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WELCOME TO MY BLOG ONCE MORE

This post is in response to creativity for kids contest. This is an amazing initiative and I must commend the creator @greatketty for this project. Its pretty cool, giving us all an opportunity to reminisce on our childhood memories and adventures because through these stories shared, we might as well have a glimpse of our forever fleeting childhood.

Special thanks also goes to the supporters and curators who are supporting this initiative and backing it up wholesomely, such as @steemcurator01, @steemcurator02 and a host of others. Thank you once more!

I have decided to share a very familiar story. You might not have heard of it but while I was growing up, it used to be a very popular story judging by the days of "Tales by Moonlight", when we gathered around our parents / elders, exploring the adventurous worlds of fairy tale.

Without any further delay, I'd like to share my story to your reading pleasure. Happy Reading!

"THE FEAST IN HEAVEN"

"Whoosh"

The eagle flew down in one sweep. The host of the community were waiting eagerly to receive words from the messenger who served as the bridge between the immortal beings of heavens and the feeble creatures of the earth. Finally, the long awaited feast in heaven had been arranged and the eagle came forth with the confirmation of this news. There were noises of jubliation from the gathering, each animal with its distinct and familiar sound. The feast was in acknowledgement of the union between the children of the gods of the heavens. As subjects of the gods, the inhabitants of earth were to send delegates in form of representatives to heaven, for this glamorous event.

As the king of the jungle, the Lion had to choose based on his discretion and the political rankings / achievements of the delegates. Although there had to be a limited number because the eagle would not have enough strength to take a large number of animals all the way up to heaven for the feast. Automatically,the eagle made the first delegate, followed by the snake, the mice and lastly the tortoise. Each delegate had to choose an official name to bear and be identified with upon arrival at heaven. The selected animals made a public declaration of their chosen names. And the gathering was dispersed, each animal gladdened by the wise selections of the King.

The delegates had to prepare specially for this feast in a specified number of days and soon enough, the D-Day was upon them. Once more,the host of the community gathered to bid their cheerful farewells. And as arranged,the selected delegates made their ways to the back of the eagle as it fluttered its wings ceaselessly, reaching for the sky blue clouds in its attempt to get to heaven. After a long flight, the animals were welcomed to the gorgeous gates of heaven,into the great Hall of the divine dieties, where the feast was to take place.

As expected, representatives from different realms were all present for this occasions and upon arrival, they were all requested to give out their selected names in fulfillment of the aforementioned requirement. When it got to their turn, the animals from earth realm gave out their names but unlike the rest of the animals, the tortoise had chosen a rather awkward name, "All of you"; although the rest of the animals never made any meaning out of this. Soon enough, the animals settled in and before long, drinks and different delicacies was distributed to the guests based on their different realms/habitats.

Now, it was time for the representatives of the earth realm to be served and the animals were already salivating from the sweet wine and tasteful dishes been brought further to them. The servants in charge of distributing the amusements loudly declared that the food and drinks were for "all of you" as the were presented. As the servants left, the tortoise quickly reminded the rest of the animals that the food was meant for him as the servants rightly mentioned his selected name. The animals were furious with madness but could not make a fuss. They could not

afford to disrupt the serenity of the feast, thereby annoying the gods or embarrassing the honourable name of the earth king.

Full of greed and deception, the tortoise ate all that was presented to the entire earth realm as his comrades watched him in disdain, hunger and anguish. After the feast, the eagle in retribution, decided not to give the tortoise a flight back home, to the agreement of the other animals. The tortoise, however, was able to persuade the serpent to send a message to his wife to prepare for his risky/adventurous arrival home by setting up all soft items within sight, on the ground so he could land comfortably when he jumped.

Once the animals arrived earth, the serpent,on his personal spree of retaliation, delivered the wrong message to the tortoise's wife. The soft items were replaced with hard and dangerous items and before long, the items were fully assembled for the tortoise. From the gates of heaven, the tortoise could see the items arranged for him but due to the height/elevation, the vision was blurry and all he had was his trust on the serpent to deliver the message. He knew he couldn't stay outside the gates of heaven any longer, he had to jump.

Boom! The tortoise descended in a loud thud. The hard items crushed his shell to pieces. Although that would not be his only punishment. The Lion had already received words of his humiliating act, he ordered the snail to patch up the broken shells with its slime and casted the tortoise in prison for further discipline. Little wonder the shell of a tortoise appears broken and jointed/attached together in parts!

THE END

I chose to tell this story because its the most distinguishable of all the fairy tales I heard while growing up and the morals of this story made it popular too. I believe stories like this can still help a lot in panning out the lives of kids better, inculcating good morals and virtues through this fun and exciting process. I hereby extend a warm invitation to @chrisdsteemsport and @ikechukwu411 to participate in this amazing contest.

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY....

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@stephenpaul