Old Man's Mistakes

Old Man's Mistakes

People say that when the world was still young, Old Man worked hard to put everything in its proper place. He looked at the earth, the mountains, and the wide plains, and wondered where each creature would live best. But even someone who takes on a great task can make mistakes. One day Old Man created Bighorn, a strong mountain sheep with large curled horns. He looked at him and said, “Here is a broad plain. There is plenty of room and a high sky. Live here.” Bighorn obediently walked forward. At first he walked. Then he tried to run. But something was not right. On the open plain, he felt awkward. His powerful legs did not seem to know where to put their strength. He sped up, then stopped, then looked around. Old Man watched for a long time. “Strange,” he said. “I made you strong. Why do you seem so uncertain here?” Bighorn did not answer. He only looked toward the distant mountains. Old Man looked there too. “All right,” he said. “Let us try something else.” He called Bighorn and led him high into the mountains, where paths grew narrow, rocks lay piled together, and cliffs fell so steeply that one could grow dizzy just looking down. Old Man let Bighorn go and sat on a rock. “Now show me what you can do.” Bighorn stepped onto one ledge. Then another. Suddenly he leapt easily onto a narrow shelf, climbed higher, turned, leapt again, and ran along the rocky slope as confidently as if he had been waiting his whole life for that moment. Old Man sprang to his feet. “Well, look at that!” Bighorn climbed higher and higher. Where another creature would have stopped, he found a foothold. Where the path almost disappeared, his feet landed surely on the stone. Old Man watched until his own head began to spin. Then he laughed. “Now I understand. I simply placed you in the wrong home. Your place is here, among the mountains.” And he left Bighorn in his new home. But Old Man’s mistakes were not finished. While he was sitting in the mountains and admiring Bighorn’s confident steps, Old Man created Antelope. She was light, swift, and graceful. Old Man looked at her, then at the mountains, and decided, “If Bighorn does well here, perhaps you will too.” He let Antelope go among the rocks. But after only a few steps, it was clear this was another poor idea. Antelope stepped over one rock, caught her foot on another, wobbled on a third, and barely kept her balance. She tried to run, but among the sharp ridges and narrow passages, she had nowhere to gather speed. Old Man scratched his head. “It seems I have hurried again.” He called Antelope back. Then he looked at Bighorn, standing calmly high on a rock. “You seem to be home already. But I must find another place for her.” Old Man led Antelope down from the mountains. They came out onto a broad plain where there were no rocks or narrow paths for a very long way—only space and wind. “Try here,” he said. Antelope took one step. Then another. Then she ran. She ran faster and faster. Her feet touched the ground lightly, and the distance seemed to open before her. Old Man blinked. Antelope was already far away. He blinked again, and she was a small dot. A moment later, she could hardly be seen. Old Man laughed. “There it is! Your place is here.” He did not call Antelope back to the mountains. Nor did he send Bighorn down to the plain. He simply remembered his mistake. For sometimes wisdom is not never being wrong. Wisdom is noticing that something is not working, stopping, looking more closely, and trying another way. So Bighorn stayed among the high rocky slopes, and Antelope remained on the wide plain. Each was given not the same place, but the place where they could best be themselves.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