The Owl Who Couldn't Stay Awake

Ullu was an owl with a problem that seemed very serious to the other owls. He fell asleep every night and woke up every morning, just like the daytime birds. While his cousins glided through moonlight, he yawned on his branch. When they returned at dawn, ready to rest, he was stretching his wings and admiring the sunshine. He tried changing his routine, but sleep always found him after dark.

"An owl who sleeps at night? Silly!" the others laughed. Ullu felt ashamed. He drank cool water, counted stars, and even asked a cricket to sing beside his branch. Nothing worked. The cricket's song made him sleepier. "Perhaps I am not a proper owl," he told himself. In the morning, he flew alone to a tree near the sparrows, hoping they would not notice his sad face.

The sparrows were busy building nests. Ullu watched sunlight shine through the leaves and noticed things he never saw at night: butterflies opening their wings, bees visiting flowers, and children carrying baskets along the distant path. A sparrow named Mili greeted him. "You have such good eyes," she said. "Could you tell me whether that twig is loose?" Ullu helped her choose a safer branch, and for a while he forgot his worries.

One sunny morning, the forest became unusually quiet. Mili and the other sparrows had settled near their nests after feeding their chicks. Every owl was fast asleep in the thicker trees. Ullu was wide awake, looking down at the roots, when he saw a snake moving slowly toward the sparrows' tree. It blended with the bark so well that no one else had noticed it.

Ullu's heart beat fast. He could not leave to fetch the other owls; the snake was already climbing. He spread his wings and called, "Hoo! Hoo! Wake up!" The sparrows stirred but did not understand. Ullu flew closer, flapping hard above the branch. "A snake is coming!" he warned. Mili immediately called to the others. The adult birds gathered their fluttering young and moved to a safer tree.

The snake paused beneath the sudden movement and noise. Finding the nests empty, it slipped back down and slithered away. Ullu stayed nearby until the sparrows were certain the danger had passed. Then he returned to his branch, breathing quickly. Mili landed beside him. "Thank you," she said. "If you had been asleep, we might not have seen it in time. You can be our morning guard!"

That evening, the sparrows told the other owls what had happened. Ullu lowered his head, expecting another joke about his strange habits. Instead, his oldest cousin looked thoughtful. "We watch the forest at night," she said, "but we never wondered who was watching while we slept." The owls apologised for laughing. They invited Ullu to help them plan a new way of keeping the trees safe.

From then on, the owls watched through the darkness, and Ullu watched through the day. He rested without shame when evening came, knowing someone else was awake. At sunrise, he greeted the returning night guards before beginning his own rounds. Together, they made sure the forest was never left unguarded. Ullu had not become exactly like his cousins. He had found something better: a place where the way he was could help everyone around him.

Moral: Being different can be a special strength.