somonides As the fire swept through the small village, Heron moaned in pain. He knelt on the ground next to his sister and watched her eyes cloud. He picked her up and laid her on the ground next to his parents. He stared out at the burning crops his father worked so hard to grow, and realized somewhere through his grief that he was going to lose everything. He didn’t care, not yet.

Many days later, after the fire had burned out, Heron sat on the dusty ground. His clothes were dirty, and his stomach rumbled with every movement. He would die with no food, he knew. But now, he was tired. He found shade and closed his eyes. He saw a shimmery spirit in front of him. She was holding out seeds to him, ones of which he did not recognize. “Plant these,” she said. “Demeter,” he breathed, stretching out his hand. She placed the seeds in his hand. “Travel to the nearest mountain, Heron, and climb to the peak. There, you will find a field perfect for planting and tending to these seeds.” Heron nodded to her, and the goddess disappeared. When he woke up, he gathered food from another farmer’s field and made the journey, taking three days to reach the peak of the mountain. The field was there, and he planted the seeds. At harvest time, he found a yellow vegetable growing where the seeds had been months before. “It is corn,” Demeter told him, “and you may gather it. Share it with your villagers.” Heron did gather it, but he did not share it. He hoarded it down the mountain and hid it in a house he built, as so the other residents of the village wouldn’t find it. Demeter became very displeased and angry with Heron’s deed. She gave corn seeds to another man, called Somonides, and gave him instructions to plant them on his farm and, when harvest came, to share his bounty with his neighbors.

Somonides followed Demeter’s instructions with no fault. He gave a generous amount of corn to his neighbors.

When Heron was journeying to the mountain for a second time to gather his corn, he found Somonides’ field. He became angry, thinking that Somonides had stolen his corn.

Heron found Somonides watering his crops with the utmost care.

“Hello,” Somonides greeted, “who are you?”

“I am Heron,” the other farmer answered. “What is this crop?”

Somonides smiled before answering, “Corn.”

“I’m sorry,” Heron apologized, lying, “I don’t know what that is.”

“Demeter showed it to me. It’s fantastic.” Somonides promptly plucked some and handed it to Heron, who ate it.

“Would you mind helping me?” Somonides asked as Heron finished. “It shouldn’t take too long with two people working.” Heron agreed. Somonides handed Heron a sharp tool. Heron worked for a short time, and then killed Somonides. He gathered all his corn for himself, and then continued his journey to gather his own corn. The other villagers discovered Heron’s deed many days later. They hunted him down and killed him. They discovered his corn and shared it. When the next harvest came, the villagers knew to follow the lesson of Heron and Somonides: always share a god’s gift.