The Nest That Wasn't Hers to Leave

🪵 A Gentle Introduction for Young Readers

Hello, little listener.

This is the story of Maple, a goose who had to make a very hard choice.

She was brave. She was scared.

And she hoped someone might understand.

This story has big feelings.

That’s okay. You can pause any time.

📖 The Fable

In Heartgrove Clearing, calm and wide,

Maple the Goose had once tried to hide.

But one spring day, by root and reed,

She laid an egg she hadn’t planned or need.

She circled twice, then bowed her head—

Unsure, alone, by instinct led.

“I want what’s best,” she softly cried,

“To guard the egg… or try to fly?”

She paced. She paused. She whispered low:

“I feel its beat. I want it so.

But if I stay, I might not live…

And care must know what care can give.”

She brushed her wing along the moss,

And hummed a tune of small, soft loss.

She dreamed of skies and lakes below—

Of windy peace where geese could go.

She watched the wind. She smelled the air.

A copper tang—familiar, bare.

She saw no paws. She heard no sound.

Yet still, a hunter brushed the ground.

“I’ve barely slept,” she murmured true.

“The fox walks near. He always knew.

I want this egg to safely hatch—

But not if death stands at the latch.”

Finch landed close with feathered pride:

“To fly away? You must not slide!

The egg is sacred—stay and pray.

We’ve all had nights we feared to stay.”

Jay flapped with tone both loud and stern:

“It’s not your fear that makes it turn.

We all must follow nature’s role—

So hold that nest. Protect the whole.”

Then Finch looked down and spread his wing,

“It’s not just law—it’s what nests bring.

If every bird could choose to fly,

Then who would guard when storms pass by?”

“The forest stands on sacrifice—

We all have stayed, and paid the price.

Your fear is real, I feel it too—

But duty holds when hearts break through.”

But Dove looked down and gently sighed,

“I hear you both… and still, I hide.

I want to help—I don’t know how.

I fear the loss, but question now.”

A squirrel peeked out from hollow tree,

Too small to guard, too kind to flee.

He said no word, but stayed that day—

His tiny paws near Maple’s hay.

Maple turned toward branch and bark.

The clearing bright, her future dark.

She thought of flight. She thought of loss.

She saw the trees. She weighed the cost.

“Perhaps they’re right,” she nearly said,

“But still I feel that hungry tread.

They speak of rules, but not my skin—

They guard the nest, not what’s within.”

She fluffed her wings. She asked once more:

“Will any stay beside this floor?

You want me here—but not my fear.

Who stands with me when fox is near?”

Still she stayed, though no one came—

She stayed through doubt, through cold, through shame.

The grove fell still. No beak replied.

The judgment sat. The shame complied.

Then Jay glanced down, then turned his head.

“I hope,” he said. “But leave unsaid.”

She curled around her egg that night,

While scents grew sharp and stars burned bright.

She dared not move. She dared not flee.

She stayed because they told her, “Be.”

Still she stayed, though no one came—

She stayed through doubt, through cold, through shame.

The hunger gnawed. Her feathers thinned.

The forest stayed outside the wind.

And just before the dawn could break,

The hush was torn by paws that slake.

The Fox, with breath like smoke and steel,

Crept close with quiet, practiced zeal.

She flapped once hard, but hope was gone—

The strength she’d held too long withdrawn.

He snapped, and vanished through the trees.

The nest was cracked. The air was freeze.

The grove awoke with cries too late—

Their verdict now a twist of fate.

Owl landed slow with downcast eye.

The birds all watched, but none asked why.

He cleared his throat and softly said,

“We listened not to what she pled.

We chose our truth and named it right.

We called her fear a lesser fight.

But now, where once our law stood tall,

There’s silence where we built the wall.”

Then near the stump where Maple lay,

They left a stone, rough-cut and grey.

It bore no name, but faced the sky—

A marker not to pass one by.

A sign that care must walk, not shove.

That safety’s not what fits a glove.

That laws which never stoop to feel

Are wings that break when love is real.

🌲 Moral

True care does not command or bind—

It listens close and walks behind.

It guards, supports, and knows its place—

Beside the one it claims to grace.

📣 Moral (Discussion)

If care demands that others stay,

Then care must sit beside—not say.

📘 Questions for Curious Listeners:

Why was Maple afraid? Was she wrong to be?

Did anyone try to understand how she felt?

What do you think the Fox really was?

Have you ever been told to stay when you wanted to leave?

What would you put on the stone they left?

✍️ Why I Wrote This

By Forest Moss

I wrote this story because I believe in listening—especially to those who carry the burden.

