Once upon a time, there was a bird. Maybe it was a sparrow, or a robin, or a raven, but a bird in every version.549Please respect copyright.PENANAb92rRHyK17
This bird had no feathers on it's wings to fly. They wanted to fly, so they started singing for feathers. The Featherless Bird got really good at it. They were always showered with compliments after they sang. But when the Featherless Bird asked for feathers, they were rarely given any.549Please respect copyright.PENANAByaAqRDUdp
Most of the other birds didn't have feathers to spare. The Featherless Bird understood, albeit sadly. They were given food, and that was nice, but never feathers.549Please respect copyright.PENANAFnMM3Ra5A8
Still, they sang. They got compliments. Never feathers.549Please respect copyright.PENANAlqEf7EBenc
Until one day, that is.549Please respect copyright.PENANAUdpWxLlO7z
A friend regrew some of their feathers, so they gave one to The Featherless Bird. The bird was happy and kept singing. Slowly, they received more feathers and stored them in their nest.549Please respect copyright.PENANAkrmgJ1RY1j
But on one windy day, most of the feathers flew away, so the Featherless Bird had to start over. They were determined to gain enough feathers to fly again. Then they could help other featherless birds. They could fly up to the mountains and collect feathers from the big birds up there, though it would be hard.549Please respect copyright.PENANAvfhfitpQHn
The Featherless Bird sang and sang all throughout the year. Finally, they eventually got enough feathers to fly! They stuck the feathers in their wings and took off!549Please respect copyright.PENANAs6yp2X2uXf
They haven't flown for so long, so they went slow and relearned how to fly. They were able to help out the other birds gather food and twigs for their nest. They still sang, of course, because they loved making others happy with their singing.549Please respect copyright.PENANAVqYdQOzSVl
And then one day, they were killed during a sudden hail storm. Their feathers scattered on the ground in pieces around them. The other birds couldn't even use them to replace their own missing feathers from the storm.549Please respect copyright.PENANAgmgUUVBHyx
END
A question for the reader: was this a tragedy because the bird died at the end? Or was it happy because the bird chose to spend their life striving for their dreams?549Please respect copyright.PENANAe2uns9X8ZU