Sweet Rosalie

Rosalie lived with her father in a cottage in the woodlands at the edge of a great dense forest. Her father tended the woodlands, preserving it, wearing the mantle of Conservator. He cared tenderly for his young daughter, as he had since her mother sickened and died when Rosalie was two years old.

Each day her father left Rosalie to do his work tending the woodlands. He did not go into the deep dense forest where little sunlight breached the canopy to reach the forest floor, and he was always home by dusk. He warned Rosalie to never enter the deep forest. It was not his to tend. He told her he had been told it was the abode of the Fairy Folk and thus off limits to humans. He believed what he had been told. Theirs was a simple life.

One day when Rosalie was three, her father came home to find Rosalie sitting cross-legged in front of their cottage seeming to be listening to three squirrels facing her. She was nodding and smiling sweetly, as first one and then another of the little creatures chittered. She hadn’t heard her father’s approach and was startled when he suddenly spoke.

“Rosalie, my sweet, what is going on here?”

“Oh, Father,” she replied, “my friends are telling me a story.”

Her father smiled and nodded acknowledging what she told him. Although surprised, he saw that Rosalie was in no danger.

“Tell your little friends to go home,” her father said gently. I’m sure their families miss them, and it is time for you to come in for supper.”

Rosalie smiled sweetly, made some chittering sounds, and to the astonishment of her father, the little squirrels scampered away.

Time passed. Rosalie never complained about being lonely. Why would she? Whenever her father was gone from dawn until dusk roaming the woodlands, her growing circle of woodland animal friends came to keep her company. Rabbits, foxes, chipmunks, and blue jays had joined her squirrel friends. Each had their own stories to share with Rosalie who loved and understood them all. They gave her companionship that kept loneliness at bay when her father was away. She gave them her listening heart. She sent her animal friends away before dusk brought her father home for supper. She wanted to give him her full attention. He often told her stories of the happenings he observed in the natural world of the woodlands. She loved these stories and listened well as they dined together each evening.

Rosalie had learned to prepare supper and had greatly expanded her knowledge of edible woodland plants thanks to knowledge shared with her in the stories of her woodland friends. Her father praised her for her knowledge of woodland plants and their cookery, never asking where and how she learned to distinguish and prepare roots, nuts, seeds, leaves, berries, mushrooms, and more edible plants. Being a simple man, he accepted that she had learned this skill and was grateful for her cooking. For her part, Rosalie never mentioned the lessons given her in the stories of her animal friends. In the rare instances when she did share a story told to her by her animal friends, it was never about edible plants or cooking.

Once her father asked her if she would like him to bring home fresh meat for her stew pot, and she burst into tears and shook her head. Her stews were nourishing, strengthening, and delicious without meat, because they all contained the sweetness that was the essence of Rosalie. She filled her stews with sweetness through the sweet songs she sang while cooking.

Rosalie did not tell her father about her own trips around the woodlands guided by her animal friends to gather ingredients for her stews. He never asked what she did during the day when he was gone. She heeded all the warnings of her father and her woodland companions and did not venture into the deep forest where sunlight was rare.

So, it went year after year.

The fall when Rosalie entered into womanhood, her father sickened and died. Grief-stricken, Rosalie called upon her animal friends for help. They came and with their aid, Rosalie buried her father under his favorite woodland tree. Fall ended. Winter came and went. All that fall and winter after her father’s death, her woodland animal friends came each day to lovingly check on her and bring small gifts from their stores of food and take turns lying beside her at night to keep her warm. In this way, Rosalie survived. In the early days of spring encouraged by her animal friends, bit by bit she began to take better care of herself. She used the wood and edible plants her friends brought to her to make fire, and once again began to make teas and stews seasoned with songs of sweetness to nourish herself and share with her animal friends. 

One cold early spring day an unexpected visitor arrived at Rosalie’s cottage door, and asked for help. Rosalie invited the Visitor in to warm herself by the fire and sip a cup of hot tea with her. As they sat together by the fire sipping their tea, Rosalie asked the Visitor to tell her a story.

The Visitor smiled, nodded, set down her teacup and began, “First, I come from the Fairy Folk, and we extend our deepest sympathy to you for the loss of your father. He was a good man, tended the woodlands well, and cared deeply for all of nature.” She paused and continued, “I come from deep within the forest. I live, sing, and dance amongst the magic that resides there. I was sent to seek help because the Nature Magic that holds our worlds in balance is threatened by Dark Forces. My seeking led me to your door.”

Rosalie trembled, fearful of the threat of the Dark Forces.

“Fear not,” said the Visitor when she saw Rosalie tremble. “Even though, we know there is a gathering of Dark Forces coming with their weapons to destroy these woodlands and the deep forest as well, we also know you have great Light and Nature magic within you. That magic is waiting to be called forth and will bring a force of Light to help save the forest and woodlands which are interwoven into a magnificent whole. Disturbance of any piece of that whole results in a profound disturbance of the balance that sustains life.”