Too often, we tell people what they must do without standing beside them. We offer rules instead of safety, and judgment instead of help. When someone says, “I’m afraid,” we call it weakness. When someone says, “This might harm me,” we tell them to be strong.

But what if strength also means walking away? What if love includes the right to choose safety?

Maple’s story is not about one egg, or one nest, or one law. It’s about a system that meant well, but wouldn’t listen—and in that silence, someone was hurt.

This fable doesn’t ask readers to pick sides. It asks them to pause when someone says, “I’m not safe.” It asks us to rethink what care really means—especially when it costs someone everything.

I wrote this for anyone who has felt pressured to stay in a place that hurt them.And I wrote it for everyone who believes protection should start with listening.

🖋️ Author’s Statement for Educators & Readers

This fable was written to help readers of all ages think about the difference between care and control.

At its heart, The Nest That Wasn’t Hers to Leave is about a goose—Maple—who is pressured to sit on her egg by others who claim to know what’s best. Though she’s frightened and senses danger nearby, she is shamed into staying. In the end, her fear proves justified, but those who told her to stay face no consequence—only she does.

I wrote this story to explore how often society places rules, guilt, or expectations on people—especially women—without truly listening to what they need. Maple’s story is a way to gently ask: Who gets to decide what’s right for someone’s body, safety, or life?

📚 Discussion Objectives

Students will:

• Recognize symbolism and allegory in moral storytelling

• Explore themes of autonomy, fear, safety, and judgment

• Practice empathetic listening and civil dialogue

• Reflect on how rules and pressure can sometimes cause harm, even when well-intended

❓ Guiding Questions for Students

✨ Understanding the Story

1. Why didn’t Maple feel safe staying on the nest?

2. What did the other birds believe was more important than Maple’s fear?

3. What happened as a result of ignoring Maple’s voice?

💬 Empathy & Responsibility

4. Have you ever felt like someone ignored your worry or pushed you to do something “for your own good”? How did it feel?

5. What does it mean to really help someone? Does help always mean telling someone what to do?

🧠 Broader Thinking

6. Can you think of times in history or in the news when people were forced to stay in dangerous situations because of rules made by others?

7. What might the fox in the story represent in the real world?

📌 Extension Activities

• Debate: Split the class—one side defends the birds’ actions, the other defends Maple. Who protected the nest better?

• Rewrite: Have students write an alternate ending where the birds make a different choice.

• Research: Study real-life court cases or laws about autonomy and safety. Link to concepts like reproductive rights, medical consent, or youth protection laws.

📘 Common Core Alignment

📖 Reading – Literature (RL)

Standard	How It’s Met
RL.5.2 – Determine a theme and summarize the text	Students identify the moral (“Protecting life means protecting those who carry it”) and summarize Maple’s journey.
RL.5.3 – Compare and contrast characters’ perspectives	The fable contrasts Maple’s fearful, lived perspective with the judgmental views of the birds.
RL.5.4 – Determine meaning of words/phrases including figurative language	The story’s poetic language and metaphor (fox = danger, egg = autonomy/future) provide rich figurative analysis.
RL.5.6 – Describe how a narrator’s point of view influences the story	The omniscient narrator gently guides reader sympathy toward Maple and critiques the birds’ moral posturing.

📝 Writing (W)

Standard	How It’s Met
W.5.1 – Write opinion pieces supporting a point with reasons and information	Students can respond with essays arguing whether the forest was right or wrong in pressuring Maple.
W.5.3 – Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences	Extension activities include rewriting the ending or creating companion fables.
W.5.9 – Draw evidence from literary texts to support analysis	Students cite specific actions (e.g., Finch’s scolding, Owl’s final words) to support interpretation.

🗣️ Speaking & Listening (SL)

Standard	How It’s Met
SL.5.1 – Engage in collaborative discussions with diverse perspectives	Class debate, guided questions, and role-play of forest characters promote dialogue and respectful disagreement.
SL.5.3 – Summarize a speaker’s points and explain how each is supported	Owl’s closing speech can be broken down and evaluated by students for reasoning and effectiveness.

📓 Language (L)

Standard	How It’s Met
L.5.5 – Demonstrate understanding of figurative language and nuances	Students analyze metaphors: “sit on the nest,” “danger walked in,” “the cost was hers.”
L.5.1–3 – Grammar, conventions, style	Reading and composing fable responses offer practice with complex sentence structure and stylistic choices.

🎯 Optional Higher-Level Alignment (Grades 6–8)

• RI.6.8 / RI.7.8 – Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text

• SL.6.4 – Present claims and findings with logical sequencing and supporting evidence

• W.6.1–2 – Write arguments or informative texts using relevant evidence from literature and social issues