Lily
By Golafshan Hassan Zadeh Moghimi
Tehran, Iran

Once in a beautiful meadow a lovely lily bloomed. It was very early
in the morning, near the sun rise. A cool wind was blowing all over
the meadow and fondling the lawns' tresses. The wind gently touched the lily's face and said quietly "Open your eyes dear and look at the beautiful world. It is the beginning of your lovely life, don't miss it", and passed.

The lily opened her eyes slowly. "Wow! What a beautiful scene!" The sun was rising up. The horizon was orange and red. As the wind was welcoming the sun all the grasses bowed to say 'Hello' to her. "Hi Lily, this is your splendid morning", the sound came from behind. The lily turned and saw a very old tree there. It was very thick but it didn't have many leaves. Most of his branches were dry. There was a deep and long scratch on it but still he was standing. He continued: "You are
really beautiful, child".

"What's your name?" the lily asked.
"My name's Willow. Everybody call me Old Wil, you can call me that too."
"Do you know everybody in this meadow?"
"Yes, of course. I know everybody in this meadow. Oh look, the sun is is up. What a pity you didn't see the sunrise".
"Don't worry, you will see it tomorrow morning."

A grasshopper lived in the tree. He was talkative, a meddler, and
pleasure-seeking insect. He heard their conversation and jumped out of
the tree and sat on one of the lily's leaves and said: "But there is no
tomorrow for you, lilies just live for one day. God gives you beauty, a good scent and . . .a short life."

Poor Lily. She was afraid. She looked at the willow and asked with a
shaking voice: "Is that right? He is lying, isn't he?"
The willow said: "What is the good of a long life? Look at me. What do
you see? An old tree without leaves. I live long but I also see floods, drought, and storms. Look at this scratch where lightning hit me. I have lost many of my friends. It is very hard. Imagine what it is like to be me. Everyone has their own beauty. You are very lucky, because you can reach the peak of perfection soon. But for me it will take a long time.
Enjoy your life. Laugh, shine, spread your scent, be a friend, be kind, and make the most of your opportunities. Life opens her arms for you."
The lily became calm and after a few minutes, smiled. She looked around and said: "You're right. Thank you Wil."

The grasshopper jumped away. He was a simple creature and didn't understand what Wil said.

At that moment two butterflies were flying nearby. They saw the lily
and landed on it. They drank her honey dew and flew away and took her
pollen with them.

A few weeks later, very early in the morning another beautiful lily opened her eyes.

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