The Weight of a Snowflake

The Weight of a Snowflake
A Traditional Story Retold

A long, long time ago, on a cold winter’s day, when Sister Wind was dancing merrily over the snowy meadows, a little fox and a small badger were playing together on a clearing in a snow-covered forest, trying to catch the snowflakes that were falling from the sky. 

​The little fox who was watching the glittering snowflakes in awe asked the badger, “Do you by any chance know, how much a snowflake weighs?” “Oh, not much at all! See? They land on my fur and do not weigh me down at all! I can still run around and play!” 

"White Badger Dreaming", white pastels, Kristin Raphaela Otti (2023)

A wise old owl who had been watching the two youngsters playing in the snow said, “My young friends, let me tell you a story.”

​The fox and the badger sat down and looked up at the owl who was sitting high up in the trees. 

"White Reynard", white pastels, Kristin Raphaela Otti (2023)

“Sometimes we think that all our efforts are in vain and our voice will not make a difference, but if we work together and put our unique gifts to good use, many a great thing is possible.”

“Once upon a time, on a cold winter’s day just like this, not long after I had hatched and was still considered a spring chicken, ​I was sitting on the branch of a mighty tree.​ Snow began to fall and I was astounded to see that no snowflake was like the other and since I wanted to know, how many unique snowflakes there were, I started counting them as they were landing on the branch. One, two, three, thirty-seven, three hundred nine, eleven thousand fifty-six, two hundred thousand sixty-four and then another snowflake weighing nothing landed on the branch and all of a sudden it broke - mighty or not.” 
 
“Whoa!”, the two youngsters exclaimed. The old owl continued, “Sometimes we think that all our efforts are in vain and our voice will not make a difference, but if we work together and put our unique gifts to good use, many a great thing is possible.”  

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