Katherina Minardo, Sculptor

Once upon a time, there was a little angel named Sarah. She had rosy cheeks and a head of blond, curly hair. She was six, but looked younger as she was small for her age. Sarah always wore a long pink dress, and, due to her tender her age, still had not exchanged her baby wings. Now, everybody knows that — like baby teeth — baby wings will fall off suddenly and without warning. And since new wings take time to grow in, this can be a delicate time for an angel.

She could be flying around and suddenly find herself wingless. That’s why an older angel was placed in charge of looking after Sarah, and making sure that she never left the safety of the clouds.

Sarah was small, but she was probably the most energetic little angel around. She loved to skip from one fluffy cloud to the next, holding her long pink dress so as not to trip. Most of all she loved the little round ones. Clouds and angels were all she knew. She was always in motion, and to keep up with her was an exhausting task for the older angel. The Earth was far below, and in any case the little ones were not allowed to peer over the edges, for the ever-present danger that they might loose their baby wings and tumble.

On one particularly busy day the older angel let Sarah momentarily out of his sight. Sarah took the opportunity to fly after a particularly inviting cloud. She reached its highest peak, then closed her eyes, folded her wings, and jumped. 

Suddenly, through the cottony cloud she heard the most peculiar sound.

“Honk-honk-honk!”

She opened her eyes, unfolded her wings, and stopped to investigate. And then it happened! Her baby wings fell off! She broke through the clouds and started to fall toward Earth.

Her dress quickly filled with the on rushing air and slowed her down like a parachute. She could hear those strange sounds all around her now — “Honk-honk-honk! Honk-honk-honk! Honk-honk-honk!”

Suddenly her fall came to an abrupt end. She had landed on a goose! Everybody knows that angels are so very light, and Sarah, being so small, was particularly so. And we all know that angels can understand the languages of animals. Nevertheless, they were both quite startled by the encounter.

The goose was a large female and the leader of her group. She was taking the flock to nest in the northern marshlands of Canada, having spent the winter in Florida. After her first moment of utter surprise — Sarah had never seen a goose before — she hugged the long, outstretched neck and shifted around to make herself comfortable. They never actually exchanged a word. Their communication was on a different level. It was telepathic.

Sarah, instead of being worried or afraid as any little angel who had just lost her wings should have been, was rather excited. She knew she was safe with the geese, and a new adventure was unfolding in front of her eyes.

Looking down to Earth for the first time she saw a quilt of green patches. Forests, rivers, lakes, mountains and fields stretched out below her. She understood instantly what they were from what the goose conveyed to her. Sarah had never been below the clouds before, and having only been exposed to shades of white and blue sky, clapped her hands in excitement at the sight of such a rainbow of colours below.

The goose, momentarily unbalanced by her sudden shift, instructed her to keep still. 

They flew and flew, always surrounded by the loud “honk-honk-honk”. At dusk her goose would start looking intently at certain landmarks. Then, satisfied, she would come down in the middle of a field, followed by the rest of the flock. It was invariably near water that they alighted. They would look for certain grasses and water plants, then spend the night resting their tired wings.

Sarah, being an angel, had no need for food. But she loved to watch them eating and preening their feathers, and to listen to all the gossip that, like radio waves, passed through the air. One goose would be saying, “I will not fly near Gertrude any more. She keeps bumping into me all the time,” the other, “If we don’t get there fast, I am going to lay my eggs right here!” and one would be complaining of his sore wings, or his leg, too little of this, too much of that. The leader, whose name was Gwendolyn, just shook her head. She was used to all their gibbering. She had heard it all before. She too was tired and wanted to lay her eggs soon. But she would never complain. 

Sarah would spend nights nestled under her wing. Even though angels — even little ones — feel neither warmth nor cold, it was extremely pleasant to feel the soft body next to her. And if she dreamed, it would be the dream of angels.

After a week of flying, they finally arrived at their northern destination. To Sarah, after all the lovely sights they had passed, the endless marshland did not seem to be such a great choice. But she could hear and feel the excitement and utter happiness of the geese all around her. There was land and water and plenty of food. It was perfect.

As soon as they arrived a frenzied preparation started. Each pair of geese tried to find the best spot for their nest. Fights broke out over desirable sites, but finally things quieted down, and the serious business of laying eggs began. 

Gwendolyn had four big eggs in her nest, and she sat on them religiously.

Now, Sarah found these happenings just a tad boring. No one paid much attention to her, so she would spend her time going from one nest to the next and chatting a little. She would pick wild flowers and play with the frogs and butterflies. At night again there was room for her in Gwendolyn’s nest. Sometimes she would even sit on the eggs herself, giving Gwendolyn a chance to walk around, stretch her legs and wings, and locate food.

It was on one of these occasions that a fox paid a visit. It was a nice red fox with a silky smooth voice. He spoke to Sarah, telling her sweet stories. She had never seen a fox before, and she loved his beautiful red coat and bushy tail. He convinced her to leave the nest; he would keep on eye on it for her. There were, he said, the most beautiful butterflies flying around, and she had to see them. Sarah stood up and was about to step away when Gwendolyn came crashing in. She pecked the fox on his nose and ears until he ran away yelping.

“Never, never leave the nest again, Sarah. He was going to eat the eggs, don’t you know?”

Sarah was horrified. She could not believe the fox would have done any harm. She had only known good and nice in her life. She started to cry, like angels cry.
Gwendolyn, understanding that she was innocent of any wrongdoing, put one wing over her shoulder and dried her tears with the other. After that incident nothing further disturbed the flock.

To be continued…