Deep inside a peaceful forest, there lived a little Kiwi bird.
The Kiwi was new to the forest and had made its home inside a cozy hollow in a tree. During the day, it loved to sleep peacefully, and at night, it would wander around searching for food. That was the Kiwi’s usual way of life.
But after coming to this new forest, the Kiwi could not sleep properly during the daytime. As soon as dawn arrived, the sounds of birds filled the forest. Because of all the chirping and singing, the Kiwi stayed awake. So it would come outside and watch the beautiful surroundings.
As it watched, the Kiwi saw many kinds of birds flying together, calling to one another, and searching for food. It admired how graceful and beautiful they looked while flying.
“If only I had wings like them, I could fly too,” thought the Kiwi sadly. “I only have tiny wings. I cannot fly with these.”
The Kiwi kept wondering: “How would the forest look from the sky? How would the waterfall appear? How would the animals look while moving below? I wish I could see all of that.”
Then suddenly, the Kiwi got an idea.
“Why shouldn’t I try flying? Maybe if I had bigger wings, I could fly too!”
Just then, it noticed the huge leaves on a nearby tree.
“These leaves could become my wings!” thought the Kiwi.
But there was one problem—it could not climb the tree.
So the Kiwi asked a python living nearby for help.
“Python, could you help me climb the tree? I want to pluck some leaves,” asked the Kiwi politely.
The python agreed. The Kiwi climbed onto the python’s back, and together they reached the tree. The Kiwi plucked the large leaves it needed and came back down.
Then it attached the leaves to its small wings.
Excitedly, the Kiwi tried to fly.
But the leaves were far too heavy. The Kiwi could not even lift itself properly.
“This will never work,” sighed the Kiwi sadly, throwing the leaves away.
Then the Kiwi noticed some dry leaves dancing in the wind.
“Maybe light leaves like these will work better!”
The Kiwi collected many dried leaves and tried to make wings from them. But the leaves were too brittle. As soon as it touched them, they crumbled into pieces or flew away with the wind.
Once again, the Kiwi failed.
The poor Kiwi sat there, wondering what to do next.
At that moment, it noticed a bird feather on the ground.
“Ah! If I make wings using feathers, I can surely fly!”
The python and its friend, an ostrich, had been secretly watching all the Kiwi’s efforts.
The Kiwi began collecting feathers from different places. After gathering enough feathers, it carefully made a pair of wings.
This time, the Kiwi felt very hopeful.
“The wings look good! They are even moving!” it said happily.
But the Kiwi did not want to try flying from the ground.
“All birds fly from tree branches. I should try from high up,” it thought.
So once again, the Kiwi went to the python.
“Please help me one more time. Can you carry me to that tree branch?” asked the Kiwi.
The python agreed.
The Kiwi climbed onto the python’s back, and soon it reached the top of the tree.
Standing at the edge of the branch, the Kiwi prepared itself.
“This time, I will definitely fly!”
With confidence, it jumped.
But instead of flying, the Kiwi began falling straight down.
“Oh no! I’m going to get badly hurt!” cried the frightened Kiwi, tightly closing its eyes.
But surprisingly, it did not get hurt at all.
The Kiwi had landed safely on the ostrich’s back.
The ostrich had rushed in at the perfect moment and saved it.
“Whew! Thank goodness!” sighed the Kiwi in relief.
“Thank you so much for saving me!”
The ostrich smiled.
“The python and I were watching you all along. We didn’t want you to get hurt,” said the ostrich kindly.
Then it asked, “I can’t fly either. Why are you taking so many risks just because you cannot fly?”
The Kiwi replied softly, “Yes, I cannot fly. But does that mean I should never even try? I always wanted to know how the world looks from above. I wanted to see the forest, the waterfall, and the animals from the sky.”
While the Kiwi was speaking, suddenly an eagle swooped down and carried the Kiwi away.
The python and the ostrich froze in fear.
The Kiwi became terrified.
“Oh no! The eagle is going to eat me!” thought the Kiwi, shutting its eyes tightly once again.
The eagle flew higher and higher into the sky.
Then it said gently, “Why are you so scared? Open your eyes and look below. Didn’t you wish to see how the forest and waterfall looked from the sky? I brought you here so you could experience it.”
Hearing those words, the Kiwi slowly opened its eyes.
What it saw filled its heart with joy.
The forest looked magical from above. The waterfall sparkled beautifully. The animals below looked tiny and wonderful. Even the cool wind blowing against the Kiwi felt pleasant and exciting.
For the very first time, the Kiwi experienced the joy of flying.
After some time, the eagle carefully brought the Kiwi back and placed it safely on the ostrich’s back.
The python and the ostrich sighed in relief.
“We thought you were going to eat the Kiwi!” they exclaimed.
The eagle laughed.
“I never wanted to eat the Kiwi. It wished to fly. Even if it cannot fly by itself, I wanted it to experience the beauty of the world from the sky.”
Hearing this, the python and the ostrich smiled happily.
Then the ostrich asked jokingly, “Can you carry me and fly too?”
The eagle became silent for a moment.
“You? Carry you? Absolutely not!” the eagle replied quickly.
The ostrich laughed loudly.
“That’s fine! Imagine if you dropped me from the sky. What would happen to my poor body? Just thinking about it scares me!”
Hearing this, everyone burst into laughter.
The Kiwi looked at the python, the ostrich, and the eagle with gratitude.
“I may be new to this forest, but now I have true friends. The eagle gave me the experience of flying. The python always helped me whenever I asked. And the ostrich saved my life without me even asking for help.”
Then the Kiwi smiled warmly and said,
“From today onward, all of you are my dear friends.”
And from that day, they all lived happily together in friendship.
Moral of the Story
The Kiwi could not fly, but it still had the courage to dream.
Sometimes, there are things we cannot do alone. But true friends help us experience the impossible, support us during difficult times, and stand beside us when we need them most.
Just like the python, the ostrich, and the eagle did for the Kiwi.
