The Sage and the Little Squirrel's Cousin

A sage sat in deep stillness for so long that a little bird built her nest in his tangled hair and laid her tiny eggs there.

When at last he wished to move, he saw the nest and the trusting eggs. Rather than disturb them, he stayed perfectly still for many more days, until the eggs hatched and the little ones flew away.

Only then did he rise. His gentle patience, refusing to harm even the smallest creatures, made him gentler and wiser than all his years of sitting alone.