The reason is rather sad, Mrs. Diclonius. Many eons ago, mother nature held a competition with various aspects of life. She invited the rock, the flower, the creek, the tree, and the grass. The winner is the one to remain the same for a whole day. The rock boasted brazenly, saying how nothing perseveres better than he, and so victory was certain. The meek flower only bowed and wished him well. The tall, aged tree, who had given shade to flower, scolded her for backing down, as only the strong can triumph. The creek, flowing cool and clear, didn’t really care if she won or not. She only participated to have a little fun. The tree scolded her too, claiming it wasn’t fair to compete with no desire to win. When the creek said she was invited by mother nature so had just as much right as anyone, the tree grew silent.
The grass did not say a word in all of this. He did not like the rock at all and wanted to win so desperately, not for glory, but only to put him in his place. Glaring at the rock, he prepared for the long day ahead tomorrow when the event would begin. The rest of them chatted away but the grass until nightfall. He merely stood there, staring at the rock with determination until he saw a light. He glanced back to see mother nature herself!
“Fair grass, what ails you? If wary of the day ahead, no one shall hold it against you if you withdrew,” she told him gently.
“Oh no, I will see this through, miss,” he told her. “I’ll win this game and that ought to put the rock in his-” but he suddenly grew silent, as he did not want mother nature to know of his motives.
“Tis merely sport, a time for pleasure, fair grass,” she spoke to him. “If your desires linger elsewhere, be warned that there is truly nothing to gain by competing,” she informed him.
“I’ll have fun, honest!” he assured her before thinking to himself, “watching the rock’s pride drop like a stone!”
The next day, everyone took their positions. When everyone was ready, mother nature announced that the game had begun. The hours passed very slowly, and none of them moved at all. The grass grew angrier and more spiteful as the rock sat there with perfect ease. It wasn’t long, however, when a strong wind blew, and the little flower was ripped from her roots and flew into the air, saved by the trunk of the tree. As more time still dragged on, a violent storm broke loose, and lightning struck the tree. He fell over, right into creek, stopping her up like a dam. The grass glanced over at the rock, realizing that only they remained. Still, this wasn’t looking good.
When a large dinosaur happened by, the grass whispered for him to come closer. When he had done so, he asked him to “stumble” over the rock, thereby moving him slightly. Confused, but very bored, the dinosaur did just that. The rock groaned angrily at his luck as mother nature descended upon the ground once more. The grass grinned deep inside and waited for her to call him the winner over all.
“Thank you for your participation, all of you,” she began. “Before I say any more, let me set things straight.” She blew onto the tree, and he erected again, his roots sticking into the ground, and the flower once again was connected to the earth. “Much better. Now then, the winner is- everyone but the grass.”
“Ha, would you look at- Wait, what!?” the grass exclaimed. “I am the only one who remained the same the whole time! How could only I lose?”
“Fair grass, all of you, the rule of this game was mistaken. The part of you which was meant to remain is the inside, not the outside. Each of you remained as you were through all of this, even the prideful rock, but you, fair grass, once the humblest of all my creations, became bitter and angry at the rock for being as I made him. Do you think that I, your creator, cannot see your heart? Because you cannot accept others for who they are, I hereby strip you of your glorious colors and leave you with a dull green, for as soon as you heard you lost, your very being knew nothing but jealousy.”
From that day forward, the grass was green, a symbol of making the mistake of not letting others be themselves.
My question: When asked a question, and you cannot think of an answer, what is the best thing to do?
