The Bird and the Willow Tree

When the Earth was split between the Land, the Ocean, and the Sky, each one created their own grace-the Land the mountains and the Ocean sharks, but the Sky had no grace of its own. Pressed, the Sky created a challenge; any animal that could climb up to the Sky would be given the gift of flight, becoming the Sky's grace. Groundhogs on land began creating towering pillars of stone and dirt, and eels in the ocean twisted together in weaves of life to reach the skies. And then, there were the birds. Though birds were unable to fly, climb, or build, one illustrious Bird tried to reach to the sky. However, when the Bird tried to reach the sky, they repeatedly failed. Disheartened, the Bird went to a forest to lament their fate. Once in the forest, the Bird met a Willow Tree. The wise Willow Tree asked the Bird why they were sad, and, in shame, the Bird told the Tree. The wise Willow listened to the Bird's plight and took pity, giving them the advice they needed to win the contest, only asking that the Bird remember them once they had won. The Bird, empowered with their knowledge, journeyed to the towers of dirt and stone the groundhogs had made. First, the Bird sewed a small pouch and filled it with dirt, strapping the pouch to her body. Using her small size, the Bird crept to the side of the tower and dug a hole in the side, allowing her to crawl inside the tower. From there, the Bird dug up to the top of the tower from the inside, being able to climb up the entirety of the tower without alerting the groundhogs. When the groundhogs eventually climbed back down to the Land to get more dirt, The Bird surfaced on the top of the tower. Using the dirt in the pouch, the Bird built up the tower enough to reach the Sky. The Sky, impressed by the cunning of the Bird, granted all birds the gift of flight, and birds became the grace of the Sky. The Bird, however, not forgetting her promise, flew back down to earth to make a nest in the Willow Tree. That is why, today, though birds have the power of flight and soar through the sky, all birds live in nests in trees.