Have you ever felt the wind? You might have noticed him brushing your cheek on a breezy day.  But he wouldn’t have noticed you.  He’s too intent on getting from one place to the next.   He travels all around the world in the span of a year – never stopping, always moving forward. 

One morning, while passing through a valley in the middle of a large forest, something caught his attention, and for the first time in all his travels, he stopped.  Sitting on a log was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. It was a fox, fur the color of grapefruit, and eyes like emeralds.

The fox asked why he stopped as she was enjoying the cool breeze on this hot, sunny day.  The wind replied that he had never seen anything so beautiful in his travels.  The wind spent the rest of the day playing with the fox, almost forgetting about his journey.

At sunset, the wind took his leave, promising to return in a year's time. 

Every year since, the wind would travel the world and arrive on the same day to be with his newfound friend.

Season after season, year after year, the wind would visit. They talked, danced, and played in the valley. The fox made the wind very happy, and he soon fell in love.

One day, when the wind arrived for his yearly sojourn, he was taken aback. His heart leaped to his throat when he found his friend playing with another fox. The wind became jealous, an emotion he had never felt before, and flew into a bitter rage.  He suddenly raced through the forest, and left the valley without stopping.

The fox was heartbroken. She wanted so much to see her friend. She was crushed and so, sought solace from her fellow fox.

The wind sped all around the world, going faster than he had ever traveled before.

The very next year, when the wind arrived at the valley, his speed and rage was so great, large storm clouds followed bringing with it a mighty tempest. He entered the valley at such speed, the trees almost snapped in half, sending the little forest creatures scattering, rushing for cover. The fox tried calling out to the wind, but he could not hear her.

A bolt of lightning struck a tree, causing a fiery blaze. The fire spread quickly, aided by the fast moving wind.

Every creature in the forest scampered away hurriedly from the roaring inferno. The fox and her companion darted in and out through tree and clump and brush.

In their flight, the fox was almost hit by a burning branch. Her companion jumped in and shoved her out of the way. The burning branch knocked him unconscious, burn marks visible on his fur.

The fox raced back to her friend and pulled him out from under the debris. She tried shielding his limp form from the encroaching fire. She then cried out for the wind to stop, his speed only serving to fan the blaze.

The wind looked down momentarily only to find the fox in tears. He finally heard his friend crying out, trying desperately to protect her companion. The wind was aghast to see his friend in such pain. In that moment, he realized what he had done and stopped moving, halting the advance of the flames.

Moments later, rain started to fall. Water droplets pelted the land and soon drenched the forest. The fox hugged her companion close, letting the rain sooth the burns. She thanked her friend, the wind, before settling into a deep slumber.

The wind learned a very important lesson that day. One must not move too fast in life. It is better to slow down and acknowledge the presence of others to form meaningful relationships. And form relationships he did with all the creatures of the valley. For from that moment on, once every year, the wind would come to the valley and stop for a day to rest and play.