The Little Bird and the Rainworm.
A little bird with a huge hunger flew around in search of something tasty to eat. Then he saw a little earthworm emerging from the ground. The little bird thought, "Ah, that's a tasty snack!" He dove down to catch the earthworm.
But the earthworm was not foolish. He saw the bird coming and quickly retreated into the ground. The little bird missed his target and landed with a thud on the ground. He shook his feathers and glared angrily at the earthworm. "Come here, you!" he called out. "You're mine!"
The earthworm stuck his head out of the ground again and said, "No, I'm not! I belong to myself! Why do you want to eat me? I haven't done anything to you!" The little bird said, "I don't care! I'm hungry, and you're my food!"
The earthworm said, "That's not fair! I also have the right to live! Can't we be friends instead of enemies?" The little bird said, "Friends? With you? How?" The earthworm said, "Well, we can play together, talk, and learn from each other. Maybe we can even help each other. I know a lot about the ground, and you know a lot about the sky. We can show each other new things."
The little bird thought for a moment. He had never had a friend before. He was always alone and always had to fight for his food. He found life quite tough and boring. He said, "Well, that sounds nice. But how do I know you're not tricking me? Maybe you just want to distract me so you can escape."
The earthworm said, "I would never do that! I promise you I'm honest. If you don't believe me, you can give me a test. Ask me anything you want to know, and I'll give you an answer." The little bird said, "Okay, then. What's the biggest animal you've ever seen?" The earthworm said, "That's a mole. It's very big and strong and has sharp teeth. It digs tunnels underground and eats earthworms like me. I'm very afraid of it."
The little bird said, "Wow, that sounds scary. I've seen a big and strong animal too. It's an eagle. It's very fast and smart and has sharp claws. It flies high in the sky and eats birds like me. I'm also very afraid of it." The earthworm said, "Oh, that sounds scary too. We both have something in common. We both have enemies who want to eat us."
The little bird said, "Yes, that's true. We both have something in common. We both have fear. But you know what? We dare to defend ourselves and escape. We don't give up." The earthworm said, "Yes, that's true too. We also have something else in common. We both have courage. We dare to show ourselves and talk. We're not afraid of the unknown."
The little bird and the earthworm looked at each other and smiled. They felt a warm feeling in their hearts. They said, "You know what? We have something else in common. We both have a friend. You're my friend, and I'm your friend. We're friends!" They hugged each other and started laughing. They were happy they had found each other.
And so began the story of the little bird and the earthworm who became friends. They played, talked, and learned from each other. They helped each other when they were in danger. They had fun and were happy. They were the best friends you could imagine.
