How the Robin got his red breast

There once was a little gray bird, who looked like nothing special. He would hop across fields and dirt, blending in with dreary wood and muddy piles. His morning song was cheery and long, but when eyes would look to the trees to find the singer, they would pass over his dull feathers. The little gray bird longed to stand out, to be something more, to be special.

One cold night, he happened upon a father and son traveling in the woods. They were tired as they built their fire and filled their bellies and went to sleep. The little gray bird knew that this part of the woods was dangerous, and he tried to sing a song to wake the weary father and son, but even his loudest song couldn’t pierce their sleep.

As the night grew colder and the fire grew lower, the little gray bird was scared to see a wolf inching up towards the sleeping pair. He cried out loud and long but the people slept. He sang angrily at the wolf, but the wolf just snarled in his direction. Knowing one thing that the wolf was scared of, the little gray bird hopped his way towards the dying fire.

With a flap of his wings, the embers glowed brighter, illuminating the campsite. The little gray bird chirped happily at his idea and flapped his wings again, even harder. The dying embers of the fire started glowing brighter and burning hotter, tiny tendrils of smoke and flame starting to lick out against blackened wood. The wolf paused, wary of getting close to the flame, and the little gray bird flapped his wings harder. The heat from the fire grew and washed over the little bird and he knew he should fly away, but he also knew if he stopped, the wolf was just advance. So he kept flapping. As the embers turned to flickering flames, he flapped. As the wood crackled and spit while it burned, he flapped. As the light and the heat and the noise drove the wolf away into the woods, still the little gray bird flapped.

When morning came, the father and son awoke to find a healthy fire in the midst of their campsite and a little gray bird with a bright red burn on his chest. Both were grateful for the sacrifice of the little bird and while they helped soothe the bird with water and berries, they let him keep the red marks to show others his bravery. From then on, the little gray bird has always had a bright red patch on his breast to remind the world that robins are a very special bird.