A Baby Deer Whose Spots Fell! by Parisa Youssefzadeh Moghaddam (no david read aloud .txt) 📖

A Baby Deer Whose Spots Fell!

by Parisa Youssefzadeh Moghaddam

Copyright © 2020 by Parisa Youssefzadeh Moghaddam

First published in English in 2020

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed "Attention: Requesting Permission" at the address below.

parisaym@yahoo.com

Translated from Persian into English by Danial Molooghi

Edited by Danial Molooghi

All photographs in this English edition by Parisa Youssefzadeh Moghaddam unless otherwise credited

Story first published in Swedish in Nya Åland, Mariehamn

© Nya Åland 2018

Translated from English to Swedish by Karin Erlandsson

Dedication

For Negin and all the lovely children.

Once upon a time, everywhere was kindness.

In a green wide forest, a baby deer was sitting alone in a corner. She was heartbroken. Some of the animals in the forest had picked on her for her tiny and large spots. They called her spotty! And so the Negin* of our story passed her days, months and seasons.

It was early days of the beautiful spring. After a heavy rain shower in the morning, when the sun was reaching out for the tip of the trees little by little, the forest of our tale was ever more beautiful and magnificent. The rain droplets fell from the tips of the leaves, creating wonderful ripples in the lake. The red fish surfacing in the lake made the ripples all the more pretty. Merrier than all, perhaps, was the white duck, strolling to the lake with her baby ducklings trailing behind her feet. The water was so clear, that the colorful stones in bottom the lake sparkled like stars. The graceful crane opened her gorgeous wings. The yawning and snoring of the sleepy old owl resonated with the stream, pouring into the lake. The brown squirrels were hopping across the branches, looking for chestnuts here and there to eat. The chubby and playful bunnies were chasing after colorful butterflies who had just flown off a white bellflower, landing on another flower. Sometimes, leaving the butterflies alone, they looked around for the wild raspberries on the way. The songs of the colorful birds had covered the forest and the plains.

This vitality, joy and spirit slowly awakened the young deer who was sleeping beside her mother. Negin opened her beautiful and large eyes, went to the lake and gazed at her own image. Suddenly she cried out in surprise: "Mommy! Mommy! Where are my spots!?" She was unhappy with her spots. But she was shocked not to see them. What happened!? Her mother smiled and said: "My little Moon, my Negin, now you're an adolescent deer. Your beautiful spots were a sign of your childhood. Now you're a young girl and you're beautiful. Now you've entered a new stage of life and you're more beautiful than ever. This is the mystery of life. Know the value of your every moment. Enjoy every stage of life. The day will come that you'll be a mother, with much responsibility, you'll have to share your experiences with your children. You must teach them how to live with nature, how to face difficulties with calm and patience, and how not to mistreat your friends for their looks and appearances and not to criticize them.

Negin learned a good lesson. All must be happy with what the wise and the kind God has granted them and be thankful for all the blessing God has bestowed upon them.

Endnote:

* Negin is a Persian female first name. It means a rare diamond or stone and also refers to the gemstone on a piece of jewelry.

Text: Parisa Youssefzadeh Moghaddam
Images: Parisa Youssefzadeh Moghaddam
Cover: Parisa Youssefzadeh Moghaddam
Editing: Danial Molooghi
Translation: Danial Molooghi
Layout: Danial Molooghi
Publication Date: 05-29-2020

All Rights Reserved