I dedicate this my first story to Amanda, with my love ...


       Dew Song, version 2 (based on Dr. Win Wenger's original and
           on some of his invention ideas appearing elsewhere)

                         by John McPherson


  ONCE upon a time, there lived a girl so lovely that whoever saw her
thought that she must be a goddess, she was so very beautiful.

  Her name was Aurora.

  Aurora lived in the edges of a great forest.

  Every morning before first light, while the stars were still shining
far above, Aurora would come out into the meadow, to delight in the
fresh smells of the dawn and to listen to the Earth being very still.

  Aurora would slip out somewhere from between the strong silent trees,
when it was still so dark that you couldn't see the trees. You could
only feel their good strength here and there around you. She would
walk barefooted into the soft grasses of the meadow and listen to the
silence all around.

  One day the sons and daughters of Man came and cut down some of 
the trees. They put up in their place many boxes--boxes to live in, 
boxes to work in, boxes to shop in. Part of the forest was gone.

  Aurora was sad ... she loved the forest and didn't love the boxes
very much. What could she do? She thought that maybe it was time
for her to move far, far away ... but first, she wanted to say
good-bye to her new friends, John and Sylvia.

  As she told them it was time for her to leave, Sylvia begged her
to stay ... maybe there would be a way to preserve the forest _and_ 
have places for the sons and daughters of Man to live in, work in, 
shop in, and play in.

  Aurora had never thought about that! Sylvia and John then told
her that the Elders had taught them things, special things, and 
that maybe ways could be found to have the best of both worlds.

  John led them ... "let's take a mental vacation ... just get
comfortable and relax and let's all close our eyes to see 
what will be revealed to us.  Maybe there are ways to have it
all ... let's ask for a vision from our minds where there is
forest, and people with places to stay ... and maybe something
will appear to each of us.  Sylvia, I can't see what's in
your mind, so could you please tell us what you see?"

  "I'm in the forest!", said Sylvia, "and you and Aurora are
there ... and I see people in the trees! I mean, they are
_up in the trees_, in the branches!  Now I see treehouses, and
I go up one of the trees ... it is a _huge_ tree!  It is so
big that my living room could be up there!  The huge lower
branches are so strong that they are holding up the bottom
floor, and there are other little platforms further up the tree
 ... there must be four or fives levels of house up there!
The tree house is kind of open and airy inside, and little
birds are flying around ... the air feels fresh and good,
and the sun is streaming in through the branches ... Now
I'm looking out into the forest and I see other treehouses
out there ... there are many of us living up in these houses
in the trees!"

  Aurora was amazed! She had known the beauty of the forest
all of her life, but she never realized that beauty could come
>from within too. She began to feel that there was some hope.

  John then said, "Sylvia, that was wonderful! I think even
the Elders will be surprised at how well the things they
taught us worked!  My turn!  Now I'll tell you what appears
in my mind, and it might be even better than Sylvia's 
idea".  "Hey!", said Sylvia, "enough of that, John!  Now
why don't you close your eyes and tell us what you see?"
"Okay ... I'm standing on the ground and all around me is
rolling countryside.  There are green shrubs all over the
place ... hey, wait a minute, there are _houses_ behind
those shrubs!  These houses are kind of lowset and all 
hidden by the shrubs and the trees.  Now I'm walking 
around, and if I look real hard, I see there are houses
and stuff everywhere, but you'd never know it if you
didn't look for them!  I'm climbing up a tree to take a
look around ... it still looks like there are fields and
rolling hills everywhere, with little hints of houses
poking out here and there ..."

  Aurora gasped, and almost started to cry.  There was
hope!  "John, I would like to try this thing your Elders
have taught you ... I would like to see the beauty within
too!"  "Okay, Aurora", said John, "all you have to do is
to close your eyes, relax, feel that there are ways to
solve our problems, and then just describe whatever you
see in your mind!"  "The beautiful green forest is here,
and the birds are singing their songs, the sunlight is
filtering through the trees, and you and Sylvia are 
there with me.  You are being like a spider spinning his
web!  You and Sylvia are putting up strands of silk,
no, rope, between the trees ... strands of rope everywhere
 ... and you are draping huge sheets of colorful fabrics
on these ropes between the trees!  I see ... you are
making your boxes, but they are of cloth and they are
in the trees!  You have not cut down a single tree, but
you have your boxes to live in and play in!  And there
is one of Sylvia's Tree Houses ... and some of your
houses hidden behind the shrubs ... and there is a 
little house inside a big hole in the ground ... it is
about 20 feet deep, with a garden and pond at the 
bottom, and trailing green vines all around the edges
of the hole ... and the house itself is made of 
balconies at different levels on one side ... so there
is a pretty grotto on the one side, and somebody's
house on the other!"

  "Aurora", said John, "do you still think that you will
have to leave us?"  "No, John, I see now that maybe 
there are ways to have both the forest and the boxes."

  And so they went to the Elders, told them of their 
concerns and ideas, and thanked the Elders for their
teachings which had led to these new ideas.  

  Inspired by the children, the Elders went with them
to the townspeople, one by one, and some of them 
considered the ideas and decided that they too would
like to try this new way of living ... they too loved
the forest, but had thought the easiest way to live
was all in boxes.  But now they realized it was just
as easy to have both.

  And so it came to pass that more and more of the sons
and daughters of Man chose to live and work and play
and shop in Sylvia's Tree Houses, John's Rolling Hills
Houses, and Aurora's Forest Spread and Grotto Houses.

  ... and Aurora didn't have to move away! 

  Now, she could still take her early morning walks, 
with the stars shining far above, the sky slowly
becoming light as the dawn approached, the birds
breaking into song, the freshness of the foresty
air ... but now she had many new friends there with
her, and she took delight in watching house lights
blink on here and there ... now one lights up in the
tree top ... and over there one lights up behind those
shrubs ... and across the forest glade a burst of 
laughter as one family shares some private joke, 
and now the sweet smell of someone's breakfast wafts
through the air ...

  Yes, maybe this new world of Man might just be a
good thing afterall!

Copyright © 1998, by John McPherson and Win Wenger. All Rights Reserved.

--
John McPherson <jmcpherson@ucsd.edu>
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