Lenny longed to fly--to soar over barns,
between trees, above valleys and through canyons. He wanted to feel wind whooshing through his fur and clouds tingling his nose. He could dance with the birds!
“But I’ll never be able to fly,” he thought.
Lenny could not fly because he was not a bird, a
butterfly or an airplane. He was a
bear cub. And bears do not fly
because they do not have wings.
So Lenny decided to look for wings. He searched in trees, on roofs and even
under rocks. Every day, from after
breakfast until his mother called him in for dinner, he looked for what he
needed to fly. But he could not
find any wings.
One day, when he was climbing a tree branch in search
of wings, he met a bird.
"Boo hoo hoo," sobbed the bird.
“What’s wrong?” Lenny asked the bird.
“I want to climb boulders and trees but I have no
arms,” said the bird.
“And I want to fly, but I have no wings,” said
Lenny. “What’s your name?”
“My name is Alice,” said the bird.
Side by side on the branch they sat. Lenny thought about the wings he wanted. Alice thought about the arms that she wanted. Then, they began to
cry.
At first, the crying was a little sob, with little
tears. But the drops got
bigger and bigger. After a bit,
they cried so loud, the tree shook and the leaves blew. Squirrels came out of their homes and
threw nuts at them to make them be quiet.
A family of rabbits thumped their feet, trying to make them stop. Coyotes formed a circle under the tree
and howled. The crying only got
louder.
Finally, an owl came out of its nest at the top of the
tree. Now, owls are known to be wise. But an owl that is woken from his daytime
sleep is also cranky.
“What is going on here?!” the owl demanded.
“I want to fly, but I have no wings,” wailed Lenny.
“I want to climb trees, but I have no arms,” cried
Alice.
“Hush up your crying and trade your wings and arms
with each other,” said the owl.
“Then you, bear, can fly, and you, bird, can climb.”
Lenny looked at Alice. Alice looked at Lenny.
And they stopped crying.
“That’s a great idea!” They both said at once.
It was decided.
Every day, Lenny spent one hour using the Alice’s
wings. He soared over barns,
between trees, above valleys and through canyons. He felt wind blowing through his fur, and fresh air
streaming along his face. He flew
fast then slow, up then down, and even sideways.
When he came back, he loaned his arms to Alice. She used them to climb every tree and
boulder in the forest. She felt bark grazing her feathers, and the smooth
boulders warmed by the sun. She
climbed fast then slow, up then down, and even sideways.
After they had flown and climbed, they sat on the tree
branch and told of their adventures. Out would come the squirrels, rabbits and
coyotes to listen to their stories.
Sometimes, when the owl was not too tired, he would come too.
And that is how Lenny was able to fly.
