Week 7 Storytelling: Wilson and The Magical Little Bird

Wilson and The Magical Little Bird 

Long ago in the far away land, there lived a man named Wilson that lived in a tree house.  Covered with trees and deep in the middle of the forest, is where this man hunted for his food, gathered berries, and spent most of his time.  Although he was lonely much of the time, he liked the peace and quiet from the wilderness and often made friends with the forest animals. 

It was a quiet Thursday morning and Wilson was awaken by a beautiful song.  Wilson had lived in these same woods in the same tree house for many years and never heard such a wonderful sound in his life.  He set out to find who was singing this song. 

Only a few meters outside of Wilson’s house is where he found a bird perched on a glowing golden mushroom.  Frightened at first, Wilson gazed around the tree to hear the bird’s song and figure out how the mushroom was glowing. 

Days go by and the bird returned to the mushroom and sang the song every morning.  Wilson would wake up to the sweetest songs and watch the bird as it sang and lit up the mushroom. 

One day, Wilson wanted to meet the bird.  Typically, Wilson was never a shy man and he could make friends with the animals very easily, but this was not the case with the bird.  Wilson was nervous but finally gained the courage to talk to the bird.

The bird was friendly but did not want Wilson hearing his songs.  The little bird explained to him that the songs hold great powers.  Not only were the songs beautiful to the ear but they can also make a human never age.  Although the songs had different tunes, the lyrics all stayed the same.  “It is only himself that can control his own actions, everything is in his control,” the bird sang.  As the bird sang, the mushroom began to glow brighter and brighter.

Wilson asked the bird to stay and sing to him everyday.  Flattered by the compliment the bird agreed, but under only one condition.  Since the bird’s songs were so beautiful and the songs could make anyone stay young forever, if anyone found out about him, he knew they would lock him up where he could no longer fly free in the skies.  The bird made Wilson promise that he would never tell a soul.    

Months go by and Wilson and the bird became best friends.  The bird sang to him every morning and they lived happily and young.  As the seasons began to change, Wilson had to travel to the nearest town to gather supplies that he could not find from the forest.  As Wilson traveled, the bird stayed in the tree house and guarded the area. 

Wilson was not the most well-liked person in the town, so upon entering, Wilson knew he had to do something that would make him feel accepted.  In order to buy supplies from the general store, he had to make friends with the storeowner.  With nothing to offer, Wilson did not know what he was going to say or do to make the storeowner like him.  A light bulb turned on inside of his head and he knew he had to tell the secret about the bird, the beautiful song, and staying young forever.  Astonished, the storeowner quickly accepted Wilson into the shop, but the secret spread like wildfire.  It was all over the town and Wilson became the spotlight.  Wilson loved the attention, but deep down, he also felt very guilty about breaking the promise with the little bird.

News spread to the King of the Village and he wanted the bird at once. A private dinner was set for Wilson and the King and the King wanted proof about the bird.  Some people were skeptical about the bird but Wilson knew if he could just show the people in the village, then he would be accepted forever.  Wilson agreed to bring the bird into town and show the King and all of his people.

As soon as Wilson returned home, he and the bird set out to go back into town.  The bird sang to him the whole way. “It is only himself that can control his own actions, everything is in his control.” Wilson and the bird walked through the gate of the King’s castle and everyone gathered around.  The little bird did nothing.  The little bird did not even make a little mushroom grow.  The little bird did not sing or say a word.  The townspeople were upset and felt like they had just been played.  They gave Wilson the benefit of the doubt and gave him until sundown for the bird to sing and work his magic to keep them all young. 

At dusk, there was still no peep form the little bird.  Wilson did all he could to get his little bird to sing but nothing worked.  Furious, the King threw Wilson into the pit of dragons where he was eaten.  That next morning, the little bird found a mushroom, perched up, and started singing while the mushroom grew brighter and brighter.  “it is only himself that can control his own action, everything is in his control,” sang the little bird.  Everyone looked in awe and realized Wilson was telling the truth.  Although the little bird felt bad for the death of Wilson, he also knew that he broke the only promise that they had made from the very beginning of their friendship.  He knew the control was in Wilson’s hands and his actions would reflect the outcome of his life.  The bird explained what happened to the townspeople and then flew off into the middle of the forest where no one could find him, and the little bird was never seen again.

[Source]

Author’s Note:

As I read this story, I automatically fell in love with the original.  I loved the characters in it and I loved the message and moral behind the story.  Being truthful and sticking to your word is something that is very important especially in friendships. I believe that can make or break a friendship, too.  I kept the setting the same as the original story but changed the characters a little bit.  In the original story, there was a turtle playing a harp instead of a bird singing.  Also, I added in the part about the song and the bird being magical and keeping everyone young.  In the original story, the man was beheaded but I changed that to being thrown into the dragon cage because I felt like that was a better fit for the story since it included Kings and castles.  I wanted to keep the underlying message of the song the same, but I did reword the song to a jargon that we use today in modern times. The Hunter and the Tortoise 

Bibliography:

"West African Folktales" by William H Barker. "The Hunter and the Tortoise"