Go on go I dare you <\/i><\/p>\n
The seagull was speaking to a timid squirrel<\/p>\n
I cannot see the road and am aware that there might be traffic <\/i><\/p>\n
The seagull flew upwards almost vertically<\/p>\n
High above the houses that lined the quiet avenue<\/p>\n
It is clear in both directions <\/i><\/p>\n
The squirrel ran blindly into the road was hit by a passing car<\/p>\n
As it lay dying it looked up at the mocking seagull<\/p>\n
You have betrayed me <\/i><\/p>\n
The seagull landed and began to approach the stricken creature<\/p>\n
You stupid squirrel why did you not heed my warning? <\/i><\/p>\n
You did not give me a warning <\/i><\/p>\n
You should have heeded my warning<\/i><\/p>\n
I told you that someday you would be my meal ticket <\/i><\/p>\n
But you blindly followed me until you were hit by the car<\/i><\/p>\n
Do you think that I liked myself for this?<\/i><\/p>\n
But one of us had to survive \u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
The squirrel died and to the seagull\u2019s astonishment began to rise upwards<\/p>\n
At first it only rose a few feet but then it began to rise rapidly and vanished into the low mists<\/p>\n
After a few moments the seagull flew after its prey but soon became disorientated in the low cloud<\/p>\n
It returned to spot where it had stood before<\/p>\n
On the opposite side of the road the seagull watched as a middle aged man walked past<\/p>\n
He was shielding the eyes of his granddaughter<\/p>\n
As he watched the man and the child walk away the seagull became aware that a woman was standing above him.<\/p>\n
She was a beautiful woman somewhat shorter than the man but with a shock of golden hair that was moving quietly in the morning breeze<\/p>\n
The woman reminded the seagull of a mermaid<\/p>\n
We were all witness to your evil deed <\/i><\/p>\n
Then I will walk into the road and await the next car \u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
The beautiful woman walked away in the same direction as the middle aged man and his granddaughter<\/p>\n
The seagull stayed in the road for over an hour<\/p>\n
It was overcome with guilt<\/p>\n
No cars passed in either direction<\/p>\n
The seagull spoke to God<\/p>\n
Please end my torment<\/i><\/p>\n
Why do you not give me peace? <\/i><\/p>\n
God did not answer and the seagull stayed in the same spot for the rest of the day<\/p>\n
It was as the autumn night began drawing in that the seagull became aware that a tiny angel had landed on its shoulder<\/p>\n
Why did God not end my miserable life?<\/i><\/p>\n
That is your punishment seagull <\/i><\/p>\n
But I am truly sorry <\/i><\/p>\n
That is why God has forgiven you <\/i><\/p>\n
He sent a mother to visit you<\/i><\/p>\n
No-one has passed me all day <\/i><\/p>\n
Think again seagull you were visited <\/i><\/p>\n
By the middle aged man and his granddaughter <\/i><\/p>\n
And the beautiful woman <\/i><\/p>\n
You were in the presence of his only grandchild and her grandparents <\/i><\/p>\n
But Christ died without issue <\/i><\/p>\n
So the story goes <\/i><\/p>\n
I am confused no cars have passed and I have been visited by the grandparents of the Christ child<\/i><\/p>\n
All this because I was instrumental in causing the death of a miserable squirrel <\/i><\/p>\n
Many cars have passed seagull <\/i><\/p>\n
But I have not seen any <\/i><\/p>\n
I have not been struck as the squirrel was <\/i><\/p>\n
You have been struck many times seagull <\/i><\/p>\n
Am I dead?<\/i><\/p>\n
No you are very much alive <\/i><\/p>\n
I am at a loss to understand you<\/i><\/p>\n
As I said that is your punishment seagull <\/i><\/p>\n
You will remain in this road on this very spot for eternity <\/i><\/p>\n
You were judged by the grandparents of the Christ child and by the daughter of Christ<\/i><\/p>\n
You were judged by God \u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
This is God\u2019s punishment <\/i><\/p>\n
Many cars in both directions will strike you but you will feel no pain <\/i><\/p>\n
Unlike the squirrel who died in agony<\/i><\/p>\n
And you tiny angel what will become of you?<\/i><\/p>\n
I too was a sinner and was punished by God <\/i><\/p>\n
I have been commanded to spend eternity with you <\/i><\/p>\n
I will remain with you as a reminder of God\u2019s love for all creatures<\/i><\/p>\n
No matter how small \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Go on go I dare you The seagull was speaking to a timid squirrel I cannot see the road and am aware that there might be traffic The seagull flew upwards almost vertically High above the houses that lined the quiet avenue It is clear in both directions The squirrel ran blindly into the road […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2688"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2688\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}