Somewhat confused by this revelation, Rosalie humbly spoke, “Yes, of course, I will help. Though I know not what you think I can do as one young female untried in the ways of Light and Nature Magic against the Dark Forces you say are coming.”

“Ah,” the Visitor responded, “but you are not untried and certainly not unknown. Haven’t you talked for years with your forest friends and heard their stories, learned their teachings, and manifested the Nature Magic in your cookery?”

“I suppose I have,” humbly murmured Rosalie.

“Yes, you have,” affirmed the Visitor. “What’s more, your forest friends have shared their stories of you with us, the Fairy Folk. Hence, you are not unknown to us.”

Her doubts dispelled by the Visitor, Rosalie answered fate’s call. She asked decisively, “What may I do to help?”

“Your willingness to help is the first step. Next, you must sing out and call your animal friends here to work together to save all of this from destruction and devastation.” She paused to wave her hands at all the surroundings in an inclusive gesture.

Rosalie climbed up on a large flat rock, raised her arms to the woodlands, and began to sing.

Suddenly, in the clearing below the rock, the Visitor began dancing, twirling around and around joining Rosalie in her call-song. The Visitor’s twirling dance sent her tresses and her shimmering blue robe flying about her and brought forth previously invisible sparkling swirling energy that formed vortex portals of shining golden Light. Rosalie kept singing sweetly as through those portals leapt, flew, and hopped more woodland creatures….more than Rosalie had ever seen before. Bears, raccoons, blue jays, owls, bees, wasps, ants, butterflies, skunks, bobcats and more joined the swelling ranks of those who answered the call-song and came to help. As the last sweet notes of the call-song floated on the air, the Visitor transformed into a blue owl, perched upon a nearby branch, and waited.

Rosalie looked out over the crowd of woodland creatures gathered before her. “Thank you for coming, my friends,” she began. “Our woodland world is endangered by Dark Forces who would destroy it. I called you here so that together we can plan and work to defeat the Dark Forces that threaten our lives and homes.”

Bear spoke first saying what most were thinking, “We will gladly work together with you, but first some of the others have questions.”

“Let them ask,” complied Rosalie.

Blue Jay who had noted the large blue owl perched in a tree near Rosalie spoke next, “What do the Fairy Folk say?”

Before Rosalie could speak, the blue owl flew to her side and transformed into the lovely Visitor who spoke, “We know of this threat. I, Alya of the Fairy Folk, was sent to enlist your help. All our lives are endangered. Will you join with us?”

The chittering, squeaking, wing flapping, beak snapping, buzzing, barking, and roaring answer that filled the air was deafening.

Alya held up her arms and the multitude fell silent. She turned to Rosalie, smiled, and said, “I do believe that means yes.”

Rosalie who had understood it all, vigorously nodded and shouted, “Yes! A thousand-thousand times yes!”

Bear, Blue Jay, and representatives from all the species vowed to make a plan. They worked all through the night discussing the strengths of each species that could be used to defeat the Dark Forces. When morning came, all their plans were made. These plans were explained by the representatives to their species. Preparations were made and positions taken in readiness.

At dawn the next day, the battle began.

The woodland creatures, Rosalie, and the Fairy Folk were more than ready. They were ferocious and steady in their resolve. As the Dark Forces descended upon them, they worked together quickly and effectively as planned by mounting a massive surprise offensive.

The Dark Forces were unprepared for the colossal amount of cosmic Light energy being flung at them continuously. The woodland creatures used all their powers, as did Rosalie who maintained all communications and supported the Fairy Folk with infinite sweetness and love enabling them to magnify the sensory-based powers of the woodland creatures and create an invincible force of Lightning bolts of Cosmic Light, accompanied by high-pitched mind-shattering Sound, and savage, ravening Wind that penetrated the Dark Forces and turned their own darkness on themselves. The final blow came when the skunks unleashed their evil-nullifying gas magnified in power by the Fairy Folk while Rosalie maintained a protective shield of Light and Love around them all, so that they would survive this final hour of the Dark Forces’ power.

By dusk, it was all over. The destructive Dark Forces were shattered and defeated by their own Darkness, even their shadows had vanished. Light and Love were victorious.

Underneath a starry sky in the light of a full moon, Rosalie and Alya stood upon the rock together and sang a song of gratitude. They were joined in song by all the Fairy folk and the woodland creatures. Their song called forth cleansing rains that washed away all remnants of that epic battle, healing the land and the victors of their wounds, until only the telling of the story remained and over time, that story passed into the mists of legend.

And so, it came to be that Sweet Rosalie, as she was called forever after, all the woodland creatures, and Alya and the Fairy Folk lived happily ever after as Mother Nature intended.

Today, it is said that on moonlit nights, if you are still and listen with your heart, you can hear Sweet Rosalie’s song of gratitude. If you sing or hum along, the story goes that you will be blessed by gifts of Light and Love. So, listen well. What will happen, only time will tell.