Children's Story- Little Crow

One day a Little Crow found something interesting. Nestled in the canopy of a tree, sitting in the middle of a branch, was a curious object. It was flat and hard when he pecked at it from one side and then the other. It looked like the glass from human lanterns, all gray and dim, but this wasn’t a lantern. It was a flat thing floating somehow. Like a mirror but not shiny. He was just a little crow but even he knew this was something special. He poked and pecked it for some time but nothing happened so he decided to leave.
  The next day he returned to his treasure. While he slept he dreamed of the dark object and the other crows breaking it apart to take it for their own! Today he was determined to at least get a little piece to be all his. He skipped all of his hunting for the day and just pecked, and pecked, and pecked until his beak was sore.
  Next he brought a great stick, the biggest he could carry, and tried to hit the object. When that didn’t work he tried dropping stones, and when that didn’t work he scratched the treasure over and over with his sharp claws. Frustrated, he settled on the branch and just watched the murky surface of the not-mirror.
  “Why do you test the veil?” A soft voice came from everywhere and nowhere. Crow fluttered his wings startled but came closer. He tilted his head one way and then the other looking into the gray surface. A woman was inside the treasure! Excited Crow pecked at the veil again, as hard as he ever did. Maybe the woman would help him.
  “Little Crow, why do you test the veil? What is it you want?” Crow looked at the woman curiously. Crows can’t speak so he decided to show her. He pulled back as far as he could and with one mighty strike the object cracked! “Oh no…” the voice from inside spoke. Crow was excited, happily flapping his wings. Finally he would get a piece of veil! He just needed the woman’s help. If only he could tell her…
  These were Little Crow’s thoughts when all of a sudden some of the ash from the other side of the veil overcame him. He coughed and shook his head. “What was that!” He cried.
  “Ash. Why did you test the veil, beast? What have you done?” The figure inside laid a hand over the crack as if to close it.
  “I can talk! The veil makes you talk!” Before the woman could say any more Little Crow flew off to show his friends his new treasure. Speech!
  Crows are very smart creatures and the Little Crow couldn’t wait to teach them this new trick. Happily he met with all of his friends and family showing them how to talk. He told them the story of the treasure, his feat of strength, and the woman in the veil. He encouraged them to talk and they could! But it was only one word and rarely.
  Little Crow tried his best. For a whole year he would talk to his friends and try to teach them new words. At first they were excited but over time they became weary of Little Crow. He talked too much. They started ignoring his lessons, content to learn other things. And then they started ignoring him. The veil made him too different. The other crows didn’t like it and another year later Little Crow was all by himself.
  Lonely and sad he went back to the treasure. It had grown. The tree was gone and all that stood there now was a large, looming black panel. The woman stood in it drawing symbols.
  “It’s you. The little beast that did this.” Little Crow looked at the woman, her face was stern and angry. He must have done something really wrong.
  “I’m sorry. I just wanted a piece of the treasure,” he cried. “But I don’t want it anymore. My friends can’t talk like I do and they think I’m strange! Please, can you take it back? Maybe that will fix the treasure and my friends will accept me again.”
  “No.” The woman went back to making the strange symbols. No matter what Little Crow said she ignored him and his pleas. But he was so alone and didn’t know what to do so he returned every day to ask. Over and over he pleaded. He cried! And every day the treasure got a little bigger.
  Finally one day he arrived and he just sat and watched. The woman looked at him curiously waiting for the question. But Little Crow did not speak. He just sat settled on the ground with his head hung low. “What are you doing? Why don't you leave?” Crow didn’t respond. His wings just drooped as he slumped and laid on the ground. “Beast. Speak.” He scarcely shook his head no. He didn’t want to be a talking crow anymore.
  For days he didn’t move, he didn’t speak, he didn’t eat or drink. He had given up. On the third day the woman sighed loudly. “Fine. I cannot undo what you have done. But perhaps you can make new friends. As long as it gets you away from here.” Crow looked up as the gray ash overtook him again.
  He coughed and sputtered and shook his head. His body ached and his vision spun but when the magic was done he was different. He looked human? But still a bird? He stood tall like her, with arms instead of wings, and feet instead of talons. “Find the others with language and maybe they will take you. But be weary, you are the first of your kind beast without kin. Now, be gone! I must fix what you have broken.”
  Little Crow looked over his new form. He stretched his arms and legs. He felt so much better! He thanked the woman in the veil and quickly left to find others that could speak like him. He hoped that she could fix the veil.