“Kaylee! Where have you been?” asked Lester, a sheep dog who lived on the farm.
“Here and there,” said the gosling. She had her head in the clouds as she gathered the last of the wild flowers of the season. “Why? Was I gone long?”
The dog nodded his head, “Your family has been looking everywhere for you. Some thing about a trip and relatives coming. Your mama was frantic saying they could not wait for you and that you were specifically told not to wander.”
“The trip south!” exclaimed Kaylee, dropping her bouquet and scuttling to the pond.
No one was there.
Surely they waited for her. They were probably playing a joke on her -- teaching her a lesson. She could hear her papa now, “Young goslings should be focused on the trip ahead. This is only the second time you’ve made the journey and you must remember the route. Future generations depend on it!”
How many times had she looked at that stupid map? A billion? Maybe more.
Her brothers had been totally entranced by the roads, by the rivers and by the distance they all would fly. She’d rather play with the frogs. Who needs a map when you can follow the others?
“I’m sure they’ll be back. They wouldn’t just leave me here.” She nestled down along the pond and waited. . . and waited. . . and waited.
No one came back.
Kaylee awoke the next morning with a shiver. She couldn’t believe her family hadn’t returned for her. She scuttled off to the gate to ask Lester what to do.
“You should believe in yourself and take charge of your future. If you stay here, you’ll freeze to death. You must take flight and follow your heart.”
“But, Lester, I don’t know the way. They have a whole day head start. I cannot catch up.
“Nonsense,” said the dog. They are traveling with the elders. They will break often to rest. You can and will catch up.”
“But. . .”
“Kaylee, go. I will see you in the spring.”
With a heavy heart, no map and no one to follow, Kaylee took off on a journey of faith.
After nearly two and a half days of flight she found no one from her party. Having to rest her wings and grab some lunch, she landed at a nearby pond. A family of geese was bedding down for the night. She longed for her family, including her brothers, even though they usually got on her nerves.
All of her instincts were telling her to push on; that she was traveling in the right direction. She almost gave up and followed a flock in a different direction, just for the companionship, but she was sure that the direction she was headed would lead her to the others.
After nearly two weeks, her faith paid off. She recognized the summer resort. She made the entire journey alone, with nothing to follow but her heart.
Soon she heard the gleeful honks of her family and saw the stern look of her papa. “Well, look what we have here,” he said,” I sure hope you learned a lesson, young lady.”
“Oh, I did, papa. I truly did,” said Kaylee.
The elder said nothing further and gathered his only daughter under his wing.