The little owl lived at the top of the tallest tree of the
forest. The small hollow in the tree trunk was the perfect nest
for her, for she could gaze at the whole forest below and she
could have the moon light into her nest every night. She loved
it when the moon came up in the sky, and she looked forward to
it. She was afraid of the dark, you see. Owls are supposed to
live among the foliage of the trees, in the darkest hollows, but
this one was different. 'I don't like the dark,' she used to
say. The other owls teased her. 'You are an owl. Owls live in
the dark. You can't be different!' She tried to ignore them.
Deep, inside her she would like to feel like her brothers and
sisters, though. But she dared not leave her nest and fly with
them around the forest. 'I'm afraid of the dark,' she finally
confessed, one dark night. 'How very extraordinary,' the other
owls exclaimed. 'This is absurd!' And the gossip about the
little owl spread fast. The owls announced the incredible news
to the sparrows, the sparrows to the robins, the robins to the
swallows. Then the pigeons learnt about it, and the eagles, the
monkeys and the lions, the tigers and the elephants. Soon all
the forest animals knew that the little owl was afraid of the
dark. Then, on a moonlit night, an old owl who lived in the
middle of the forest said: 'We must help her!' So, all the
animals gathered in the big plateau of the forest to decide what
to do. The old owl spoke first: 'We have all gathered here to
find a way to help the little owl who is afraid of the dark.
Each one of you must think of something helpful. We will use the
best suggestions.' Then a monkey spoke: 'I think we should give
her some fireflies to brighten her nest and follow her around.'
'But this still is not a solution,' said a tiger. 'She will
still be afraid of the dark when they leave.' 'I could live with
her and escort her around,' suggested another little owl.
'That's a good idea. But you can't live with her for ever,' said
the old owl. The animals thought hard and came up with quite a
few good ideas. The stars twinkled above them the whole night
and just before the last one set, an old lion spoke: 'I think
I've found it!' Then he explained his plan. The other animals
agreed to carry it out the following night. It was dark. The
little owl was alone in her nest staring at the starry sky. 'The
moon will come out soon,' she said, 'and I will have plenty of
light.' She was feeling impatient to see the moon in the sky. As
she was sitting there lonely and scared, she heard voices all
around her. 'Hello, little owl,' the animals cried. 'We've come
to show you around. You?ve never seen the forest by night, have
you?' The little owl was startled. 'But I can't leave my nest.
It's too dark to fly over there,' she said to them. 'Come on,'
the old owl urged her. 'You've never seen our beautiful forest.
In the mornings, you are sleeping. In the evenings, you stay in
your nest. You miss everything. It's a pity!' 'It's dark down
there,' the little owl insisted. 'And you know I'm afraid of the
dark.' 'There's no reason to be afraid of the dark. Look down.
We've all come to help you,' the old owl said. The little owl
looked down and saw the elephants, the lions and the monkeys.
Then she looked around and saw the owls and all the other birds
of the forest. Then she saw the fireflies coming towards her.
'We are going to escort you around the forest,' they told her.
'Don't be afraid little owl, just follow us. We'll show you the
way.' The little owl was amazed. 'So, have you all come for me?'
she said, 'to help me?' She suddenly felt so much better that
she nearly forgot all about her fear. But she still hesitated.
?If you don?t come now,? the old owl said, ?we?ll never bother
with you again. Please, let us help you.? ?You will see a whole
world, a wonderful world,? promised the elephants. ?You are
missing everything over there, come with us,? the birds chirped.
The little owl could not resist any more. ?I?m coming,? she
said, opened her wings and followed the fireflies down into the
dark forest. They flew among the dark foliage of the trees
towards the plateau. On their way thousands of birds chirped
cheerfully: ?Hello, little owl, welcome home!? The little owl
felt very happy. She had so many friends who cared for her that
she forgot all about her fear of the dark. The fireflies were
always ahead showing her the magic world of the forest. She saw
the night flowers and the night butterflies, the cuckoos and the
green lizards. She saw the wild rabbits and the monkeys , the
tigers , the lions and the big grey elephants. When she got
tired of flying around, the fireflies led her to the plateau in
the middle of the forest. All the other animals had already
gathered there and the owl landed to rest in the middle of them,
circled by a bright ring of fireflies. She felt so unexpectedly
happy that she said loudly: ?Thank you, my friends. Thank you
very much. I?ve now realized there is nothing to be afraid of.
The forest is fantastic. It does not make any difference whether
it is dark or bright; it is still the same forest. I?ll never be
afraid again!? The animals cheered happily and then the old owl
spoke: ?The dark is just another face of the light. I?m glad
you?ve realized that at last.? And they all went away. ENDS 1012
This story is included in the Bedtime Stories ebook Liana has
written for young kids. http://www.ebookad.com
About the author:
Liana Metal writes stories for kids as well as fiction and non
fiction for adults. http://liamet.tripod.com
http://Author-Promo.tripod.com
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