Once upon a time, there was a man who lived deep in the forest with his son. He was all you would expect from someone who grew up in such a remote, rough area. His arms were strong from chopping wood every day and his heart had gotten ruthless from all the hunting and killing he needed to do for food. He was a strong and rough man indeed.
The opposite was true for his son. While the man was slaving away chopping wood, the boy was just studying the trees and reading about them in his countless books. He preferred to dance and sing or write poetry about the fastness of the animal world, rather than to go hunting with his father.
This of course troubled the man. How would this boy be able to survive in this wilderness? What kind of man just wastes his days inside, bent over books? Some would say that the man was worried, others that he was judgemental. However it may be, it bothered him a great deal.
Every night before the man went to sleep, he sat down at his window and spoke his wishes to the wind.
‘Why can’t my son be different? Why can’t he be more of a real man?’
Little did he expect that one day the wind started talking back to him.
‘Follow the path that is lit by the moonlight and all your wishes can be granted,’ it said.
Of course, the man was a bit reluctant. After all, when the wind starts to speak to you, one can never truly know what to expect. However, he was a real man, so he wouldn’t let a bit of fear stop him.
As he followed the ray of moonlight he heard the animals of the forest all around him like they were voices whispering to him about the history of all that took place between the trees he had spent so much time of his life chopping. He walked and walked until he arrived at an open space. In the middle of it was a big pool of water.
‘Go there,’ said the wind.
As the man bent over the pool, he saw, lit by the moonlight his own reflection along with those of all of his ancestors.
‘We heard your pleas,’ they all said.
‘You are part of us as we are part of you and so is your son. That’s why we will help you to fulfill your wish. Use the wood you chop to build a statue of the animal whose qualities you admire most. The trades of this specific animal shall merge with the soul of your son.’
The next day the father went to work. He knew that he had a big task ahead of him since the animal he chose was a rhinoceros, the animal with all the strength, determination, and uncompromising power he wanted his son to have.
And surely, as he started to build it, he soon noticed the changes in his son. His movements became more determined. No more dancing or running and playing with the animals. The muscles in his face tightened instead of showing ever-changing emotions, his steps going straight from A to B instead of wandering through fields and forests. His father smiled, proud as he was of the changes his son was finally going through.
The father was happy, until one afternoon when the sun was already high in the sky, he noticed that his son was still in bed. He sighed in frustration.
‘Damn, I thought you finally got over all that lazy daydreaming,’ he growled as he opened the door to his son’s room.
To his surprise, he didn’t find the boy in his bed. All there was in the room was a wooden statue of a rhino in the size that his son used to be. An inanimate object that would never be able to dance, laugh, or sing ever again.