On this wet and lazy Sunday morning I began my day thinking of a word.

DISTANT

It's the next [dreem-word-of-the-week](https://ecency.com/hive-199275/@samsmith1971/distant-thoughts-abound-contest-dreem) and I mixed my burgeoning ideas with some fun conversations I've had with Miss @dreemsteem about the beautiful power of going slow - the power of the tortoise, I call it. Those ideas took me back to an old familiar fable about [The Hare and the Tortoise](https://www.gutenberg.org/files/28/28-h/28-h.htm#chap68) and one of my favourite sites, (apart from Hive, obviously) Gutenberg.org, where you can find a wealth of free ebooks from the past. On top of that, my thoughts took me back to two posts I read this week, one by @nickydee which you can read [here](https://ecency.com/hive-106316/@nickydee/because-life-is-messy-16-l) and the other by @grindan that you can peruse [here](https://ecency.com/hive-161155/@grindan/the-rampage-of-gleb). All these thoughts and inspirations led me to write a little story which I invite you to read and hope you enjoy. 💛 ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmZhDzJ3QurT3iGKGxj19iDtz1v1VuTQhW6LfWgDHKw5Gv/daisy_chain_cover.png) ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmNVrKuCRFZqdUz4nfgRyosF54uLbhEvocXFpcENx28ugP/daisy_chain.png)

I'm not keeping up. Look. Everyone is racing passed me. Why can't I keep up?

Shush, Child. There's no race.

But, why is everyone going so fast then?

Oh, I don't know. Foolishness, I guess.

Why is it foolish to go fast?

Why, Chil', if you go too fast, you don't have time for seeing the flowers along the way. See. ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQme3yQMTMYWaLJEd2B6NRmAgU2LQd8f3pffwFvogAxCN9D/dairy_chain_line.png)

Oh, Momma, they're bootiful! What are they called?

Those ones are daisies, Chil'. They are pretty aren't they? Something about them always makes me smile. I remember when I was around the same age as you are now, I'd pick them and bind them together to make daisy chains. Would you like to do that?

Are we allowed to pick them, Momma? Won't we get in trouble?

Trouble? Why would we get in trouble, Chil'? I was thinking of getting on the floor but I don't see no trouble to get in. Do you?

Um, no. But I thought if we pick the flowers we might.

Really? Well, I guess we'll just have to pick one to see. Won't we? But, wait a minute first. You're going to have to tell me what to look out for. What does trouble look like?

Hehe! I don't know, Momma. Maybe it looks like a monster.

A monster you say. Ummm. Interesting. And how do we get in this monster you call Trouble?

That's silly! I can't get in the monster. Eek!

You can't? But you asked me if we pick the flowers, won't we get in trouble? So, if trouble is a monster, I want to know how we get into it. After all. That's important, isn't it? The HOW.

I guess. Ummm. Well, maybe trouble isn't a monster then. 'Cos I don't want to get in a monster. Yuk!

Hmm. I think you just saw how you could get into trouble just then. I saw it on your face. What picture did you see?

I-saw-a- monster-eating-me!

Oh, Chil'. Come here. Come right into my arms. No monster is going to eat you up while I'm here with you. But I can see why you wouldn't want to pick the daisies now. You've conjured up a mighty monster called Trouble and think he might eat you up if you pick one.

Yes.

Well, let's just sit here a while and look at the daisies, shall we?

Okay.

![](https://images.ecency.com/DQme3yQMTMYWaLJEd2B6NRmAgU2LQd8f3pffwFvogAxCN9D/dairy_chain_line.png) The mother and child sit for a while. After a time, momma begins to sing. I'm a little daisy, tall and slim. Here are my petals. Here is my stem. When the sun comes up and the rain comes down, I grow, grow, grow up from the ground! _{https://laptimesongs.com/im-little-daisy/} And with the last word of the song, Momma plucks a small daisy from the ground hugging her child all the time.

Momma, you picked a daisy!

Yes, I did. Didn't I? I picked it for you.

But why? What about the monster?

What monster, Chil'? I don't see no monster. Do you? Haha! And you certainly won't see one with your head buried inside my cardi. Look Chil'. There are no monsters here.

So we won't get in trouble then? He won't come and eat us?

No. He won't. We're just going to sit here and have us some fun instead. Hehe!

How?

Now, that's a very good question, Chil'. How do we have fun? First off, it's important that we feel safe. And that's not likely to happen when we're thinking about a horrible monster called Trouble, is it?

No, momma. I don't like trouble. He scares me.

Yes. I can see that. But you know what I can't see?

What?

I can't see any monsters here. All I can see are pretty little daisies and you. What can you see?

I can see the daisies and you. Hehe!

Yes, that's right. We're the only ones here. Do you feel safe?

Yes, momma.

Good. Because that's the first step toward having some fun. Do you wanna know what the second step is?

Yes, momma.

It's this. And this. And this.

Hehehehe! Momma, stop!

You want me to stop tickling you? Do you? Oh, but I can't. I'm having too much fun. You see how easy it is.

Yes...but stop. Hehehehehehe. Please.

Okay, sweet chil' of mine. I'll stop. But only if you tell me you now know HOW to have fun.

I know, momma. I know. Hehehe!

You wanna know something else about having fun?

Yes, please.

Well, it's in your smile.

It is?

Yep. And it's in your giggle.

Hehehe!

You see, it's right there. And you're in it right now. Can you feel it, sweet Chil'?

I can, Momma. I can.

So, sweet chil' of mine, would you like to make a daisy chain with me?

Yes, please, Momma!

Good! Because there's something else I want you to know.

What, Momma?

If we'd been going fast, fast, fast, we wouldn't have been able to have this much fun. Would we?

I guess not, Momma. We'd have missed it all.

So now, do you see, why I said those people who were rushing passed us might be foolish?

Yes, Momma, because they gonna miss the daisies. And they're gonna miss having fun too! But Momma...?

Yes, sweet Chil'.

Do you think it's because they're scared of getting in trouble?

Probably, Chil'. Probably. But, will you be scared of Trouble anymore?

No, Momma. I'm not. Because I'm going to take my time and look for the flowers.

With that last thought tucked away as a newly-formed-memory of fun, mother and child sat and slowly made the longest and prettiest daisy chain ever.

![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmNVrKuCRFZqdUz4nfgRyosF54uLbhEvocXFpcENx28ugP/daisy_chain.png) The cover image was created in Canva using a photo by Melissa Askew on Unsplashand free elements from canva's resources. The line breaks were created from scratch using free elements in [Canva](https://www.canva.com/). Dreemport gif used with permission from @dreemport & @dreemsteem. ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmYrnDMacd9YecSxNaAo1h2xHRV5VG6EMjud4EUy93dFPD/dreemport_gif1.gif)

juliamulcahy