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.395Please respect copyright.PENANA4EOj9NKEe9
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.395Please respect copyright.PENANAuuaxuXRXEU
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.395Please respect copyright.PENANAzjXoG9IM0h
Still, they sang. They got compliments. Never feathers.395Please respect copyright.PENANAs74cupAqXn
Until one day, that is.395Please respect copyright.PENANAV7tSaWKAME
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.395Please respect copyright.PENANAndnHE0Vkjq
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.395Please respect copyright.PENANAK6nLWf4HmR
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!395Please respect copyright.PENANAcJSbqURLoV
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.395Please respect copyright.PENANA6Z9PSvWoKK
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.395Please respect copyright.PENANAhYlQvptjp6
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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?395Please respect copyright.PENANAN9n1iEv7fa