Once there were 7 hostas, all from the same stock and planted together on the same day. By the third season, 6 out of 7 were thriving and all were nearly the same size except for one. It was a puzzle why this hosta was so small, sickly, underachieving. "Something about the sun, rain and soil during the first season?" thought some. "Really, to have only 1 out of 7 failing, statistically was a minor miracle", others felt. They weren't very kind in their comments and the Little Hosta felt sad.
One day, a ravenous animal appeared and over the course of a single evening, ate all the big, healthy hostas to the ground. The Little Hosta could barely keep conscious after seeing and hearing the massacre of the others, waiting with severe dread for her turn as a meal.
For some reason, the Little Hosta was spared, perhaps the creature had a tummy ache from eating too much or missed her because of her size. The next day, a soft, steady rain came to soothe the Little Hosta and by the afternoon, the clouds cleared away and the Sun shone strongly. During that temperate Summer, the Little Hosta, feeling strong from her survival and no longer ridiculed by her siblings, tripled in size and looked magnificent. Her siblings did not recover.
The creature who had slaughtered her family never returned. It is said that the creature was heard expressing its admiration of the Little Hosta for her courage in the face of danger. He felt, therefore, that it would be a sign of great disrespect to eat her. She lived to a ripe old age and all her divisions over the years grew big and strong.
The Little Hosta That Could ... Stay Alive.
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