The Legend of the Pinecone

Hello friends!

There are many mysteries and legends in my land. My friends and I like to sit around a campfire and tell stories we have heard all our lives.

One of my favorite stories, which I happen to believe is true, is the Legend of the Pinecone.  Whispering Pines, where I live, is covered in pinecones.  Some are short and fat and some are long and skinny. Sometimes, Arty, Luna and I will toss them at each other. The other day, Arty threw one that got stuck in my long fur.  It was so tangled that Luna had to use a pair of scissors to get it out!

But did you know there is a special kind of pinecone that only releases its seeds after it is exposed to heat?  The story goes like this:

There once was a pinecone that stayed tightly closed.  It watched the world change…seasons would come and go, yet it never opened.  It wondered why it was different. Why did the other pinecones fall to the ground, open, and release their seeds to grow new pine trees?

It thought something was wrong with itself.  Season after season, year after year, it watched as other pinecones replenished the earth. Year after year, it waited.

One day a fire spread through the land, the kind that cleans the forest floors and clears the way for new growth.  The little pinecone was afraid at first, until something magical happened. When the heat reached the place where the pinecone lay, instead of burning it, its shell softly started opening. Gently, it opened just enough that the tiny seeds that waited for this day to happen fell to the ground where they would grow into majestic pine trees. The little pinecone was so happy. It had finally done what it was meant to do.

Arty, Luna and I tell this story over and over, especially when we feel like we will never be as good as the other kids. I often wonder why I can’t be as fast or can’t do things others do. Arty feels that way sometimes too. Luna insists she doesn’t, usually followed by a scientific explanation none of us asked for.

That’s why we love the legend of the pinecone and why I enjoy sitting under the pine trees and sharing my world with you. Maybe we aren’t behind after all.  Maybe, just maybe, we haven’t opened yet.

I’ll be back soon to share more of Heartroot Haven.

Until then, please pass me a marshmallow.  I’m a little hungry.

Koda