I Am Great The Way I Am

Once upon a time, there was a tiny hummingbird, Thumbellini. It was the smallest bird in the forest, almost as little as a thumb. Even when it spread its wings, it was just as big as the size of a tomato. Whenever Thumbellini flies with his friends, he finds himself lagging behind them.

Other birds can fly to the high mountains to watch the sunrise, dive into the fluffy ​​clouds to play hide-and-seek or fly across the sea to see the magnificent scenery. However, Thumbellini could not. He was just a little bird and had difficulty flying too high or too far.

When he saw other birds flying high and far, he was envious. Thumbelini especially envied the crane flying high in the sky. Whenever the crane flies across the sky, he would raise his head and observe intently. Sometimes the crane seemed to be soaring towards the sun, while other times, it glided down the cliff to show his courage. The little bird thought: “If only I could have strong wings like a Crane, then I could fly gracefully like them, as high and as far!”

Occasionally, the cranes would rest in the woods and share stories of what they saw. Thumbellini often joined the group to hear those exciting explorations like the majestic pyramids in faraway Egypt, a great wall winding for thousands of miles in the north of China, and a palace with precious stones beside the Ganges in India.

Thumbellini was in awe of how big the world is. He often wondered, “How vast the crane’s world is, but my world is only this small forest.” When he thought about it, sometimes he felt dejected.

“No, I am going to practise harder, so I can fly like them.” Thumbellini made up his mind. He was determined to work harder by practising his flying more than the other birds. While other birds rehearsed ten times, Thumbellini would practise twenty times; the other birds practised flying only when the sun rose, while Thumbellini always got up before the sun came out.

He flew eastward every morning to welcome the rising of the sun. At dusk, Thumbellini was always the last to come home. He wanted to fly a little longer so that his wings would be firmer and his flying skills would be more robust. He even tried hovering while flying and flying backwards and even upside down, a feat that only Thumbelini could accomplish.

However, no matter how hard he tried, he still could not fly as high as the other birds. This made Thumbellini disappointed with himself.

One day, an Eagle flew into the woods to hunt. When the eagle saw Thumbellini, it advanced towards him. Thumbelini flew as fast as it could, but the eagle was faster. When the eagle nearly caught up to Thumbellini, he did a backward fly swiftly and hovered in the air. His action was agile and nimble. With that action, the eagle missed. Thumbelini quickly hid in a small hole within a trunk.

The eagle turned behind but could not find Thumbelini. However, something else caught his attention. A white crane was also resting in the forest. As the crane was big, it was difficult for it to hide from the eagle. The eagle changed his target and pursued the crane. After a strength competition, the eagle won.

Thumbellini finally understood. Being small could also be an advantage. He could achieve things that others could not attain. From then on, Thumbellini no longer felt inferior. He enjoyed his flight in the forest and found other hummingbird friends, and lived happily ever after.

The End.