Beyond the deep forest lies a beautiful meadow. It is full of colourful and fragrant flowers. There are also lots of trees and small shrubs. Little birds fly around the trees and bushes. They live in their crowns. It’s a big day today. They’ve announced a singing competition for the birds. Everyone has been practising hard and choosing the best songs. They had to sing the song in front of the jury. The three wisest owls were in the jury. They flew in from the forest to hear the songbirds sing.
The first to start singing was Chimcha. A bird with a colourful tail. He stood upright in front of the jury on a twig and started: “I am the best singer, I am a beautiful bird. When you hear me sing, you will sit down in amazement.” All the time the owls listened carefully and wrote everything down.
Next it was Handsome’s turn. A bird so beautiful that he was a joy to behold. The owls pricked up their ears and the Handsome began: “What a beautiful bird I am, I am also a born singer. I look in the mirror every day and everyone looks up to my beauty.” The owls nodded their heads and listened to how beautiful the melody sounded. They thought hard about how they would judge these singers.
The last to speak was Tiny. A little colourful bird. He stood shyly in front of the jury. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and said, “When someone is sad, this one or that one, I’ll brighten their day with a tune. I’m not big or beautiful, but I want to make people happy by singing, that’s for sure. Anyone who likes music can laugh too. So make others smile and sing and remember the good times.” When Tiny finished, he bowed shyly and trotted off among the others.
The owls began to chatter among themselves. They talked and debated for a long time about who was the best. Finally, one owl stood up and said, “The three singers – let them go ahead of us.” The three birds came up in front of the owl and looked at her nervously. The owl looked at them and continued: “Dear singers, we have a winner.” All the others started whispering and murmuring among themselves. Everyone guessed someone else.
Until the owl raised his voice and said, “The winner is Tiny Bird.” Well, that was a surprise. Nobody guessed Tiny. He was such a modest little bird. Both Chimcha and Handsome were beautiful, well-groomed and sang very well.
The owl wanted to explain: ‘When Chimcha and Handsome sang, they both sang beautifully. There is no doubt about it. But it also depends on what they sang about. They both just how beautiful and the best they are. They sang purely about themselves. But Tiny sang about making others happy. That’s why we award first place to Tiny.” Everyone started clapping and nodding in agreement. They were glad that the owls had made such a wise decision, and Tiny was happy. He was grateful that the owls not only saw the beauty of the other singers, but also listened attentively.
