Once upon a time,

There was a fool walking along a country road. Soon it began raining and the fool, having no protection, cursed the sky and sought shelter in the woods nearby.

The storm raged on and the wind howled, but under the heavy canopy, the fool believed himself to be safe. He also believed that he was alone. At least one of these beliefs were incorrect.

“Who goes there?” Called out a deep echoing voice.

“I go here, but I’m not sure who goes there,” replied the fool.

“Who goes here?”

“Well I said that was me didn’t I?”

“Who are you?”

“I am myself, always have been, I suppose.”

The voice replied in the form of a deep, disappointed sigh.

“Traveler,” it said. “Why have you come to this forest?”

“Because I wanted to. Mostly because it’s raining, but I guess I’m here because I decided I wanted to take shelter here.”

Overhead there was a blinding flash that was seen for miles around, followed by a deafening boom! However, within the safety of the forest, the flash was a flicker and the boom was more of a grouchy growl.

Even under the canopy, there was some rain trickling to the forest floor. Incidentally, some of this struck the fool, reminding him of the situation outside. Much startled, and somewhat wet already, the fool noticed a hollow tree standing nearby.

“Traveler! Leave now!” Commanded the voice as he approached the tree.

The fool did not heed this order. He was tired, damp, and hard of hearing. He nestled himself snugly into the trunk. It was a tight fit, but at least the rain and wind could not touch him.

He was about to take a nap to pass the time until the storm was over when he heard muffled shouting coming from within the tree.

Wriggling this way and that, he felt something small squeeze past him. A little screech owl perched itself on the edge of the hollow, facing the fool.

“Little owl, I must say, you seem quite ruffled,” said the fool.

The owl gave him a withering gaze that could have frightened a wiser man. Not exactly caring, the fool continued.

“What brings you to my tree?” He said with a grin.

“Your tree? YOUR TREE?!” Exclaimed the flabbergasted flyer.

“Why yes, I have claimed this tree as my shelter until the storm passes.”

The owl blinked, turned its head away, looked back again and blinked once more.

“Sir you are mistaken.” The bird’s voice trembled with scarcely suppressed fury.

“Wait a second, you are the voice from earlier!”

“It would seem that you are still the dim-wit from a moment ago,” retorted the owl.

“You are a lot less ominous when you aren’t in the tree.”

The owl rolled its eyes.

“And you, stranger, are a great deal more irritating up close.”

“At least I’m great at something.”

The owl’s ensuing screech of frustration was all but drowned out by the sound of a large branch crashing to the ground nearby.

“Make room, I’m coming back in,” the bird squeaked.

The fool, not exactly having much room himself, obliged by craning his neck to one side, offering the owl his shoulder to perch on.

After a moment of peace and relative silence, the fool thought of something to say.

“Do you ever feel cold?” He asked.

The owl opened its eyes, giving him a strange look before closing its eyes again.

“I ask this because you have feathers,” the fool continued. “Humans don’t get feathers, so I don’t know if they actually keep you warm or not.”

The owl did not open its eyes as it responded. “If you are a creature without feathers, how would you expect me to explain my definition of cold? You have your clothes, surely you understand that they can warm you to some extent?”

“While that may be true, people wear these coverings because we feel cold. Did birds sprout feathers to warm themselves?”

“Do not speak such nonsense. I am as I was meant to be. My duty is to live my life as I see fit, not alter myself or change my identity.”

“I hear that people can change,” said the fool.

“Tsk,” chided the owl. “You humans are all the same, yet you think such thoughts. People can retrain habits, forget others for a time, and occasionally learn something new. However, who you are truly, the essence of your being, all of your flaws, that is all beyond your control.”

The fool mulled this over for a minute, staring into the sheets of rain lashing down outside of the tree. The weather was getting worse and it looked like they would both be stuck for quite some time.

“Why can’t people change?” He finally asked timidly.

The owl sighed.

“Because, if you were to truly change, you would be a different person. The person you are would die and be replaced by someone else; someone like you, but not.”

“I don’t want to die!” Exclaimed the fool.

“And that is why you shall not change. Change does not appeal to your kind. You humans are so afraid to admit fault that you would rather glorify your errors and convince others to follow in your mistakes than accept that you had were imperfect.”

“But I have been told that mistakes make a person who he is.”

“If that were true, then that would mean you were accepting of consequences, which is unnatural to your kind. You should be defined by how you triumph over those mistakes, then you would grow and be stronger. As it is, you and your people have chosen to embrace error and, thereby, refuse to better yourselves.”

“Do birds change?”

“In a way, I suppose. We adjust ourselves to our environment, but beyond that, there is no need for me to be anything that is not who I am.”

“Then why should humans change?”

“Because you are not. If you were the person you were meant to be, then you would have answers. You are like a chick that has decided to crawl back into its egg rather than exist in the world that cares for you.”

“Is that why I ask questions?”

“No,” replied the owl. “You ask questions because you are trying to grow. There is a hunger for understanding, that if fed, will force you to outgrow your idiocy and become strong. But if it is fed with the wrong food, you will become fat and sick-minded.”

“I don’t think I understand.”

“That is alright. Keep asking questions, foolish one, and perhaps you will learn something worthwhile. But in the meantime, let me sleep.”

And so, the waited for The Storm to pass.