555- The Travelling Seeds

Sam noticed that his young son Mike was somehow lazy, not minding studying and spending most of his time in front of the television watching serials. Sam sat with his son before the TV Every now and then, the announcer would interrupt the serial to announce the last news of the fire catching the woods in California.

Sam said to his son, "Do you know Mike how do forests and fields cover more than a third of the area of the earth?"

"Maybe people planted them."

"No, people couldn't plant all this area. On the contrary, man often destroys woods out of negligence causing about 90% of the fire accidents that take place. He also cuts the trees to use their wood in making furniture and building houses, etc."

"Then, how did they cover all this area of the earth?"

"'Cause plants aren't lazy. On the contrary, many seeds travel. Without travelling, many plants would have died away."

"What do you mean? Do seeds travel?"

"God granted them the ability to travel to teach us vigor and activeness. Look at the ground behind our neighbor's house; it's filled with grass. Therefore, its seeds look as if having a parachute. They've silky, soft threads that fly with the wind, even if it was quiet, to distant places to grow there. An example of these plants is called Dandelion; it's an herb with yellow fruits like soft cotton. Another example is the Cattail which has very soft flowers like brown fur. There's also the Milkweed which is an herb having a juice like milk. There's also the Thistle which is a long herb having very thin thorns. All the fruits of these plants are like a parachute."

"Are there other travelling seeds?"

"There're many. Some of which have seeds that fly as if having two wings like the Silver Maple which resembles a strange fly having a brown wing in the form of a leave. Another example is the Propelle, the wing of which helps the small seed bow and fly with the wind. There's also the seed of the Fringepod which has a small circular wing around the seed. It flies to near places like a kite. Moreover, the plants which grow by the rivers and oceans have something like the ring which saves it from drowning. For example, the seed of the coconut swims for a long distance; it's coated with rough fibers and a hard peel that saves it. Inside it, there's a ring full of air to help it not sink. Such a seed can swim for thousands of miles. It leaves its original place in Middle America and go to the Pacific Islands. Seeds can fly also via the birds and the animals. Some animals like the squirrels and the chipmunks gather some seeds and store them to eat them; sometimes, they play with them hiding them in the ground as if playing the hide-and-seek. As these animals forget those seeds, they grow and become big trees; moreover, they form large woods of the hazelnuts acorns and the hickory.

Some seeds are very light and strong. Birds take them to distant places to make nests of them. When the nests are destroyed, the seeds fall to grow and become trees. Some seeds travel with the animals as these seeds have light thorns like small needles which stick to the skin of dogs, donkeys and sheep, and sometimes, they stick to men's shoes, especially those with small holes like the Tennis shoes. They then fall in different places and grow to become trees and herbs. Some small seeds as the mustard seeds stick to the feathers or the legs of the birds; they thus move for some miles to find a place to grow.

Animals sometimes eat some fruits with their seeds like the cherry and the raspberry Mistletoe. Some of these seeds come out with the wastes of these animals and grow in different places. Some seeds travel with small insects like ants. These are the seeds of the trillium on the sides of which, there's something like candies; the ants carry them, eat the candies and leave the seed in a different place to grow there.

Finally, some seeds travel through explosion as the seeds are coated with a cover that becomes dry and explodes suddenly so the seeds rush to distant places."

In a sudden, Mike rushed to his room. His father asked him, "Where are you going to?"

"I'm ashamed of myself, Dad. The seeds of the plants know how to move in order to survive while, I live in laziness. I'll rise and work continuously for edifying myself and my fellow humans."

→ English translation of the story here at St-Takla.org: البذار الرحالة.

Lord, You always work for my sake.

You granted even the plants to move and work.

What excuse can I make to justify my laziness and negligence?

The seeds travel to grow.

Let my life be a continuous journey

To rush to Heaven and live in Your bosom forever.

In Christ's Bosom

Short Stories (Stories for the Youth) Books by Father Tadros Yacoub Malaty

The Spider and the Box of Wisdom