Followers

Monday, May 2, 2011

Magpie 64 — mountain fire

"Smoldering Fires",
Clarence Holbrook Carter,
1904-2000 Columbus Museum of Art

The Fire that Burned the Mountain

     Not a tree remained on Mount Elias in central Ecuador. There was no grass for the goats who had been brought down before the fire started. The goats who hadn’t come down were, of course, dead.

     The mountain was dead, thought the people in the village of Elias del Monte. Those who had goats to sell would go to the city, sell them, and start again in a different village. Those left in Elias del Monte would die, they thought, and their children with them.

     Little did they know that an area razed by forest fires could regenerate with the first spring rains. Before the stores of food had run out in the village, the new green grass began to grow. The remaining goats, who had been foraging for garbage in the streets, had bright new pasture in which to grow and multiply.

     The mountain wasn’t dead after all, realized the people who had stayed in Elias del Monte. The miracle of regeneration had occurred for the first time in the memory of the villagers, and they realized it was good.

Posted for  Magpie Tales,  hosted every week
by the lovely Tess at Willow Manor, who posts a picture for us to use as inspiration. Thanks, Tess!

To see how this week's photo inspired others, please click

17 comments:

JBinford-Bell said...

Your mountain in your vignette lived. Nice. Love a happy ending.

Tiger85 said...

Wonderful story. It is amazing how things come back when it seems so dark. =)

Poetry, Quotes and Book Reviews.

Isabel said...

great story. love the happy ending. regeneration is always a miracle

Maggie said...

Aah, I love the positive write. Wonderful.

anthonynorth said...

Beautifully told.

Reflections said...

I love how you were able to focus on the regenerating birth, pulling a miracle from the ashes of its darkest hour. Nice!

Leslie said...

I loved this!

Mr Puddy said...

Beautiful Story, Kay
Thank you to share with us : )

Kathe W. said...

positively brilliant!

Martin said...

Proof that new life can rise from the ashes.

Tess Kincaid said...

Beautiful. I especially like "the mountain is dead".

jabblog said...

Excellent! It's amazing how nature regenerates isn't it? I hope it will - I KNOW it will - in our poor burnt forest.

Isabel Doyle said...

optimism in spite of fire ...

hyperCRYPTICal said...

Mother Earth is a natural survivor. Excellent take.
Anna :]

Dimple said...

Nice tale! Mt Saint Helens is recovering, and the process started the very next year after it blew. Yellowstone is green again. Fires clean the forest.

Steve Isaak said...

Effective story, enjoyable.

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

love happy endings...