There once was a little girl who lived high up in the trees.  So high in fact, that no one on the ground could see her.  This was ok because she couldn’t see anyone or anything on the ground either.  They lived so high up in the air that even on a clear day nothing was visible from the ground except for the tallest clouds.  And nothing from the air was visible except for the soft haze of the misty clouds below.  Neither world knew of the other’s existence.  Not even little birds could fly so high as to be a friend to the little girl.  She was all alone.

This girl and her family moved around from tree to tree by walking – ever so gently – on tightropes that they had stretched far across the wide open air, from one tree to another.  Sometimes these ropes stretched so far that it looked like they disappeared into the distance.  So many of these ropes existed, however, that it was actually very similar to the way you or I would walk from place to place – full of side streets and sidewalks leading us from one place to the next.  These floating ropes were the girl’s only way of moving around – it’s all she’d ever known – and thought nothing of its peculiarity until one day when she was 15 years old.

On that day, the winds picked up and the sun shined hotter than on most days.  It was a perfect storm to clear away the clouds.  As the little girl’s eyes focused on the ground far, far below she saw something that made her scream out in excitement.  She saw the tiniest little creatures running around all over the huge green field.  Barely able to contain herself, she ran home to tell her parents what she had seen.

Her mother let out a gasp and nearly fainted while her father nearly choked on his dinner. 

“Never, EVER go down there!” He yelled after catching his breath. 

“We moved up here beyond the clouds so that you would be safe from all of the troubles down there!” pleaded her mother.

Terrified of her parents reaction and not wanting to upset them further, the girl promised she would never think about those cute tiny animals far below on the ground.  And though she meant it at the time, her curiosity would soon bring her back to that branch, trying to catch a peek at the animals below.  Each time she went to look, she was even more amazed than the time before.  She saw animals running through open fields, swinging from low trees, and even swimming around in big puddles of water.  “Imagine a puddle large enough to stand in!”, she thought.

And then one day she would see something that was more incredible than anything she’d ever dreamt of – she saw something that looked like her.

There was nothing left to decide at that point.  She’d made up her mind to leave her treetop home forever.  Early the next morning, as the early morning sun broke over the horizon, she left a not for her parents saying goodbye.

She slowly made her way don through the trees and at last made it to the ground.  Unsure of how to walk on such stable ground, she was slow moving at first.  Feeling lightheaded she decided to lay down to rest.  When she awoke she saw far off in the distance what looked like gigantic leafless trees.  She decided to walk toward them to see what they could possibly be.  Along the way she saw many of the creatures she’d caught glimpses of from way up high.  But down here, up close, they were even more amazing.  They were huge! 

As she got closer to the trees she realized they weren’t in fact trees at all.  Huge buildings of rock and glass reached high into the sky, almost as tall as her old home, she thought.  She saw people – people just like her – rushing everywhere, back and forth, all over the place.  She was really enjoying herself, having the time of her life really, until something happened.  People noticed her.  And once they did, they would shriek or laugh or run out of her way crying.  Some just pointed and stared, unable to move or look away. 

The little girl was so upset by this that she ran away and hid.  She wanted to go home so badly, she thought, but that would mean having to be seen again which would mean even more laughing.  She stayed in her hiding place, unwilling to move.  And as she stared out at to the crowds shuffling before her, she noticed something … all of the people walked funny.  Almost as quickly as she realized this, she had an idea.  That night she went to work creating something that she was sure would make her blend into the crowd. 

You see, having lived her entire life high up in the sky walking on ropes, she had developed a rather peculiar way of walking – always very carefully and on her tip toes.  It was only natural for her to continue walking this way once she came down to the ground, after all it was the only way of walking she’d ever known.

The next day she unveiled her new creation, which she was hoping would help her to blend in.  Boy was she in for a surprise – she didn’t blend in at ALL!  But something funny happened this time.  Instead of pointing and laughing, everyone oooh-ed and aaah-ed.  They were mesmerized by her.  She walked with such grace and elegance that men would stop in their tracks, unbelieving of what they’d just seen.  Women, too.  And soon, women everywhere would be wearing those same shoes that the girl had worn that day, but of course no one could wear them quite the same way that she did. 

THE END