• "Lady Ehzra, Lady Ehzra," a young boy of no more than six cried as he bounded for the quaint old cottage of the local medicine woman. He had short curly golden blond hair with bright blue eyes and wore simple brown peasants clothes.
    Morning Glorys had grown up one corner of the house and covered the edge just below the roof. It added for an extra magical and homy feel of going to an old beloved grandmothers house.
    Ehzra was tending to her herb and vegetable garden when the child came forth. She was a maid no older than at least twenty-three summers old with a beauty that rival that of the Elves with her long flowing fiery hair. She adorned her typical attire, a simple white cotton dress with golden rope wraps criss-crossing around the elbows to keep some of her bodily warmth in, with a gold criss-crossing rope around her waist where herb pouches took up residence upon her right side along with a small drinking horn with her silver scycle currently in hand being used to cut some herbs off of their respective plants, laying them in a basket for safe keeping. She rose to greet the boy, wiping her brow upon a sleeve. She gave him a beaming warm welcoming smile. "Good morrow Myh'low. How are you? What brings you to my abode? Come for another story have you?"
    The child out of breath from running so hastily slowed his pace and came to an abrupt halt at her feet. In his hand was a cage made of wood with a small bird inside. He only came up to her hip.
    Ehzra eyed the cage with a solemn gaze. "How about we get you some water hmmm? I think you might have allowed the water in your body to evaporate within what with that little mad dash you made."
    The boy still panted but managed to giggle a little at the joke and followed her inside the cottage.

    From one of the upper shelves she brought down a brown clay cup and filled it with water from a clay pitcher she had. She handed the cup to the boy who drank from it quickly. "Now, now, drink slowly you don't want to choke do you? Your parents would be none to happy if that happened to you," she said with a smile. Again her eyes fell upon the cage and the bird within it. The bird was very quiet and just hopped around inside. "So Myh'low what brings you to my house today hmmm?"

    The young boy looked up at her after placing the cup down and brought the cage between them. "I don't know what's wrong. My bird Arrow won't sing. It used to sing before I caught it. I thought the birdy's song was pretty so I built this as a home for it so that it could always be with me. I have been feeding it sunflower seeds and I've given it water, but it just sits there and doesn't do anything. Instead it just stares at me. I don't know what to do."

    Ehzra sighed and shook her head. "Myh'low, the reason your bird will not sing is because it is unhappy."
    "Unhappy? I thought animals did not have feelings."
    "Who told you such nonsense?"
    "One of the other boys in the village."
    Ehzra could only shake her head in a disappointed manner. "Animals are just like you and me. They eat like we do, they sleep like we do, they feel as we do. They know what happiness, freedom, pain, and pleasure feel like. They know what a great deal feels like, but it is us humans who are foolish because many of us believe they do not feel merely because we do not treat them as equals. They do not look like us or speak in the same tongue as we do but who is to say they still do not feel, think, or anything else that we take for granted."
    "Then why is it we kill animals?"
    She smiled and chuckled softly. "Just like the animals in the wild who feed off one another to survive so we must do the same. We are animals as well but we deny this aspect of ourselves. We feel that because we have the ability to think unlike most animals that we are not. Point remains though is we are animals. The great mother as she is known by many names, you might know her as Danu or perhaps Luna, maybe something else. She created everything on this beautiful world so that all of her creatures and children could survive, thrive and be taken care of. While we may kill animals to survive and animals may kill us to survive it is all part of the great cycle of life. It is the order of things and there is nothing wrong with natures law."

    Myh'low was in a state of awe. "Lady Ehzra you are so amazing! You understand so much!"
    She chuckled. "Thank you Myh'low. So, do you want to know how you can get your bird to eat, sing and be happy?"
    Myh'low nodded excitedly. "Then you must set your friend free." The little boy seemed stunned and hurt.
    "But I can't let Arrow go, he is my friend."
    "Friend or no Myh'low, Arrow is unhappy. He will never sing because he is caged. How would you like it if someone put you in a cage so you would be their friend?"
    Myh'low's expression shifted into a sheepish one as a pout found his lips. "That does not sound like fun."
    "It's not. Arrow might have a family out there. He could have little hatchlings waiting for him to come home and feed them because just like when you were a babe and your parents cared for you, the same is true for most animals in the wild as well."
    "I did not know that. I'm sorry Lady Ehzra if I knew all that I might not have caught Arrow. You are right. It is not fair for me to have him. I want Arrow to be happy."
    Ehzra smiled. "Then let us go set him free as nature intended him to be."

    The two rose and walked outside together. Ehzra put a hand on Myh'low's shoulder. "If you want to say your goodbyes, now would be the time to tell Arrow how you feel and you are sorry as well."
    The child looked back to the cage and looked the bird in the eyes. "I'm sorry Arrow. I didn't mean to keep you from your friends or your family. I did not realize how important you were not just to me. I want you to be happy so I can hear you sing again so I am going to set you free. I hope this will make you happy again."
    Ehzra squeezed his shoulder and Myh'low met her gaze and caught the smile on her lips. "That is good Myh'low. I know this will be difficult but sometimes we must let the things, creatures, and/or people we love go. But even if they go it does not always mean something good cannot be salvaged from the pain that is felt."
    Myh'low put his small hand on the lock and began to pull the small wooden pin that was keeping the cage door shut. He slowly pulled the pin and flung the small door open. Immediately the bird took flight from inside the cage and flew out and found a friendly tree branch to land on and began to sing. "Oh wow! He's singing. Lady Ehzra listen to him! He sounds so pretty."
    "See, it is just as I told you. Now Arrow is free and his soul feels great joy for your selfless action so he sings in thanks to you. There is no greater feeling than freedom and it is a right that all creatures value, including us."
    "Animals have souls to?"
    "Animals have many of the same things we do. In all honesty there are very few things that separate us from our animal brethren."
    "Lady Ehzra, will you tell me a story?"
    Ehzra laughed softly. "Certainly," she said as she began to walk back inside with the boy being ushered inside as she began. "Once upon a time, many, many years ago."
    The small bird Arrow took flight and continued to sing its song of joy for all to hear including the gods so they could delight in the same feelings as well.