The Parable of the Orphan and the Orphan’s Ancestor

One day while teaching, Josh was asked, ”Teacher, before All Saint’s Day was All Saint’s Day, it was a day for communicating with our ancestors.  Have the saint’s become our conduit to our ancestors?”

Josh spoke thus:

An orphan was dancing with the orphan’s ancestor.

“Why can’t we always dance together?” the orphan asked the orphan’s ancestor.  

The orphan’s ancestor did not reply.

“I used to dance like this with my mother,” the orphan told the orphan’s ancestor, “We used to twirl among the willows on the river bank.  My mother would tell me stories of the ancient days.  My mother would tell me stories of you.  Did you know she told me stories of you?”

The orphan’s ancestor did not tell the orphan whether the orphan’s ancestor knew that the orphan’s mother had told the orphan stories of the orphan’s ancestor.

“Someday, I will tell my children stories of you,” the orphan told the orphan’s ancestor, “And I will tell my children stories of my mother.  My mother and I used to dance like this.”

The orphan danced with the orphan’s ancestor.

“My father never danced with me,” the orphan told the orphan’s ancestor, “My father was not a dancer.  My father was too busy to dance with me.  He danced with my mother, though, my mother told me.  He danced with my mother among the willows on the river bank.  I don’t know if my mother and my father twirled among the willows on the river bank.  My mother only told me that my mother and my father danced among the willows on the river bank.  Did you ever dance among the willows on the river bank?”

The orphan’s ancestor did not tell the orphan whether the orphan’s ancestor had ever danced among the willows on the river bank.

“They met among the willows, you know,” the orphan told the orphan’s ancestor, “On this day, the Day of the Dead.  They met on the Day of the Dead among the willows, and they danced among the willows.  Is that why they danced beneath the willows every year on the Day of the Dead?”

The orphan’s ancestor did not tell the orphan whether that was the reason the orphan’s mother and father danced among the willows every year on the Day of the Dead.
“They hid among the willows,” the orphan said, “When the soldiers came. They hid among the willows, but the soldiers found them hiding among the willows.  The soldiers didn’t find me among the willows.  I was hidden in the rushes in the river.  Did you know I was hidden in the rushes in the river?”

The orphan’s ancestor did not tell the orphan whether the orphan’s ancestor knew that the orphan was hidden in the rushes in the river.

“Was it you who told my parents to stop dancing and to hide me in the rushes in the river?” the orphan asked the orphan’s ancestor, “Was it you, on the Day of the Dead, who told my parents to stop dancing their dance of the Day of the Dead and hide me, before the soldiers came?”

The orphan’s ancestor did not admit to telling the orphan that the orphan’s ancestor had told the orphan’s parents to stop dancing their dance of the Day of the Dead and hide the orphan in the rushes in the river.

“I like to think it was you,” the orphan told the orphan’s ancestor.

The orphan’s aunt joined the orphan among the willows.

“Come away,” the orphan’s aunt told the orphan, “You mustn’t dance alone among the willows on the Day of the Dead.  You must honor the ancestors.  You must honor you parents.  You must dance with your family.”

“I am dancing with my family,” the orphan told the orphan’s aunt, “I am not dancing alone.”