🍂 Indigenous autumn legend: wind, gratitude, and memory

Once upon a time, there was a village nestled at the edge of a vast maple forest. Every autumn, the leaves turned a deep red and the wind blew with an ancient breath. Among the inhabitants lived a young girl named Ayana , whose laughter made the leaves fall prematurely—much to the dismay of the elders.

One evening of the first frost, as the oldest maple tree in the grove was about to lose its last leaves, Ayana approached and whispered:

"Why are you so silent, old tree?"

The maple tree trembled, then replied in a voice as soft as falling leaves:

"I sing, but no one listens anymore. Men take without giving, they cut without thanking. When we stop listening, we become silence."

Ayana understood that she was being entrusted with a duty. She went to the elders, and together they chanted a prayer of offering—fire, leaf, wind, and memory. At the last verse, the tree released a cloud of red leaves. The wind carried them away in a sparkling circle, and the stars seemed to mingle with them.

The village remained silent and respectful. Since that time, every autumn, when the red maple begins its fall, they say:

"Listen to the maple tree's last song — it is the voice of the Earth giving thanks."

🌾 Spiritual teaching

The red maple embodies transformation and gratitude . It reminds us that taking without giving stifles the voice of nature. Honoring what gives keeps the song alive.