Three birds, two white doves and one grey dove, were good friends. They would fly together, eat together, sleep together. While each dove loved his friends dearly, the grey dove was the kindest of them all.
If he ever found a snail or a grain of rice, he would wait for his friends to share it. While sleeping in their tiny nest, if his friends squeezed up tight, the grey dove would rather spent the night on the branch than disturb their sleep.
The grey dove was happy other than one wish that he told nobody about. He wished he was white like his friends. In his heart, he felt he was not equal to his friends. He was not equal because he was not white and beautiful like them!
One day, the grey dove heard of a river in a far-off land that could change the colour of anyone who bathed in it. He told his friends, ‘I want to bathe in the river. I want to change my colour to white. The river is very far. Will you come with me?’The white doves loved him. So they agreed to go with him to the river.
The three friends flew to the far-off land. It took them a month and a half to reach it. When they reached, they had to fly here and there looking for the river. Finally, they found it. And they were delighted to see that it was a river of chocolate.
The white doves dived into the river drinking the sweet, thick chocolate. The grey dove sat on a tree and watched them. Then he said, ‘Come out, now. I want to bathe in the river. I want to change my colour.’
His friends shouted, ‘Why don’t you come and join us? We will all swim. It is fun!’
So the grey dove flew down to the chocolate river. He fluttered his feathers and bathed in it. He took deep dives and came up spluttering with the chocolate.
Finally the three friends had played, swam and bathed enough. They came out of the river and stared at each other. All three were dark chocolate in colour.
The grey dove had not become white! He started crying, ‘I will never be white.’
His friends consoled him, saying, ‘Don’t cry, Friend. How does it matter if you did not become white?’
But the grey dove sobbed, ‘It matters. It matters a lot. I wanted to be white so that I am as beautiful as you. I wanted to be equal to you.’
His friends stared at him. They had never guessed the real reason the grey dove wanted to change his colour. The sun melted the chocolate on their feathers. Soon they were back to their own colours.
They hugged the grey dove and said, ‘But you are already beautiful. Your kind heart makes you beautiful. You don’t need white feathers to be beautiful.’
The grey dove dried his tears and looked at his white friends.
They said, ‘What makes you feel you are not equal to us? It is kindness in our hearts that makes us equal and not how we look. You are the kindest person we know. The love we feel and show each other makes us equal to each other.’
Then the three friends linked their wings together and flew back home.
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