The Choosing of a Talent

Sitting on a small, white, three-legged table in the middle of a bare room is a lovely stove-pipe hat. It is positioned with the opening at the top looking as if it is waiting for a magician to come along and pull a rabbit from its depths. However, if you would happen to cautiously delve your hand into the opening you wouldn't find a fluffy hare, a cooing dove, or a bouquet of colorful flowers. What you would find inside were many hopeful talents wishing and praying that today would be their big day - the day when a soul wrapped in human form would choose the talents they would have in their upcoming lifetime.

The talents all stood tall and checked out the competition. Among the crowd were Sports Skills, Piano Playing, Quilting, Face Painting, Candlestick Making, Computer Programming, and Carpentry. Yes, there were many talents here for the taking. A hand slowly descends into the darkness of the hat. Fingers touch the talents sending shivers among the ranks. Deeper and deeper the hand dives searching the farthest reaches. Slowly the fingers close upon the chosen talent.

Up, up the talent goes enclosed in the soft hand. Once the hand has been removed from the hat the human turns toward the being of white light hovering near the human. From somewhere nearby a drumroll begins. Slowly the hand opens disclosing the talent. Standing proudly on the creased hand is the ecstatic chosen talent. The talent;s name? Tie a Cherry Stem in a Knot with My Tongue!!!