🐦 The Bird Who Was Afraid to Fly

In a nest at the top of the garden wall lived a little sparrow named Pip. All his brothers and sisters had already learned to fly. But Pip was scared.

Below the wall lay a kind old cat named Bramble, who liked to nap in the sun and would never, ever chase a baby bird. "What's the matter, little one?" Bramble asked one morning.

"I'm scared to fly," said Pip, his feathers trembling. "What if I fall?" Bramble thought for a moment. "You know," he said, "I was scared to jump onto this wall when I was a kitten."

"You were?" said Pip. "Oh yes," said Bramble. "It looked so high. But my mother said, start with a small jump. So I jumped onto a flowerpot first. Then a bench. Then the wall."

Pip looked at the edge of his nest. Then he hopped onto a twig, just a little lower. Then he fluttered his wings and hopped to a lower branch. Flap, flap, hop!

"Wonderful!" called Bramble. "Now try the bush." Pip took a deep breath, spread his wings and fluttered down to the bush. He wobbled, but he landed!

Day by day, Pip flew a little farther. From the bush to the fence. From the fence to the tree. And one sunny morning, he flew right over Bramble's head, all the way across the garden, singing at the top of his voice.

"I did it!" cheered Pip, landing on the wall next to Bramble. Bramble purred proudly. "You did," he said. "One small flight at a time." And Pip visited his friend every day after that.