The Rainbow Bridge
A Birthday Story
Once upon a time, there was a little child who was still living with the angels in heaven. She was very happy there. She looked at the beautiful colors, listened to the lovely music, and felt that was where she belonged. One day, the clouds parted in the heavens, the child got a peek at the pretty, green earth below with all the people happily playing and working. The child saw all the colors of the rainbow on earth through the butterflies visiting flowers and birds flying in the air. She watched the fish swimming in the sea and all the different plants that covered the earth. Children were climbing trees, running and jumping in the meadows, and walking through sand and leaves. They seemed to be beckoning her, and she suddenly longed to go there and see what earth was like. It was all so beautiful!
So, she said to her angel, "Please, may I go down to earth now?" But her angel looked at her and said, "No, it is too soon. You must wait a little yet."
So the child went away to play and was happy and soon forgot about earth. Then, one day, she saw a glimpse of earth through the clouds again. She saw mothers and fathers doing their work. She saw bakers and engineers and writers and farmers. She mothers and fathers loving their children. Then, she saw a beautiful mother with love and longing in her heart for a child, and she asked her angel, "May I go to her?"
The angel said, "You must go through the land of dreams first."
The next night, the little child had a dream. She dreamed that she met a man and a woman, and they stretched out their arms to her and asked her to come to be their child. The child woke up and told her angel about her dream. The angel said, "It will soon be time for you to go."
The child asked, "May I go now?"
"You shall see," said the angel.
That night, the child floated into dreamland again and rocked in a little boat while ten moons waxed and waned.
At the end of that time, a beautiful rainbow bridge stretched from heaven to earth and on it came the child as a tiny baby. She slid down through purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, and rosy red into her mother and father's waiting arms. They looked in awe at this new life and their hearts filled with love. |
