The Storyteller

In the old days a man who told stories set out

and would travel from village to town

telling stories to all who would listen or pay

though he never turned anyone down.

And his stories were funny, or scary, or sweet

but his stories were never improper.

For a bread crumb he'd tell you a quick little tale,

for a gold coin he'd spin you a whopper.

If you offered him more he would smile and say "sure"

and those stories could go on for days,

filled with dragons and witches and heroes and beasts,

and he wove them in magical ways.

And he came to a town and had just settled down

and had started to shake off the cold,

when he spotted a girl who had spotted him first,

she had heard of the stories he told.

And the little girl asked if he'd tell one for her

though she hadn't a penny to pay.

She had heard that his stories might just change your life

and that's why she had come there that day.

For she was an orphan and all on her own

and she had been since she was quite small.

She knew she was meant for big things in her life

but she felt she'd done nothing at all.

She had no place to live so she went town to town

hoping somehow to find something new

and she thought that a story could be just the thing

that could help her decide what to do.

And the man with the stories just smiled a wide smile

and he looked the young girl in the eye

and she thought, for a moment, that he didn't care

and she felt herself starting to cry

but he reached for her cheek with a strong, gentle hand

through the tattered old glove that he wore

and he said "you may think you've done nothing, my dear,

I assure you,  you've done so much more."

"I've travelled the land and seen good and seen bad.

I've seen acts of both kindness and greed.

I'm touched that you think that my stories might help

but a story is not what you need.

You see, people keep looking for signals or signs

but you can't simply give them a chart

and say follow this plan and I guarantee that

you'll be happy, successful and smart.

We all have a need to discover our path

and it's not always clear where to start

and we think that the help will come from somewhere else

when the answer is there in your heart."

"So my story for you is the one that you wrote

that allowed you to make it this far.

It is much more impressive than any I've told

and it's made you the person you are.

Now  you just keep on doing the things that you've done

and perhaps in a lifetime or two

when you've gone on to be what I know you can be

they'll be telling a story of you."

She said  "I've always  wandered, I've never slowed down

and so wandering's all that I know,

and I guess I was hoping for some kind of sign

since I'm not really sure where to go."

"You've had more than your share of misfortune" he said

"and the fact is that life isn't fair.

But I promise that you have a place in this world

and you may find you're already there."

And the people in town came and gathered around

and they made her feel one of their own.

And she thought this could be a place where she belonged

and she'd no longer be all alone.

So she hugged the old man like you'd hug an old friend,

with emotions both happy and sad,

and although he did not spin a story for her,

she was sure, in a way, that he had.

And with that the old story man started away

knowing he was the one meant to roam,

and he showed her the sign where the village began,

and the name of the village was Home.