High in an old oak tree, inside a cozy treehouse nest, lived a baby owl named Ollie.
Ollie was curious, cuddly, and—well—a little clumsy.
His mother often said, “Ollie, you’ll be flying soon!”
But Ollie wasn’t so sure. He loved looking down from the nest, but flying? That looked high and hard.
Each night, he watched his brothers and sisters flap off into the moonlight.
“Maybe tomorrow,” he’d whisper, “I’ll fly tomorrow.”
But tomorrow always came with another excuse:
“Too windy.” “Too dark.” “Too… breakfasty.”
Until one sunny morning, his mom smiled and said, “Today’s the day, Ollie. Time to leap and flap!” Ollie gulped. “Leap and what now?”
Practice Makes… Plop
Before trying the real thing, Ollie decided to practice flying inside the nest.
He spread his wings wide and flapped as hard as he could. Fwump!—a feather floated into his face.
Next, he jumped from one side of the nest to the other. “Whee—whoa!” he squeaked, landing upside-down in a pile of twigs.
Just then, a squirrel popped his head in. “Doing acrobatics, are we?”
“Flying lessons!” said Ollie proudly.
The squirrel snickered. “Looks more like falling lessons.”
Ollie puffed his chest. “You’ll see. I’ll be the best flyer in the forest!” He peeked over the edge of the nest and whispered to himself, “Probably…”
The Leap Heard ‘Round the Forest
That afternoon, Ollie perched on the edge of the nest.
The wind whistled through the branches like a little song: “Flap, flap, flap.”
His mom called softly, “Go on, Ollie. You can do it!”
He wiggled his toes, closed his eyes, and shouted, “Here I gooooo!”
He jumped. He flapped.
He squealed. And—splat!—he landed in a soft bush below.
A family of rabbits stared in surprise. “New kind of leaf?” one asked.
Ollie groaned, feathers ruffled. “I call that… a practice landing!” Up above, his mom giggled. “Good try, my brave flyer! Now climb back up and try again.”
Ollie blinked. “Again?!” But deep down, he felt a tiny spark of excitement.
“Okay,” he said. “Maybe one more try.”
The Flight of the Brave (and the Bouncy)
When night came, the forest shimmered under the moonlight.
Ollie climbed to the edge again, took a deep breath, and whispered, “Flap fast, think light, and don’t land in bushes.”
This time, he spread his wings wide, felt the air lift beneath him—and whoosh!
He was flying!
A little wobbly.
A little sideways.
But flying nonetheless!
The bats cheered, “Nice loops, kid!” The rabbits clapped their paws. Even the squirrel yelled, “Hey, he’s airborne!”
Ollie flapped until he glided in perfect circles above the pond, his reflection smiling back at him.
When he finally landed—on purpose—his mom hugged him with her wings.
“I told you, little one. All it takes is a leap of courage.”
Ollie grinned. “And a really good bush—just in case.”
The End !
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