There once was a boy who dearly loved a girl. This boy loved her so much so that each morning, as the Sun made its way out of the night, he would write her name high in the sky. But when the girl would wake up, yawning and stretching, she’d look out the window to greet the day and say, “Such pretty contrails.” Each morning the boy would repeat his ritual, but each time the girl would say only, “Such pretty contrails.”
The boy became discouraged, so he asked the Wind, “How can I make her see that I love her?” The Wind thought for a short time, before howling with a loud gale, “I know!” the Wind whooshed. “I’ll carry her name closer to her in a blustery gust!” The boy thanked the Wind and on the next morning, repeated his ritual and waited… When the girl woke up, however, her name was nowhere to be found! The wind had blown too hard, and her name was long gone.
The boy became discouraged again, so he asked the Clouds, “How can I make her see that I love her?” The Clouds thought for some time, before yawning with a dribble of rain, “I know,” the Clouds sighed. “We’ll make wonderful shapes so her name is easier to notice.” The boy thanked the Clouds and on the next morning, repeated his ritual and waited… When the girl woke up, however, all she could see were the beautiful shapes of clouds. “A rabbit! A heart! A face!”
The boy became discouraged again, so he asked the Sun, “How can I make her see that I love her?” The Sun thought for a long time, before beaming with intense heat, “I know!” the Sun exclaimed. “I’ll shine brighter so it’s easier to see!” The boy thanked the Sun and on the next morning, repeated his ritual and waited desperately… When the girl woke up, however, the Sun shone so brightly that she could no longer see. “Oh no!” she cried. “I’m blind!”
For a long time the boy wept. His tears carved rivers that ran down from the mountain where he lived and a forest grew at the foothills where beautiful flowers blossomed. Soon, wildlife began to populate the area and the murmur of birds and squirrels and bullfrogs could be heard from where the girl lived.
She was attracted to the noises each of them made, and went for a walk in the forest. She heard the chirping of the birds, the barking of the squirrels, and the croaking of the bullfrogs. She listened for a long time until she also heard the boy crying.
The girl found him by the top of the mountain and said, “Why are you crying, boy? What’s the matter?”
Through a sniffle, the boy replied, “Because I hurt the girl I loved, and she never knew I loved her!”
“I knew you loved me,” she said. “Every morning I saw my name in the sky and said, ‘Such pretty contrails.’”
“But now you are blind because of me,” said the boy. “How can you ever forgive me?”
“My eyes are now closed,” she said. “But my ears have opened. Let me show you the sounds of the Earth.”
And so they climbed down the mountain through the trees that had grown and listened to each animal. They decided that their favorite sound, the boy and girl, was the sound of the each other’s laughter.
