Friday's Forest Fables

Raccoon and the Gift He Didn’t Notice Raccoon was convinced he had nothing special to offer. He said it often — usually while rummaging through leaves or tapping stones together. “I’m just good at finding things,” he’d shrug. “Anyone can do that.” Mouse disagreed, but Mouse disagreed with many things. Fox disagreed too, but only when it made him look clever. Badger simply watched. One afternoon, the forest was in a small panic. Bluebird had misplaced something precious — a ti

Tortoise and the Time He Thought He Missed Tortoise moved through the forest at his usual pace — steady, deliberate, unhurried. But on this particular morning, he felt a knot in his chest. “I’m late,” he muttered. “I’m terribly late.” Mouse, who had been gathering seeds, looked up. “Late for what?” “For the First Light Gathering,” Tortoise said. “It happens once a season, and everyone meets at the Stone Pool to watch the sun rise together. I overslept. I always oversleep.” Fo

Foreword to Volume 6 The Forest Listens Differently Now Every forest has a season when its stories begin to listen back. This is that season. Badger walks quietly through these new tales — not as a teacher, but as one who notices. Mouse and Fox move nearby, carrying their familiar curiosity and mischief. Around them, the other creatures begin to speak, each discovering that the lessons they thought were theirs alone belong to the whole forest. These stories are not about wisd

THE SEVENTH CLEARING The Mirror of True Intentions The Still Pool The seventh day's journey was the easiest of all. The path was clear. The light was gentle. Badger, Fox, and Mouse moved through the forest with a lightness they hadn't felt at the beginning — as if the six clearings behind them had quietly removed something they hadn't known they were carrying. As evening approached, the seventh clearing appeared. It was not the largest. Not the most elaborate. But there

The Sixth Clearing The Oasis of Patience The sixth day brought strange terrain. The familiar forest thinned. The path became rocky and spare. Badger, Fox, and Mouse moved slowly, carefully, saying little. When the sixth clearing appeared, it was modest -- a single old oak, a small trickle of spring water. Enough, but barely. The Tortoise was already there. "The small spring," she said simply. "It teaches through scarcity." They settled. The fire was small. Two night

The Fifth Clearing The Oasis of Humility The fifth day was the hardest yet. The path grew steep, the undergrowth thick, and for a time Badger, Mouse and Fox wondered if the clearing ahead existed at all. But the old Tortoise had said it would appear. And it did -- the most beautiful yet. A wide pool, fruit hanging from old branches, soft moss underfoot. They ate. They drank. They breathed. Then the Tortoise settled by the water and began."Tonight, a story about a Badg

The Fourth Clearing The Oasis of Wisdom The fourth day was gentler. The path clearer, the air softer. Badger, Fox, Mouse, and Tortoise arrived at the fourth clearing before the light had faded -- a wide pool surrounded by wildflowers growing from ancient mossy stones. The Tortoise said this clearing had been here longer than any creature could remember. After a quiet evening meal, Tortoise began. "Tonight, a story about a Fox." Fox looked up, surprised. "Not you,"

The Third Clearing The Oasis of Compassion The third day's journey brought a storm. Wind bent the trees, rain scoured the path, and the three companions huddled beneath an old oak until it passed. When the forest quieted, they found themselves at a deeper clearing -- a hidden pool between two mossy rocks, the water sweet and still. They drank. They breathed. The old Tortoise was already there, waiting. "Tonight," she said, "a story about a Wren." There was once

The Second Clearing The Oasis of Friendship The second day's journey was harder than the first. The path was steep, the sun relentless, the roots more tangled. By evening, Badger, Fox, and Mouse arrived at a deeper clearing -- a wide pool surrounded by ancient willows, the water cool and still. They drank. They rested. The fireflies returned. And from the shadows came the old Tortoise again, settling quietly at the water's edge. "Tonight," she said, without preamble,

Volume 5 is a Special Edition of our Forest Fables, a Forest Epic on a smalll scale to match our small Forest Friends. It is being released in seven parts, thus easier for readers to walk the jouney along side of our Forest Friends. Badger, Fox, and Mouse follow the old Tortoise deeper into the Fable Forest, where seven clearings wait like lanterns along a path. In each clearing, Tortoise tends a small fire and tells a teaching story—one that reveals the impulse beneath an ac

Chapter 1 Mouse and the Word-Stone (The Truth Beside the Truth) One morning, Mouse found a small stone at the edge of the Stone Pool. It was warm in his paws and faintly glowing, as if it held a sleeping firefly. A single word shimmered on its surface. Mouse squinted. “Brave,” he whispered. But when he tried to say it aloud, the word slipped into “breathe.” He tried again. “Breathe,” he said — and it almost became “brave.” Mouse’s whiskers drooped. “My tongue is tangled.” Bad

Chapter 1 Badger’s Companions (Choosing Presence Over Busyness) Badger found himself surrounded by invitations — Weasel wanted help gathering berries, Deer asked for company on a long walk, and Songbird hoped he’d listen to a new melody. Badger felt torn, wanting to be everywhere at once. He sat at the stone path, paws folded, and breathed. Slowly, he realized that choosing one thing fully was better than scattering himself thinly across many. He chose to walk with Deer, prom

Chapter 1 The Sparrow Who Counted Raindrops (Patience & Small Truths) Sparrow loved storms. She loved the sound, the smell, the sudden hush afterward. One day she tried to count the raindrops as they fell. She lost track almost immediately. Badger watched her from the doorway. “You can’t count a storm,” he said. “I know,” Sparrow replied, “but I can count the drops that land on this leaf.” Badger nodded. “Small truths are still truths.” --- Noticing Practice • Notice one sma

Chapter 1 The Gift of the Cold Stream (Awakening & Stillness) Long ago, before his burrow was filled with tea and books, Badger was a restless soul. He spent his days digging, always looking for the next meal or a deeper hole, never looking at the world around him. One afternoon, while stopping to drink in a stream, his paw brushed against a stone that felt different. It was perfectly round and surprisingly cold. When he picked it up, the chill traveled straight to his heart

Every Friday, a small bundle of teaching stories arrives here at the Noticing Stone — five short fables, each carrying a motif, a moment of stillness, and a way of seeing the world a little more clearly. These aren’t "fractured fairy tales" or playful twists on old folklore.They’re something quieter. Something meant to be held. Each fable comes from the Noticing Stone Forest, where the animals learn to pause, to listen, and to notice what they once rushed past. The stories ar