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 The Legend of Moomba

Once upon a time in a far away land there lived a lion whose name was Moomba.  He was the king of all the animals who lived there.  Moomba was known to be a king who was kind, loving and helpful for all of the animals in his kingdom.  Moomba especially loved to take care of the animals that were hurt, afraid or had problems.  It made him feel really good inside to be able to help others.

One bird was born with a wing that was much shorter than her other wing and was told that she will never be able to fly.  This made the bird very sad.  She went to Moomba and cried as she told him that she wanted to fly just like all of the other birds.  Moomba looked deeply into the bird’s eyes, and spoke softly to her, telling her just how special that made her.   The little bird cried some more saying that she did not want to be special, she just wants to fly.  She begged Moomba to help her.

Moomba really wanted to help her but he wasn't sure what to do.   He could tell that this little bird was not going to give up, which gave him an idea.  He explained that sometimes we are so busy looking at what we can't do, that we don't see what we can do.   The little bird looked confused.   Moomba smiled and tried to explain what he meant by telling her to close her eyes and reach down deep into her heart.   He watched the little bird close her eyes and then he said how in her heart she will find courage and faith among other things. He told her to pull out and hold onto that courage and faith. The little bird's eyes shut really tight as she tried to do as he said.   All she had to do was to try her best with what she did have, she heard Moomba say.   The bird wasn’t sure she had that much courage and faith and this made her very scared. 

Moomba then took her to the old tree that was nearby and looked first at the tree and then at the little bird.   With a nod of his head, he told the bird to go onto the branch that was very high above them.   The bird grew nervous as Moomba continued to talk to her saying how she had to keep her faith strong and use all of her courage to believe that she can do this.   That if she really concentrated, then perhaps a miracle will happen and she will fly.   The bird didn’t want to try, she was too afraid of falling and being laughed at from the other animals. 

Moomba told the bird that he would share his courage with her and asked her to please try.   Knowing that Moomba loved and cared for all of the animals in his kingdom and would never want to see them hurt, this made the bird trust him.   The little bird thought about all of the times that the other animals didn't invite her to join them. The times that others said she couldn't do something because of her wing. The times they would just ignore her as though she was not there and just stare at her like she was strange. The little bird hated being treated this way. She wanted to show them that she could do something. Even if she couldn't fly, she would keep trying and also try the other things that no one felt she could do. She was determined to be able to do at least one the others didn't think she could do. The little bird's courage grew stronger and stronger as she thought about this. She found the faith within herself as well as she made her way up to the branch that Moomba showed her. Looking down to where Moomba stood below, the little bird took in a deep breath, spread her wings as best she could, closed her eyes, then took off.  

The little bird felt the wind beneath her one wing but not the other. This caused her to not be able to keep control of her body and be able to fly. She got scared as she began to fall towards the ground. She heard Moomba roar out loud and said to not concentrate on the good wing to help her, instead to concentrate on her small one. The little bird was getting closer to the ground and knew she had to at least try to do as Moomba said. She wanted to prove to the other animals that she can do it. She was brave. She had faith within herself. Moomba believed in her. The little bird closed her eyes once more and grabbed onto the courage and faith. She could see her little wing and felt the wind beneath that one as well. No longer paying attention to her good wing, or depending on it to help her, she kept her focus on the wind and her wing. Suddenly, she felt herself moving straight and no longer falling. She opened her eyes and couldn't believe it. The little bird was actually flying! Her flying was not as perfect or as smooth as all of the other birds, but she was still able to fly.   Happiness filled her heart as she soared through the air.   The other animals saw her flying above them and cheered.   How special she must be to be able to fly when she had a wing that was not made right!   Each of the animals couldn't wait to ask her how she was able to fly.   The other animals gathered around her once she landed and began asking her all kinds of questions. She explained how Moomba had helped her.  

Moomba looked on from a distance and was very proud of how the little bird found that she did, indeed, have the courage and faith inside of her. For it takes courage and faith in yourself to try the things you are afraid to do, and even if it takes a very long time to be able to do it, or it happens on your first try, you must never give up. For believing in yourself and having the courage will take you farther and farther, allowing you to at least achieve more than you thought you could do. Moomba hoped that the little bird would always remember how you must never just tell yourself you can not do something because others tell you that; for it's only when you don't try that you can't succeed.

The next day, Moomba thought he heard another one of the animals calling out for help.   He roamed around the kingdom yet could not find any of the animals hurt or needing him.   The feeling that someone needed him was very strong in Moomba’s heart, so he kept searching.   Somehow, he found himself outside of the kingdom and into a place he never saw before. 

A small girl stood there and stared at him.  She seemed to be as surprised as he was. As they looked into each others eyes, Moomba could tell that this girl was who he could hear crying out while he was still within his kingdom. He wondered how he could hear such a sound that was so far away.   She was special, he could feel it in his heart, she didn't have a small wing like the little bird, but somehow, he knew that there was something about her that told him she was a very special little girl.   Just then, something magical happened.  Moomba and the small girl were able to talk to each other.

Moomba soon learned that the little girl’s name was Brianna and that she was searching for help, just like the little bird. Moomba knew that he was there for a reason, and he promised himself that he was going to do his best to help her. He came up beside Brianna and sat down next to where she was sitting and listened as Brianna told her story.  

                                    The End

                                                                                                                        May, 2006