It was a long journey.
It seemed like it anyway.
I guess I was luckier than some of the other animals. Oh, and the people, the family members of our master Noah, our ship’s captain.
All of the birds on the ark took to circling above the ark on deck. We agreed to follow Noah’s instructions not to fly too far away when we were stretching our wings. Captain Noah said he needs us.
There used to be land. Everywhere. Trees for our nests. Plants. And sunshine.
Then there was rain. And more rain. And even more rain!
Would it ever stop? We hated flying in the rain.
Then, one day, it did stop. Noah sent out my raven friend to see if the waters were still covering everything. She came back and told me that there was no land. There were no trees.
Then Noah called to me, “My dear dove, please fly as far as you can and see if there is dry land.” On flight number one, I saw nothing but water, except for the tops of the highest mountains. There was a great view up there, but there was nowhere to set down. No trees in which to build a nest.
So I returned to the ark, landing on Captain Noah’s waiting outstretched hand.
It wasn’t long before he said, “Dear dove, please go out again. Fly further, and see what you can find.”
It seemed like I was flying forever, but, finally, I saw them.
Olive trees. It was amazing. They had survived all that water. They had lived for hundreds of years and would last even longer. And they looked familiar. These were the same trees where my dove ancestors had built their nests long ago.
I knew I had to take something back to Noah. So I went to the tallest, oldest olive tree in the bunch on the land that was no longer covered with water.
I called out: “Olive tree, it’s good to see you again! I used to live in your branches! All of my family did. “
The olive tree was excited, “Yes, I remember. I am so glad to see you are still alive.”
The dove asked, “The only people who survived this great flood are on our boat, the Ark built by our Captain Noah. He asked me to bring back something to show that the waters have receded and land has begun to appear. What can I do?”
The olive tree lifted his highest branch, as a gust of wind blew. The tree showed the dove a small branch full of leaves. “Take this,” he said. “I am presenting you with this branch because of the great joy that your family gave me for all those years, one generation after another.”
So the dove thanked the olive tree, and gently took the branch in her beak and flew back to the ark. She presented the branch to Captain Noah.
He was ecstatic. “An olive tree branch! The waters are going back to where they belong. It won’t be long until we can go home!”
I stayed on the boat, back with my family. Then, some time later, Noah came back to me. “Dear dove - I need your services one last time. Please fly as far as you can. And if you don’t return in seven days, I will know that the waters have totally receded and we can make our way back home.”
So, this time, I was prepared for a long trip. I went back to the olive tree, and saw that there was ground all around. Some of my dove cousins, who had found their own way to survive the flood, came back, too. We were a big family again.
And then, we saw something incredible.
There was a bow in the clouds. It had many colors. It was bright and beautiful. The olive tree said he could see in it the colors of his trunk and branches and leaves. And he said, “Dear dove, I can see in the rainbow the color of your eyes.”
And then a voice spoke to both of us, “Dear olive tree and dove, I brought you together a long time ago so that you could teach the humans an important lesson. Dove, on your flight from the ark, you found the same Olive tree that had given your family a home. Olive tree, you let the dove take one of your branches back to the ark. You are different from each other, but you always found a way to live together in harmony. I told Captain Noah that the rainbow was a sign that I would not destroy the earth again with the waters of a flood. Dear dove, people many, many years from now will read about you carrying the olive branch and giving it to Captain Noah. They will see it as a symbol of peace and cooperation. And that is true, because you and the olive tree have trusted and cared about each other. The rainbow’s many colors will remind the descendants of Noah and his family that people may be different from each other, but they can always find ways to live together in harmony and peace. Thank you, because that is a lesson I learned from the two of you.”
The olive tree and I gazed at the rainbow. Then we looked one to the other. I could feel his branches full of leaves embrace me. And he said, “Dear dove....welcome home.”
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