Amethyst Learning Story-Resourcefulness

The desert was in danger. The poachers had arrived and were looking for the skin of any snake they could find. Hex was a rattlesnake. She didn’t have the loudest hiss or the sharpest fangs. Her gifts were soon to be discovered.

When the snakes heard the poachers were coming they began to panic. They tried to decide on how they could keep safe and not lose their skin. Hex noticed that there was just one tree in the desert that stood tall and proud. She told the snakes what she was thinking.

‘We could all take shelter high up in that tree where those birds keep safe. There’s room for all us if they spread out’.

The snakes agreed this was the best idea as they could coil around the branches tightly and there would still be space for the birds too. The birds, however, didn’t understand how much the snakes needed the tree for safety and had no interest in spreading out on the branches to make more room.

Hex and the snakes headed for the tree and began slithering up the trunk to reach the branches. The birds wouldn’t budge. The snakes realised they would have to find a way of making the birds move and spread out. Some snakes slithered faster up the tree and found a branch with space. Hex noticed one branch had something purple glowing on it and slithered towards it. A large crowd of birds were already perched on that one branch. There was space for Hex too if some of the birds moved a little higher up. Hex looked around to see how the other snakes were getting on. Some were hissing loudly to make the birds jump then fly on to another part of the tree and some were using their fangs to bite into a bigger branch and split it into two. Hex tried both ways but her hiss wasn’t loud enough so the birds ignored her and her fangs weren’t powerful enough to bite through the branch. The birds selfishly pecked at Hex and flew around her to try and knock her off the tree. Hex slid down the tree and managed to fit into a hole in the trunk. She knew this wasn’t the safest place to stay on the tree but if she stayed quiet and still maybe the poachers wouldn’t even look in there. As Hex tried to squeeze inside, she noticed a sound coming from the end of her tail she hadn’t ever noticed before. Her tail was rattling as it had got stuck. Hex was impressed with its sound and how loud it was compared to her hiss.

‘That’s it!’ gasped Hex. ‘I can use my rattle to startle the birds like the other snakes are using their hiss’. Hex crawled up the tree again back to the branch she had tried to coil around before. Another purple glow was coming from the branch and the birds were still there, selfishly hogging it to themselves. Hex rattled her tail and sure enough the birds jumped in surprise and moved onto other branches that had more room. Hex let out a triumphant rattle as the snakes hissed in delight that she had made it onto the tree safely. Then something surprising happened. Every time Hex rattled or the other snakes hissed, the birds would tweet and chirp their own song. The most beautiful music was coming from the only tree in the desert.

The poachers could be seen in the distance. Hex, the snakes and the birds worked together to stay quiet and not move on the tree. The poachers had no idea they were there and quickly moved on. Soon the desert was safe again and the snakes could leave the tree. As Hex unwrapped herself from her branch, she noticed she had been coiled around three purple, glowing amethyst gems.

 ‘It’s time to leave this tree’ thought Hex ‘and maybe I need to show others what resourcefulness means.’ Hex slithered away from the tree rattling her tail, making one final song with the other snakes and the birds. She began to turn purple then transformed from a rattlesnake into a human. Her hair grew long and was tied at the bottom with the rattle from her tail. Hex would keep her hair tied with this as a reminder of the resourcefulness she had shown. She felt like a rattlesnake and a superhero all in one. Each amethyst Hex had found was a reminder:

1.  That she had shown independent thought in how to keep safe in the desert and find room on the tree.
2. That she had remained motivated to find a space on the tree even though her hiss and her fangs didn’t work first.
3. That she had chosen different ways of using her rattle which created room on the tree and had made the most beautiful song in the desert.

Hex was keen to share the power of resourcefulness with others and the first place she started was a school in Didcot known as Willowcroft..