It was a beautiful morning when the tiny panther was born. Little did he know that the world was not ready for his uniqueness. For this cub had a strange deformity, a peculiar growth protruding from its back that oddly resembled a pair of wings.
Although it eventually gave him the ability to fly, its unusual appearance caused unrest amongst the other creatures of the forest. Birds squawked anxiously. Rodents scurried away. Other creatures hissed, huffed, and pawed the ground in agitation. Normal panthers avoided him like a plague.
But the little cub didn’t notice. He was too busy flapping and stretching his wings, fixated on learning to fly. After many false starts and several bruises on his tiny chin from the abrupt crash landings, he soon was able to extend his wings back confidently and with a determined flap, lift off the ground and soar through the air. No one had ever seen anything like it. A panther that could fly.
But rather than celebrate his extraordinary talents, the other creatures of the forest feared him. Not even the predators would go near him for fear of what may happen to them if they were to succeed in eating him.
His mother, unable to control his desire to take to the skies, and frightened by the attention he was drawing to them because of it, kept him away from the rest of her litter. She turned him away from the family den and forced him to find shelter on his own.
The world he knew had turned its back on him. The cub’s heart sank at the realization. In the darkness of that night, left to fend for himself, he knew he had to figure this world out on his own.
As soon as the first light of dawn broke the very next day, he turned away from the only home he’s ever known and began his journey. He wandered through the rest of the forest as the days turned into weeks, and weeks into months and he grew into full size. He didn’t know where he was going, just that he wanted to get as far away from where he started as he could. He went further and further down the mountainside. Until one day, while passing a village, he met a kind little girl who was facing her own similar predicament.
The little girl had a rare condition that made it hard for her to talk to humans, but speak fluently with animals. All sorts of them. From butterflies to beetles to rats to cats. An ability she exercised confidently until the whispers and looks of the others in the village caused her parents to hush and rush her away. They soon took to hiding her from the rest of the village as much as they could. This suited her just fine, as she preferred the company of animals to humans. And because she didn’t have to go to school, she could go out exploring to the nearby lake.
Which is where the cub, now a full grown panther, had come across her when he went to stop for a sip of water.
He could tell right away that the little girl was different. For one, when she spoke, he understood her and when he responded, she understood him. Then when her parents came and admonished her, he saw a sadness in her eyes that reminded him of himself all those months ago.
She was different from the others of her kind and so was he.
She glanced back at him as her parents led her away. When she smiled and gave him a wave goodbye, he knew they had a bond. In that moment, it was like they had entered a silent agreement. They would be themselves around each other. For the first time, the panther, still very much a cub at heart, felt understood.
From then on, the panther and the little girl spent their days together, alone, away from others, exploring the world around them, free from judgment. Even though they were different from everyone else, they didn’t care. They knew that they were free to be themselves with each other, and that was all that mattered.
They met every day to play and explore the nearby forest, even making friends with some of the other creatures there. Turns out that hanging out with a human who was smart enough to speak different animal languages made the panther into somewhat of a legend.
Because the little girl could speak languages of all the species they encountered, she was able to act as a translator, explaining the cat’s story to all those they came across. Slowly, his wings didn’t seem so bad as they better understood him.
As for him and the little girl, their connection grew and they were fast becoming inseparable. Both explorers at heart, each time they met, they would venture out a little further.
It wasn’t long before they came across another creature that was quite different than their kind. A deer with 3 long, luscious tails for one. It was stunning. But when it first saw them, it ran away. Until the girl called out to it. Surprised that this strange creature knew its language, it froze.
Slowly it turned and both parties studied the other. The Deer With Three Tails was rightly nervous of the Panther With Wings, but the little girl eased its mind, saying gently that the Panther had already eaten earlier that day. The Deer huffed in response.
A soft braying and rustles of a nearby bush drew their attention. A tiny fawn stepped forward. It too had 3 long puffy tails. Two other fawns with similar tails followed. The little girl’s and the Panther’s jaws dropped. The mother Deer glanced nervously at the strangers only to grow amused at their expressions.
The Panther with wings looked at the strange and happy family and realized that they were not alone in the world. The Deer’s eyes softened. She nodded in understanding.
“If there is him and me, then there are more than us. But please do tell him that we are not so bad on our own,” the Deer said to the girl, gently ushering her fawns back through the bush and disappearing with them out of sight.
The girl nodded at the place where the magnificent family had been. It was like a dream, a mirage. The Panther looked at her and waited for the translation. But after a moment, she merely turned and smiling brightly at him, said, “There are others out there like us. Lets go find them.”
Without a second glance back at the direction of the little village she grew up in, she did what the Panther had done several months before, and went off in the opposite direction of the only home she knew in hopes of finding one where she belonged. After a moment’s confusion, the Panther ran after her.
Together they decided to leave the world they knew behind to find others like them. They traveled through forests, over hills, and across rivers. As they journeyed, they encountered more creatures like them, each with unique gifts that set them apart from the rest. They met a Fish that could walk on land. Birds with beaks that glowed in the dark, Hippos that danced, and Rhinos that could climb mountains.
Some were friendly, others were not. But no matter what, the little girl and the Panther stuck together, supporting each other through thick and thin. And protecting those that couldn’t protect themselves.
They were each different, but together were strong.
They experienced many seasons change and watched the years go by. They never regretted leaving their old worlds behind, for they had found a new and even more beautiful one. They had each other and others like them who accepted them for who they were.
Eventually, the Panther and the now fully-grown woman settled down and created a safe place for themselves and others like them, a place where they could be themselves without fear of judgment or ridicule. As they looked out over their new home, the Panther and the woman smiled, knowing that they had found their forever family. All because they were brave enough to look. And when they couldn’t find one exactly to their liking, they created one for themselves. A hidden community of magical creatures.
Years after its creation, it was there that they found their resting place. Once they were no longer in the world, they say their spirits still soared through the sky over the land they created, watching over and protecting the safe haven for all like them.
Know that there is always a place for everyone in the world. If you don’t find your people where you are but are brave enough to go and look, you might find a hidden community where you belong.
Green Where You Water It 
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