Le Coeur de Dan de Lion

Once upon a time there was a small bug who yearned for adventure. But he didn't have the nerve. He longed and longed to be brave enough to go adventuring.

One day, it happened to be a Sun-day, he was climbing up a blade of grass when he heard a low voice. 'If you travel to the heart of Dan de Lion' it said, 'you will gain the courage to follow your dreams.' He looked around, and all he could see was a tiny mouse ear flower, smiling up at him. She nodded in his direction. He blushed with pleasure, and anticipation, though he scarcely knew what she meant.

As luck would have it, being a fairy tale and a Sun-day, a dandelion stood nearby, and he followed the blade of grass until he was close enough to cross over. He hesitated on the outermost petals, crawled under the nearest and hid. Then, slowly and hardly daring to breathe, he emerged and headed towards the Coeur de Dan de Lion. When he reached the centre, he inhaled the not-so-sweet perfume, taking it into his body. He instantly felt himself to be a giant among bugs, his little heart swelled with joy and pride. He thought of the tiny mouse ear flower that had helped him find his nerve, and blushed all over again. Even a mouse ear had known more than he had. He was a bit disconcerted to find that the blush stayed with him, so that although the Coeur de Lion had given him Coeur-age, he still looked rosy and kind of innocent. It was a small price to pay to go adventuring.

And the moral of this story is that nothing is so humble as it seems, not the bug with his courage, nor the mouse ear with her wisdom, nor the much abused dandelion whose medicinal and culinary uses are numerous.