Panda Tales

1.  The Pandas of Middle Meadow

In an ancient bamboo forest in the Qin Ling Mountains of Western China, there lived an orphaned panda cub named Yongliang. His story begins as he awoke to a gentle Spring morning. Yongliang rolled to and fro in the new Spring grass, eating the tender leaves from the bamboo forest.

“Oh, these leaves were tastier than the last!” said Yonglian.  With both hands full of green golden bamboo leaves and laughing, “But I’ll need more to be certain!”

Suddenly, a flurry of feathers bounced and landed on a nearby branch of an old bamboo tree overlooking the meadow, and a few feathers drifted to the forest floor. Yongliang kept on eating. Then a feather landed on his nose, and he blew a puff of air that send the feather dancing off into the morning air.

He remembers that he was just a tiny bundle of fur playing in this same meadow when he first met Yuan making the same  fuss landing on the same branch and then starting the day as the local, wise and feathery philosopher. Apparently, not much has changed.

“Well, aren’t you going to say hello, Yongliang”

“Ni hao, Yuan!”  Munch, munch, munch.

“It is your second Spring, Yongliang. Your father was your age when he went to the lower valley and upper mountain searching for the truth for all pandas. He was a leader of his people and so should you be.”

“Me? Search for the truth? I’m too young to leave the forest. What if the snow leopard finds me like he did my father?”

Yuan looked deep into Yongliang’s dark eyes with the wisdom of the ages.

“You must go. Your father will not rest until he has brought wisdom to the others about life beyond our happy meadow. They must know about the world around us. He’s counting on you.”

Suddenly, the wind rustled the golden green leaves, swaying the canes of the bamboo forest. Yongliang could here his father’s voice on the wind. It seemed to be whispering, “go.” Yongliang trusted the voice and knew this wasn’t something he could say no to. He must go.

With the panda essentials packed, Yongliang set off in search of the truth for all pandas. He knew he would miss his home, but he was doing the right thing. It was for his father after all.

He descended to the lower mountain valley winding past flowering meadows, misty waterfalls, and the last remaining snow patches. The warmth of the sun began to grow hot and then hotter. Soon Yongliang was panting from the heat and looking for water to drink.   As he was about to reach the water’s edge, he heard such a commotion as he had never heard before. Angry voices, snarls, and rumbling was coming from just inside a clearing ahead in the bamboo forest. He could see glimpses of panda shapes and panda colors tumbling and jumping. The closer Yongliang got to them, the more it sounded like a panda brawl!

But that’s all wrong! Panda’s don’t fight! Pandas don’t get angry! This was terrible! He thought maybe it’s because it was so hot here. But he continued on towards them. He could see flashes of teeth and exposed claws slashing against the air. There were pandas with angry, red eyes, snarling, snapping teeth, and the leanest pandas he had ever seen. They weren’t round and jolly like the pandas he knew. What was wrong here?! This was frightening. He stood staring at them for what seemed like an eternity. And those chopsticks! They had the longest chopsticks of any pandas he had ever seen.

As he continued to watch them he noticed something that made him laugh out loud. The pandas picked up bamboo shoots and rice with the long chopsticks but could not get the food to their mouths. The chopsticks were too long! No matter how hard they tried and how many ways they tried, they could not feed themselves. They would try, fail, and get angrier by the minute.

When Yongliang finished laughing at this most unusual sight, he decided that he would go no further down the mountain. He had seen enough of panda life here and while he would think about what he had seen here and what it meant, he would now climb to the upper mountain to see how pandas lived there.

As Yongliang found the path leading up to the higher forests, he was haunted by his memory of the angry pandas. They had plenty of food, and everyone had a pair of chopsticks, but yet they were hungry and fighting. The trip passed quickly as he became absorbed in the images of the lower forest. A calm, peacefulness came over the forest of the upper mountain. Colorful songs birds were singing the purest most joyful songs he had ever heard. Then as he looked further down the forest road, he could see a meadow bathed in the softest glowing light. He suddenly felt joy when the light shown on him.

In the meadow, pandas were laying in the grass, fat and round as pandas should be. There wasn’t the sounds of the lower mountain but laughter.  As he got closer, he could see smiling, playing, and sleeping pandas, content beyond any group of pandas he had ever seen. The luminous golden light lit the afternoon meadow in a warm, comforting glow. This was the most pleasant place Yongliang had even seen. There were many pandas sitting together enjoying a huge banquet of bamboo leaves and rice. They had the same very long chopsticks, the same bamboo leaves, and even the same rice and yet they were having the time of their lives laughing, telling panda jokes, and eating bamboo leaves and rice. Yongliang knew that he had discovered the wisdom of pandas that his father had wanted for the pandas of middle mountain. He confidently turned and headed for home.

In less than a day’s time, Yongliang arrived at middle meadow. He saw the familiar bamboo forest, the forest animals, and as soon as he stopped, he heard the familiar flutter of feathers on an overhead branch.

“Well?”

“Yes, Yuan. I have found the wisdom my father was after.”

“Well then,” Yuan said, “There is but one thing left to do. Uhemmmm….pandas of middle meadow.”

“And forest friends…” echoed Yongliang. “They are a part of our world, too.”

“Yes, and forest friends,” repeated Yuan. “Gather and listen to Yongliang, our wise leader. He has fulfilled his father’s legacy for us and has something important to tell you.

“Friends and family, I am Yongliang, son of Leeliang, and grandson of Songliang. My father and grandfather knew that we could learn from the pandas of the lower valley and the upper meadow. I made the journey alone to honor my father’s wishes, but what I have learned will, I hope, make the pandas of middle meadow wiser, happier, and more thoughtful. Please sit while I tell you my tale…”

The pandas and animals of middle meadow looked wistfully at one another as they were mostly kind and cooperative and found a place to sit.

“My visit to the lower valley and upper meadows was perhaps the most significant journey I will ever take. When I arrived at the hot lower valley, the pandas there were hungry and angry, but had the best bamboo leaves and huge bowls of rice all around them. Each panda had their own very large chopsticks, but there was one, big problem. They could pick up the food, but they couldn’t put it in their mouths. This made them very angry. They were fighting with one another and were the leanest pandas I have ever seen. I stood there just long enough to note what I had seen and was very anxious to leave that miserable place.

Then I journeyed to the upper meadow. When I arrived I once again stood there, noticing the life of pandas in this sunny meadow. I saw the same bamboo leaves, the same large rice bowls, the same large chopsticks, but these pandas were happy, full, and round like pandas should be. They were eating, sleeping in the shade, some snoring lightly while some laughed and rubbed their tummies. Instead of trying to feed just themselves with the long chopsticks like the pandas of the lower meadow, these pandas were feeding one another. My friends, from this I learned something important. Take care of one another, and you take care of yourself.

“Yonglian, you have clearly honored your father and are now the wisest among us,” said Yuan from the branch where he presided over the gathering. “And you will lead us.”

The forest animals and pandas gently gathered around Yongliang, each giving him the soft sounds of their voices. The wind blew softly on Yongliang, and he knew his father was near.  From this day, he would speak for them always.