THE BOY WITH THE BROKEN WING 

      Once upon a time, there was a boy who could fly. No one knew where he came from. One day, borne on the breath of a timeless breeze, he appeared in the village. The grownups were in awe. Their eyes grew wide, and their mouths opened wider, but no words came forth as they watched in wonder at this young fledgling who could fly!

Some wanted to cast a net and catch this child and see what mechanism allowed him to stay aloft, but the boy understood their intentions and kept at a safe difference.

The boy was drawn to the children who were most like him. In turn, they laughed with delight to see someone so much like themselves who could fly! The children followed him with their arms outstretched, hoping to touch him, though the boy remained teasingly just beyond their reach.

Running, they called to their friends. "Look! This boy can fly!" He, in turn, followed them into a large brick building that was their school. 

A small meadow surrounded the school, and around it was a forest of tall pine trees. Through the doorway, the boy swooped and found himself in a large room. Bird-like, he flew to a wide mantle that ran along the upper edge of the far wall.

The children and their teachers began to crowd into the room to see the boy who could fly. To the boy, it seemed that the doorway he had flown through was growing smaller and more distant with every new person who came into the room. It looked as if the doorway might disappear altogether!

For the first time in his life, the boy experienced something he had never felt before: fear. He was afraid he would not be able to reach the doorway and be as free as he had once been.

The boy knew that he would never make his way out of the room unless he tried to escape. He stepped off the ledge, ready to fly. But weighted by fear, the boy fell like a stone to the floor.

The boy's arm was broken and was placed in a cast to mend it. There would be no more flying. He was truly grounded.

Amin, as he was now called, lived with two of his teachers who looked after him with love. But without his freedom, he no longer looked at the sky. His face, which had once been as bright as the sun, was now as sullen as a day of endless rain. When Amin's arm had healed, he didn't bother to try and fly. He no longer believed he could.

The older children had been curious about Amin and wanted to be his friend, but now, he never smiled, and they no longer wanted to play with him. The younger children still followed Amin, for they remembered his goodness, which had become hidden deep inside him.

One day, a flock of geese flew overhead. If you have seen geese in a meadow or pond, you know they can be very petty, pecking and poking at each other for the merest scrap of bread. However, when they take to the sky, nothing is more majestic than their flight or as noble as their call.

It was this call that Amin now heard. It spoke to his spirit, and his spirit responded. In an instant, he began to fly.

When the children saw this, they shouted and waved, but their teachers wisely drew them into the school.

Amin flew into the pine forest surrounding the school and landed in the uppermost branches of a very tall pine tree.

The two teachers who had cared for Amin, followed. 

When they saw where Amin had landed, they became concerned. They knew if he stepped off the tree limb to fly and carried even the slightest doubt in his heart, he would plummet to the earth. And this time, because of the great height of the tree, his body would be broken. 

They also knew that if they told Amin they were afraid for him and helped him down, Amin might never believe in himself again, and his gift of flight and soaring spirit might be lost forever.

This is what they decided to do.

They called to Amin, saying, "We are so happy to see that you have recovered your gift, for there is nothing more beautiful than when you are free. "However," they continued, "Your gift is newly returned. Should you doubt yourself, your fall would be great, so we ask you this: let us help you come down to earth. Practice until you believe in yourself completely. Then, teach us and those who would learn how to fly."

And he did.

Copyright: by Amina Elizabeth Stevens 1975