~*POPPY*~ By: Katy Hallman Illustrated By: Jordan Pentaleri
Poppy was a very lonely bird.
As you can see, Poppy was different from all the other birds at her school.
Every day Poppy sat alone, watching her classmates play and laugh together. Poor Poppy.
Poppy often gets made fun of for her long, gangly legs. All the other birds at school have short legs. The other birds at Poppy’s school call her mean names because of her long beak and her pouch where she keeps her lunch.
After one especially bad day, Poppy returned to her nest crying. “What is it sweetie?” Her mother asked. “Oh Mommy! I am the only Pelimingo in all of school. I tower over everyone and no one likes me. Why am I different?” “Everyone is different, honey. It’s what makes you special!” Poppy’s mother said as she walked out the door. “I don’t want to be different anymore” said Poppy to herself.
She wished and wished to be like the other birds. She wished to have short legs and a small beak. She wished that she could finally fit in.
And her wish came true.
Poppy stumbled awkwardly out of bed and realized her new form. She was so excited to show off her new figure that she decided to run to school‌
‌which was slightly unsuccessful. She wasn’t used to her new legs and her body was too big for them. She tripped and stumbled all the way to school, arriving fifteen minutes late.
When she reached the school, small giggles flickered through the crowd of small birds. Poppy staggered gawkily to her seat, confident that popularity was inevitable.
But as the day continued, tasks became more and more difficult. Her stumpy tail made it difficult for steering. Flying with her short, stubby wings made it impossible to soar and catch her lunch. And once she finally got something, she had no way to eat it due to her tiny beak. Her legs were short and difficult to bend, so she was left to jump around.
And, as if it couldn’t get any worse, all of her classmates were still making fun of her. “Oh what a miserable day!” she cried, hoping her wish could be reversed.
When she returned home she ran straight to her part of the nest. She wished and she wished just as she had the night before. “Oh I wish I could be like I was before! I realize now that I have long legs, a long beak, a pouch, long wings, and a fluffy tail for a reason! I know now that I am special the way I was meant to be! And I just because my body changes doesn’t mean I am different on the inside. I am unique! People will like me for who I am!”
The next morning, she was back to her old self. Finally satisfied, she hurried to school, self-confident.
However, when she arrived, the most popular girl in school, Piper, was caught in trap, high above the ground! “Help me, somebody please help me!� She cried, obviously in pain. Everyone stood around watching, but no one tried to help her. Poppy pushed her way through the crowd, determined to help her.
Poppy had to think quickly. “What can I do?” she pondered. Then she remembered, she had her long legs back. “I’m coming Piper!” Poppy called. She stood on the tips of her toes, spreading her wings for balance, and began to poke at the knots in the net of the trap with her sharp beak. “Piper, don’t panic, but you’re going to need to be ready to start flying so that when the trap breaks you won’t fall.” Finally. The knots came loose and Piper tumbled, landing gently in Poppy’s outstretched wing. “You saved me!” Cried Piper. “It was nothing.” whispered Poppy modestly. “Come sit with us at lunch Poppy, I am sorry I made fun of you for no reason. You are a truly kind and special bird, and I think we are going to be great friends!”
And the rest is history.