Sky Spear: A Fable

Long ago, no bird was prouder of his powerful wings than Sky Spear. Sky Spear was the largest bird in the entire continent of Africa and he was spectacularly tall. Living on the edge of the Sahara Desert, there was no bird who flew faster or bragged more than Sky Spear.

One day, Sky Spear boasted to his friend Somali Sparrow, “Nothing flies faster than me, Sky Spear. Not even the wind.” Somali Sparrow replied, “Having a race against the Wind would make a good opening for the feast tomorrow.” So arrangements were made and all the desert was notified that there would be a great race against the Wind at the feast.

The next day, many birds were lined up, ready to race. Some of the birds were Egyptian Nightjar, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Long-legged Buzzard, and Brown-necked Raven. Sky Spear felt certain he would win.

Suddenly the Wind rushed by and all the birds but Sky Spear and Somali Sparrow were left behind. The two birds flapped hard to keep up with the Wind. At first, Sky Spear passed the Wind, but it took every ounce of his energy. Sky Spear realized he was tiring and that the Wind was passing him. So, quickly moving into the Wind, Sky Spear stopped flapping and let the Wind carry him.

The Wind suddenly sped up leaving little Somali Sparrow behind, but Sky Spear was still hanging on, letting the Wind pull him along. As the finish line came into view, Sky Spear took off, using his mighty wings to leave the Wind behind.

The Wind grew mad as it realized that Sky Spear had cheated and taken advantage of him. In a frenzy, the Wind picked up sand from the dunes below and became Sandstorm. Sandstorm flew after Sky Spear, hurling chunks of rock and sand. As Sky Spear’s eyes filled with sand, he was temporarily blinded. Sky Spear came crashing down to Earth and broke both wings. Rubbing grit from his eyes, Sky Spear saw Sandstorm coming at him and tried to fly away. But Sky Spear found that he could no longer fly; he could only run.

From that day forward, Sky Spear’s name was Ostrich, which meant “big, lumbering one”. So whenever you see an ostrich with its head hidden in the ground, you know Sky Spear is remembering, with shame, that cheating can lead to great misfortune.