The field was small, and full of stones, and barren. Although it lay
beside a much travelled road and not far from the town, no one had
noticed it except to say how useless it was.
"It would take a great deal of time to cultivate that field," the
farmer said as he drove by in the fall with his team full of ripe
vegetables and fruit for market. He had bought a farm that was
ploughed and planted. There had been no stones for him to dig out and
take away.
"That would be a fine field to play in," said the children as they
passed by on their way to school, "only it is too rough. It would hurt
our feet."
"If only something could be raised in the field," said the people who
had houses close by. "Then we should be sure of having food for the
winter."
But no one paid any further attention to the field.
There was a secret about it, though.
The field was alive. Deep down in its earth, under its thick clods and
heavy stones, the field had a great wish to grow. And to grow, the
field must be clean, so it called to Mother Nature for help. Mother
Nature spoke to her winds about it.
"Four Winds," she said, "will you sweep the field clean, and so help
it to grow?"
The winds heard Mother Nature calling and they got out their four
brooms and swept the field as clean as they could. But that was not
enough. The field must be rich as well as clean before it could grow.
So the field called once more to Mother Nature, and Mother Nature
spoke to her trees.
"Trees of the roadside," she said, "will you give your leaves to cover
the field, and lose their beautiful colors, and become loam? The four
winds have swept the field clean, but it must be rich before it can
grow."
The trees heard Mother Nature calling, and they gave all their leaves
to the field. But that was not enough. The field must be dug, as well
as enriched and cleaned, before it could grow.
So the field called a third time to Mother Nature, and Mother Nature
spoke to her children, the earth worms.
"Earth Worms," she said, "will you creep and dig underneath the field
and turn up the earth in furrows? The four winds have swept the earth
clean, and the trees have given their leaves to make it rich, but it
must be dug before it can grow."
Although the earth worms are very small, they heard Mother Nature
calling. They crept down under the earth and began working together to
dig the field. Wherever they found rich earth they threw it up to take
the place of the fallow. But their work was not enough. The field must
be planted, as well as dug and enriched and cleaned, before it could
grow. So the field called again to Mother Nature, and Mother Nature
spoke to her children in feathers and soft coats.
"Birds and Four-Footed Children in soft coats," she said, "will you
bring seeds and scatter them over the field? The four winds have swept
it clean, and the trees have given their leaves to make it rich. The
earth worms have dug the field, but it must be planted before it can
grow."
Then the birds brought all kinds of seeds in their feathers, and the
squirrels and the chipmunks and the sheep and the cattle passing
through brought seeds in their soft coats and scattered them over the
field. But this was not enough. The field must be nourished as well as
planted, and dug, and enriched, and cleaned before it could grow. So
the field called again to Mother Nature, and Mother Nature spoke to
the sky.
"Sky," she said, "will you send rain and sun to the fields? The four
winds have swept it clean, and the trees have given their leaves to
make it rich. The earth worms have dug the field, and my children in
feathers and soft coats have planted it, but it must be nourished
before it can grow."
So the sky sent down spring rains and golden sunshine to the field,
and the field's great wish began to come true. Where there had been
only rough clods and between the heavy stones the field began to grow.
The seeds of green grass, and of bright flowers, and of many different
kinds of grain sprouted and pushed up through the earth. An apple seed
sent up a shoot that would be an apple tree some day. An acorn sent up
a tiny oak tree that would grow and grow until it was large enough to
be cut for the beams of a house or the sides of a ship. But that was
not enough. The field must be tended as well as nourished, and
planted, and dug, and enriched, and cleaned before its great wish
could really come true. So the field called for the last time to
Mother Nature, and Mother Nature spoke to her humble child, the toad.
"Toad," she said, "will you tend the field? The four winds have swept
it, and the trees have given their leaves to make it rich. The earth
worms have dug the field, and my children in feathers and soft coats
have planted it. The sky has sent rain and sun to nourish it, but it
must be guarded from enemies before it can grow."
So the toad and all his brothers, who had been hiding beneath the
stones of the field that they might not be killed, came out, and
tended the field. They ate the insects and other creatures that would
have destroyed the sprouts, and so the field grew.
It lay in the sunshine, bright with flowers, and green with the
sprouts of growing food and trees.
"A fertile field!" said the farmer. "I shall help it to grow."
"The field is alive!" cried the children. "We can go in it and help
the farmer."
"The field is rich!" said all the people who lived near by. "It is
growing, and will help us to live."
And the field was cleaned, and enriched, and ploughed, and planted,
and nourished, and tended each year by the hands of children and men.
They took away the clods and the stones, for they had found out the
secret hidden underneath. The field was alive, and it had a great wish
to grow.