The Metamorphosis of the Crow

Her name was Amelia, but everyone called her The Crow. She loved to sing, but no one wanted to listen to her. because her voice was hoarse and unmusical, like the call of a corvid

At first, her teacher was kind and encouraging. She told Amelia that if she practised every day, her voice would free itself.. So Amelia sang every day, for as long as the people around her tolerated it. Sooner or later, someone would tell her to be quiet, or else. Eventually, even her teacher gave up trying to help.

Amelia's unusual voice became a more and more serious problem as she advanced through school.. The children sang special songs at the beginning and end of each school day. When Amelia joined in, they would stare at her disapprovingly. It was even worse when they were practising for a public performance. Sooner or later,. the teacher would tell her she was spoiling the music for everyone, and instruct her to pretend to sing, without making a sound. Amelia did her best to comply, but sometimes she would get carried away by the music, and her voice would break through. Then the other children would start chanting, "Stupid crow! Stupid crow! Shut up!"

It would have been easier if Amelia had hated music. But she loved listening to it and dancing to it. Her mother noticed how much her daughter loved music, and gave her a flute to comfort her. Amelia started taking long rambles through the woods where no one could hear her. She practised playing the flute diligently, and was soon able to play all the songs she knew. But she still longed to sing. She tried and tried, but her voice never improved.

One particularly trying day, she was sitting on a fallen log, weeping with frustration, when a strange man sat down beside her. He was wearing a green robe embroidered with strange symbols. His dark, piercing eyes seemed to see right through her.

"It is difficult to bear when people make fun of you and fail to see your beauty," he said softly.

Amelia stared at him in wonder. "Are you a wizard?" she asked.

He chuckled. "Any magic I have is of the most ordinary kind. Most people think of me as nothing more than an eccentric peddler, and they're probably right."

"Oh," Amelia said. "I was hoping that you could help me."

"Sometimes it helps to tell someone exactly what is hurting you," he said.

She told him everything, right from the very first time she had tried to sing. He listened carefully, without interrupting. As she talked, she started to feel better. His kind attention told her that she was important, not just a noisy nuisance.

"I guess I can still enjoy singing, even if nobody wants to listen," she said at last.

She asked his name. He told her is was Eldred Daycarrier.

"Daycarrier!" she exclaimed. "I have never heard that name before. Did you make it up?"

He smiled mysteriously. "If I did, that will be my secret."

"I'm Amelia Trowbridge," she said. "But everybody calls me Stupid Crow. If you have things for sale in your pack, my mother might be interested in seeing them. She may even offer you a bite of supper, if you are charming enough."

"You're very kind, Amelia," Eldred said, "but I am expected elsewhere tonight."

"Will you visit us another time?" she asked. "My village is just down the path from here."

He nodded. "Perhaps."

He started rummaging through his pack. "I want to give you something to remember me by. Something magical to remind you how beautiful and clever you are."

Amelia laughed bitterly. "That would require powerful magic."

Eldred held out a rose-coloured stone on a leather thong. "Wear this close to your heart. It will help you sing."

Amelia reached out and touched it, then drew back. "I have nothing to pay you with," she said sadly.

He stood up and gently slid the thong over her head. "Your joy will be my reward."

Before she could think of anything to say, he walked away and disappeared among the trees.

Amelia wondered if she had fallen asleep and dreamed the whole thing. But the amulet still rested on her chest. She tucked it inside her chemise. She didn't want to answer any questions about her new acquisition.

Then she began to sing. Her voice was unchanged at first, but bit by bit, it became clearer. She knew then that Eldred was a true sorcerer, for no charlatan could produce such a miracle.

From that moment on, Amelia's life changed. She was so happy that she wanted to sing without stopping,, but she thought that it would be safer to let no one know. So she kept silent until she retreated into the solitude of the woods. She sang every song she knew, and invented new ones. Her voice grew stronger and clearer each time she sang, until the birds gathered around her to lend their voices, and even the wind joined in.

Soon, Amelia realized that she could no longer keep her secret. It was just too difficult to hold the the music in. She didn't know whether other people would hear the beautiful sounds she made, or whether the amulet was creating an illusion. But she had to know.

At the next village dance, she asked the musicians to play her favourite song, "Sunrise of my Heart."

"What will you pay us?" they asked.

"I will sing for you."

They burst out laughing and teased her unmercifully, but she held her ground. Finally, they decided that the only way to get her to stop bothering them was to let her sing.

Her first notes were hesitant, and no one paid much attention. Then her voice burst into a waterfall of glory. Everyone stopped talking and stood still. They drank in every note until the song was finished.

"Again!" Amelia instructed the musicians. "Sing with me!" she shouted to the crowd.

Everyone burst into song, entranced by the power of Amelia's voice. The music bound them together in joy and solidarity. They would never call her Stupid Crow again.

The musicians struck up a lively tune, and everyone began to dance. The celebration that followed was remembered for years as The Night the Crow Found her Voice.

"What happened to you?" her mother asked when they arrived home.

Amelia wondered whether it was safe to tell the whole truth. She put her hand on her chest. The amulet had disappeared.

"Oh!" she exclaimed in dismay, and ran out of the house. She searched along the path in the moonlight., hoping against hope. She crawled over every inch of the dance floor, with no luck.

When dawn came, she ran sown the path towards the woods. Eldred's gift was gone. Her voice was stuck in her chest, and she could not make a sound.

She was so distraught that she did not notice Eldred on the path until she ran into him.

"Well met, Amelia!" he said. "Do you think it would be a good day to visit your village?

"I found my voice," she blurted, "but the amulet is gone, and I am Stupid Crow again!"

He took her shoulders. "No. You are Amelia. Amelia the Songrstress, strong, beautiful, and wise."

He began to sing an old ballad about love lost and found. Amelia hesitated, and then joined in. Soon the woods were ringing with their voices, mingled with birdsong and the wind.

"I can sing!" she cried out. "I lost the amulet, but I can still sing! How can this be?"

"The amulet was only a symbol," Eldred explained. "The gift of song was in you all the time, but you were afraid."

She did not understand exactly what he was saying, but she knew it was true.

Eldred pulled another amulet from his pack, blue as the summer sky. "Wear this to remember that you have no need of magic. All you need is to believe in yourself."

"Thank you," she said, sliding the thong over her head. "Your kind of magic is the best of all."

She took his hand, and together they skipped towards the village to share their wisdom, joy and music,