Towards Freedom

Throughout this story, click on the play button to hear each song.

In a small town, not very far away, there lived a girl named Rosalind. She loved the spring with its blossoms, chirping birds, and wonderful rain that washes away the dirty snow and waters the plants. Rosalind played outside with her older brother Terrance. The two of them loved looking after the plants in their special garden in the backyard. In the springtime bright tulips and yellow daffodils bloomed. As always their little garden was glowing with colour. Yet this spring was different …

Rosalind and Terrance, as usual, turned the soil of their garden and checked their plants daily to see which of them were blooming or were about to bloom. One day, Rosalind noticed a purple tulip with a white stripe on one of its petals.

"Oh, Terrance! Come see!" Rosalind called out. "Look at this tulip - I've never seen one like it!"

Terrance rushed over to look, but seemed disappointed.

"This purple tulip isn't a pure colour like the others. It doesn't really fit in our garden."

"Terrance, I think it is beautiful. This will be my special tulip," Rosalind claimed.

Everyday Rosalind took extra care of the purple tulip. She would talk with it, play games near it, and even gently stroke the petals. As the days passed, the tulip's colour became brighter and it grew very straight, taller than the others. Even Rosalind's mother and father said the tulip looked strong.

Rosalind told them the tulip was her best friend. She told Terrance that she was sure the tulip listened when she spoke. One day she even thought the tulip had spoken, but she wasn't sure - it might have been the wind.

Well, one warm spring day, the family decided to make their first trip of the year to their cottage. Rosalind chattered happily to the purple tulip about this trip, telling it that she would be back in two days.

At the cottage Rosalind and Terrance played amongst the trees. Two days passed quickly and the children begged their parents to stay longer. Then they continued their play: hiding, climbing and running!

Back at their home the purple tulip waited for Rosalind's return. After three days it began to droop just a little. By the fifth day the purple tulip's petals had lost some of their luster and it began to wilt. Sadly it sang out for its friend,

On the fifth day at the cottage, Rosalind suddenly remembered her friend, the purple tulip. She had told it she would only be gone two days. Oh, how she longed to see it now. She ran to her parents. "Please, please may we go back today? I have to see the purple tulip. I think it is missing me!" she cried.

Her mother told her it was too late to return that day but they would return early the next morning. Rosalind couldn't sleep that night, thinking only of the purple tulip. She was the first to be ready to leave the next morning.

When they finally arrived back home, Rosalind burst into the backyard and ran to the garden. Tears began streaming down her cheeks as she saw her friend drooping limply.

"I'm so sorry for leaving you for longer than I had said. Please forgive me and be well," she wished.

Rosalind sat like a stone by the purple tulip for a very long time until she heard a faint song,

She looked at the tulip and smiled. Its stem had straightened!

"I'm so happy to have a friend like you Purple Tulip," Rosalind cooed softly.

The two special friends stayed together - Rosalind beaming and the purple tulip's petals glowing again …