The Fountain

Chapter Twenty

As Spirit said, the trip to the fountain was not very long. They walked to the beautiful section of the forest and became lost in the leaves, flowers, and sunlight. As in a dream, they wandered deeper and deeper into the beauty, only noticing the landmarks for the emotions they evoked. Waves of joy, peace, understanding, and love flowed through them as they slipped into the mysterious land of the fountain.

A vision of animals calmly passing by caused Chips and Charley to become caught up in the chain. They floated through a lovely green meadow and found a glorious stone fountain in the middle. It had a simple stream of water spraying from the middle up to around twenty feet in the air. It was simple, but wonderfully compelling in its purity. The water sparked in the sun and the mist it sent out invited the onlookers into the oneness of everything. Chips and Charley were invited by some familiar voices to drink some of the water. They recognized the deer family standing near the fountain. They were smiling at Chips and Charley. Next to the family stood the Gubazah deer. He looked like he was happy and a peace with finally finding the place where he belonged.

As Chips and Charley bent to drink the water, many things began to be clear to them. Secrets about life, some so obvious they were often ignored, revealed themselves to the two friends. They were simple secrets about the importance of love and friendship, about accepting the differences in others, and about the meaning each animal had to find for his or her own life. They also saw how easily joy could be found if we accept our lives as being full of adventure, meaning, and promise.

Spirit fluttered by and told Chips and Charley that they must go back now. They could some again someday, but right now, they had a childhood to experience and friends to love.

Sadly Chips and Charley took on last look at the fountain and nodded good-bye to their friends. Slowly the fountain faded away and Chips and Charley floated through the beauty of the forest back to the pathway on which their journey started.

Rocky, Rhonda, and William were waiting for them.

Did you see the fountain?" asked Rhonda.

"Yes," said Charley.

"You were not gone very long at all," cried William

Chips and Charley tried to describe the fountain, but they felt frustrated because they really could not communicate what it was really like. Still their friends felt excited by their description. Maybe they could understand a little better because they were such close friends. Anyways they all shared a secret and new understanding about life.

The sun felt warm, and the summer was short. There were new adventures to experience together before it was time to move on to their separate lives. So off they went to Roly-Poly Hill to make plans for the rest of the summer. With so much excitement ahead and so many good memories behind, there seemed nothing better than life in the Blackberry Forest for the five happy friends.