The Cloud and The Sand Dune

The Cloud and The Sand Dune
(From Paulo Coelho's "Like A Flowing River")


“As everyone knows, the life of a cloud is very busy and very short” writes Bruno Ferrero..

And here’s a related story.

A young cloud was born in the midst of a great storm over the
Mediterranean Sea, but he did not even have time to grow up there, for a strong wind pushed all the clouds towards Africa.

As soon as the clouds reached the continent the climate changed. A
bright sun was shining in the sky and stretched out beneath them, lay the golden sands of the Sahara. Since it almost never rains in the desert, the wind continued pushing the clouds towards the forests in the south.

Meanwhile, as happens with young humans too, the young cloud decided to leave his parents and his older friends in order to discover the world.

‘What are you doing’ cried the wind. ‘The desert’s the same all over.

Rejoin the other clouds, and we’ll go to Central Africa where there are amazing mountains and trees!’

But the young cloud, natural rebel, refused to obey, and, gradually, he dropped down until he found a gentle, generous breeze that allowed him to hover over the golden sands. After much toing and froing, he noticed that one of the dunes was smiling at him.

He saw that the dune was also young, newly formed by the wind that had just passed over. He fell in love with her golden hair right there and then.

‘Good morning’, he said. ‘what’s life like down there?’

‘I have the company of the other dunes, of the sun and the wind, and of the caravans that occasionally pass through here. Sometimes it’s really hot,but it’s still bearable. What’s life like up there?’

‘We have the sun and the wind too, but the good thing is that I can travel across the sky and see more things.’

‘For me,’ said the dune, ‘life is short. When the wind returns from the forests, I will disappear.’

‘And does that make you sad?’

‘It makes me feel that I have no purpose in life.’

‘I feel the same. As soon as another wind comes along, I’ll go south and be transformed into rain but that is my destiny.’

The dune hesitated for a moment, then said: ‘did you know that here in the desert, we call the rain paradise?’

‘I had no idea that I could ever be that important,’ said the cloud proudly.

‘I’ve heard other older dunes tell stories about the rain. They say that, after the rain, we are all covered with grass and flowers. But I’ll never experience that, because in the desert it rains so rarely.’

It was the cloud’s turn to hesitate now. Then he smiled broadly and said:’if you like, I could rain on you now. I know I’ve only just got here, but I love you, and I’d like to stay here forever.’

‘When I first saw you up in the sky, I fell in love with you too’ said the dune.

‘ But if you transform your lovely white hair into rain, you will die.’

‘Love never dies’, said the cloud ‘it is transformed, and, besides, I want to show you what paradise is like.’


And he began to caress the dune with little drops of rain so that they could stay together for longer, until a rainbow appeared. The following day, the little dune was covered in flowers. Other clouds that passed over, heading for Africa thought that it must be part of the forest they were looking for and scattered more rain. Twenty years later, the dune had been transformed into an oasis that refreshed travellers with the shade of its trees.

And all because, one day, a cloud fell in love, and was not afraid to give his life for that love.

Genghis Khan and His Falcon

One morning, the Mongol warrior, Genghis Khan, and his court went out hunting. His companions carried bows and arrows, but Genghis Khan carried on his arm his favourite falcon, which was better and surer than any arrow, because it could fly into the skies and see everything that a human beiong could not.

However, despite the group’s enthusiastic efforts, they found nothing. Disappointed, Genghis Khan returned to the encampment and in order not to take out his frustration on his companions, he left the rest of the party and rode on alone. They had stayed in the forest for longer than expected, and Khan was desperately tired and thirsty. In the summer heat, all the streams had dried up, and he could find nothing to drink. Then, to his amazement, he saw a thread of water flowing from a rock just in front of him.

He removed the falcon from his arm, and took out the silver cup which he always carried with him. It was very slow to fill and, just as he was about to raise it to his lips, the falcon flew up, plucked the cup from his hands, and dashed it to the ground.

Genghis Khan was furious, but then the falcon was his favourite, and perhaps it, too, was thirsty. He picked up the cup, cleaned off the dirt, and filled it again. When the cup was only half-empty this time, the falcon again attacked it, spilling the water.

Genghis Khan adored his bird, but he knew that he could not, under any circumstances, allow such disrespect; someone might be watching this scene from afar and, later on, would tell his warriors that the great conqueror was incapable of taming a mere bird.

This time, he drew his sword, picked up the cup and refilled it, keeping one eye on the stream and the other on the falcon. As soon as he had enough water in the cup and was ready to drink, the falcon again took flight and flew towards him. Khan, with one thrust, pierced the bird’s breast.

The thread of water, however, had dried up; but Khan determined how to find something to drink, climbed the rock in search of the spring. To his surprise, there really was a pool of water and, in the middle of it, dead, lay one of the most poisonous snakes in the region. If he had drunk the water, he, too, would have died.

Khan returned to camp with the dead falcon in his arms. He ordered a gold figurine of the bird to be made and on one of the wings, he had engraved:

“Even when a friend does something you do not like, he continues to be your friend.”

And on the other wing, he had these words engraved:

“Any action committed in anger is an action doomed to failure.”