(Katie)
I had a case of the Mean Reds that day. (In the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's, the mean reds are when you're out of sorts and don't really know why.) I told Elliot I just didn't feel like myself. He was lucky to be a man and not have to deal with hormone issues. Blab blab blab.
In midstream I was suddenly silenced by a loud piercing noise from a nearby animal pen! The timing seemed to imitate my mood, chasing away the mean reds. Laughing, we hurried to see what it was.
Our donkey friend was braying. "Katie!" we called. She hurried to greet us. The nylon netting had pulled away so she could easily poke her nose through the chain-link fence. We showered her with love. Then Elliot got inspired. He began singing The Donkey Serenade to her. A song he had learned in the fifth grade.
There's a song in the air
but the fair senorita doesn't seem to care
for the song in the air.
So I'll sing to the mule,
if you're sure she won't think that I am just a fool
serenading a mule...
Elliot sang, "And all that the donkey can sing..."
He stopped. "This is your part," he said, looking Katie in the eye. "This is where you come in!" He bowed like a showman, giving her a cue, "EEE AW"
To my surprise, Katie's big nostrils flared, her ears pent back, she brayed loudly and long, "EEE AW AW----"
The angels of laughter must have been having fun. Music is a bridge. The Donkey Serenade brought a gathering of giggling children to hear this odd duet at the fence. But Katie didn't miss a note. She kept on singing like a star until Elliot finished the chorus with her.
Everyone agreed that something special had happened. Katie's singing had cleared the air, restoring childlike joy in the spontaneity of the moment. And I had learned a humorous lesson on how our inner world is reflected outwardly.
In Animal-Speak, donkey represents the approach of new opportunities to do even greater work. "Don't be stubborn and refuse to move with the flow." Step forward like Katie and give it your all.
Love and joyful blessings,
Rae Karen
