African Storybook - The Clever Little Bird

The Clever Little Bird

Liz Ralfe and Suzanne Singh

Wiehan de Jager

Once long ago, the birds had a meeting. They wanted a king.

The Eagle wanted to be king. The other birds said, "Your call is too sad to be king." The Ostrich wanted to be king. The other birds said, "You can't fly."

Peacock wanted to be king. The other birds said, "You are too proud. You cannot be king." Owl wanted to be king. The other birds said, "You sleep during the day. You cannot be king."

And so they did not get too far. Then one bird said, "Who can fly the highest? That bird should be king." All the birds flew up up up into the sky.

Goose flew over the highest mountains in the world. Eagle flew into the blue above the mountains. But Vulture flew without stopping, up towards the sun.

High above them, the birds heard Vulture cry, "I am the highest, I am king!"

Vulture heard a tiny voice, "Tink, tink, tink! I am the highest, I am king." It was Ncede, the Neddicky, the smallest bird of all! He had held onto the feathers of Vulture as he flew up into the sky!

So Vulture flew down with the little bird still under his wing. The other birds were cross with Ncede. They waited for him, ready to pluck out all his feathers.

But the quick little bird saw how angry they were, and flew into an empty snake hole.

The birds told Owl to wait near the hole and catch him when he comes out. So Owl sat in front of the hole.

But the sun was warm and soon Owl was fast asleep. The little bird peeped out, saw that Owl was asleep, and z-zip, away he went.

Owl was very ashamed that he had let the little bird escape. Now he only hunts at night. In the day, he sleeps, away from the sight of the other birds.

You are free to download, copy, translate or adapt this story and use the illustrations as long as you attribute in the following way:

The Clever Little Bird

Author - South African Folktale
Adaptation - Liz Ralfe and Suzanne Singh
Illustration - Wiehan de Jager
Language - English
Level - First paragraphs