The Trotterbotters & the Bottertrotters
A Bedtime Story
Many, many years in the
past, when our earth
was newly formed. Our planet was a very different and inhospitable place to be.
There were volcanoes erupting filling the air with hot acrid smoke and rivers of molten metal called lava, flowing
down into the valleys. The water bubbled with gases that erupted from deep in
the earth and dark clouds cast shadows that drifted over the land as thunder boomed
and lightning, flashed across the sky.
There was nothing alive in those days yet. There were no
plants, animals, fish, birds or insects. Only the spirit of the earth whose name was Gaia, dwelled there all alone. She gazed upon this young world that had been gifted to her and wished
to have some company. The Great Spirit of Creation forever watchful, heard her plea and was filled with joy to grant Gaia’s wish. A
colossal ray of ice white light tore across the sky and struck the earth like a huge axe
cleaving the rocks upon the mountains. Gigantic pieces of rock fell away and rolled
down into the valleys with a deafening raw.
These rocks smashed together and
were broken into scores of smaller pieces which eventually rolled down into the
waters. Many years passed, more than you or I could count. But for Gaia it was
as though a blink of an eye. The small rocks were washed and smoothed by the
waters. Then they were crushed and smashed by bigger boulders as they drifted
down stream. Soon these small rocks, now called pebbles had many marks upon
them. Each one looked different, but in time they were fashioned by the land
and the water into little faces. Gaia saw these pebbles with faces and laughed
as they looked so cute! On hearing her laugh the pebbles opened their eyes and
spoke for the first time. The ones with smiling faces and happy spirits said; “We are the
Trotterbotters!” and the ones with grisly faces and restless spirits said “We are
the Bottertrotters!”
Gaia was so happy to have some
companions at long last. They travelled together exploring the earth, laughing,
playing and telling stories along the way. But Gaia became aware that there was
a problem. The Trotterbotters and the Bottertrotters often disagreed with each
other. They would squabble and fight which often lead to the Trotterbotters sulking.
Or the Bottertrotters shouting and calling the others nasty names. This made Gaia
feel sad. She could not understand why there was such conflict as although the
Bottertrotters and the Trotterbotters were different, she loved them both.
“Why can we not all be happy
living together”? She asked one day after another fall out had taken place.
“The Trotterbotters are too silly, they roll around singing all the time and
never stay still. This annoys us”, said the Bottertrotters. “Well!” said the
Trotterbotters, the Bottertrotters are too serious and bad tempered and they
spoil our fun! We have had enough of them!”
Gaia felt sad and a little angry.
She was tired from all the effort of having to break up fights and sort out the
constant quarrels. She had had enough and decided that the best plan of action
would be to leave the two sides alone for while and let them sort out their
differences. Gaia
went away to find some peace and quiet and a break from all the kafuffle. While
she was away the two sides continued with their arguments. Before long they
lost trust in each other completely and all communication broke down. Their
small disagreements tuned into acts of vengeance upon each other and in turn
into fighting. Eventually all out war was declared between the Trotterbotters
and the Bottertrotters.
The war raged for millennia,
causing untold misery, pain and destruction for the Trotterbotters and the
Bottertrotters. All this time which for you and I would seem like an eternity.
For Gaia passed like a lazy afternoon. On her return, her heart sank to
discover that her little pebble friends had almost destroyed each other. They
had been at war for so long that they had actually forgotten what they were
fighting for.
Gaia felt very guilty for what
had happened. If she had not left them alone maybe the war would never have
started. If only she had tried to help them overcome their problems, things
might be different now. She decided it was up to her to bring peace back to her
land.
As the moon rose that evening,
illuminating the mountains and the vast plains of the earth with its soft
glowing light. Gaia called the two sides together for talks. On the shores of a
huge expanse of shimmering water, called an ocean the Trotterbotters and the
Bottertrotters tentatively faced each other.
“Dear friends” said Gaia. “Do you
not remember how we used to laugh, sing dance and play together? Your long
battle has not solved your disagreements; do you think it ever will?” There was silence
as both sides contemplated this question.
“But they have hurt us so much,
how can we ever forgive the Bottertotters” said the Trotterbotters.
“But they have tricked us so many
times, how can we ever trust the Trotterbotters again", said the Bottertrotters.
“We cannot forget these things easily.”
This was a problem indeed, but
Gaia being the spirit of the earth was very wise and very loving. “My
friends” she said, “You have simply forgotten who you really are. You, as I were
created by the Great Spirit and we were all made from this earth. We are all
one and the same. Once you fully understand this fact, you could never harm
another living soul, as it would simply be like harming yourself.”
The Trotterbotters looked at the
Botteterotters and the Bottertrotters looked at the Trotterbotters. This
thought was indeed new to them, but deep in their hearts of stone they knew
what Gaia had said was the truth.
The years and years of fighting
now seemed meaningless. The little pebbles were sorry they had wasted so much of their precious time on something so pointless. From that moment on they chose
to let that memory fade away, because the future seemed much more important to them
now than the past. Slowly at first the Trotterbotters and the Bottertrotters
came together and touched each other for the first time in many long years.
They felt great joy and hope for the future as they began to realise that
although they all looked different, underneath they were really all made the same.
The gentle swishing sound of the Trotterbotters
and the Bottertrotters huddling together could be heard, as the tide slowly came
in and the ocean sighed as it washed over the pebbles. Gaia
was so happy that the Trotterbotters and the Bottertrotters had awoken to their
true nature and would now work together to bring peace and harmony back to the
earth. But she felt tired after all her efforts and the sound of the waves
washing over the pebbles was very soothing and before long she fell into a deep
asleep.
Gaia awoke after a night of
pleasant dreams, during which she noticed the earth had begun to cool down and the
volcanoes to quieten. The thunderstorms were blown away by a gentle breeze and
the air cleared. Soft rain now began to fall over the valleys where green shoots had started to appear. But as you and I
already know, time passes at a different pace for the spirit of the earth
and one night for her would have been millions of years to us.
As the warmth of the morning sun
beamed down onto her face and she opened her eyes. Gaia became aware that the
ground beneath her felt strangely different. All the pebbles; the
Trotterbotters and the Bottertrotters had disappeared and to her amazement in their place was a
soft bed of fine golden sand. It stretched as far the eye could see and had
been rippled by the wind and the waves. Gaia smiled to herself as she realised
that the Trotterbotters and the Bottertrotters had been hard at work while she had
slept and together as one, had formed this beautiful beach.
With a heart full of joy, Gaia
decided to go for a walk along the golden beach and explore this new
horizon. As her toes sank into the soft
warm sand and the cool ocean water lapped around her feet she laughed in
delight at this beautiful place that was her home.
