Wings, Legs and Tails 1986

Set against a scorching desert where life is nearly barren, the story centers on a small, stubborn cast of creatures who stubbornly keep moving through the relentless heat: an Ostrich and a calculating scavenger, guided by a steady, observant voice from the sky and sand—the Narrator. The oasis of this tale is not water but a test of wit, nerve, and the surprising strengths that come from adaptability in a world that rewards speed, cunning, and resilience.

When the day’s blaze pushes every creature to the edge, the ostrich encounters a vulture who sees opportunity where others see danger. The vulture temptingly invites the ostrich to follow, promising abundance with a sly grin: “Hey, little bird, come with me—there’s plenty of tasty things over there!” The ostrich agrees, and the two set off on a chase where the vulture soars and the ostrich hurries on foot, a clash of flight versus ground speed that sooner reveals a surprising truth about who is built to survive in this harsh place. In a moment charged with humor and frustration, the vulture snaps, “I said ‘fly,’ not ‘run’!” To which the ostrich reveals a poignant reality—he has never learned to fly. The vulture, seeing a chance to shape the future, declares that training will happen, no matter what, with a mix of menace and needling reassurance: > If you can’t, we’ll teach you; if you don’t want to, we’ll make you! <

As training begins, the dynamic shifts in subtle, almost comical, ways. The vulture, trying to assert dominance, plucks feathers from the ostrich’s tail to wear on his own head, a display of vanity clashing with the ostrich’s instinct to stay focused on the ground and speed that comes from powerful legs rather than wings. The training quickly exposes an emerging truth: the ostrich can outrun the vulture. The ostrich takes charge with a practical, almost musical insistence on a simple truth—Wings aren’t the key here; legs are. The ostrich’s confident stance and rapid bursts begin to turn the balance of power, and soon the exhausted vulture finds himself on the losing end, his head buried in the sand as the ostrich strides away with a quiet, steady pride.

In the midst of this airborne-ground contest, the desert’s other resident makes a quiet return. A lizard, who previously lost her tail in a mishap caused by the ostrich, reappears sporting a brand-new tail. With a calm authority born of hardship and renewal, she offers a different perspective on what truly matters in this sun-scorched world. Rather than bow to the ostrich’s or the vulture’s antics, she declares that the tail, surprisingly, is the most essential feature—a bold statement that reframes what counts when survival hangs in the balance. With a jaunty tune, she plucks the last feather from the vulture’s head and disappears into the sunset, leaving behind a thoughtful hush and a lingering sense that every creature’s strengths are interconnected in the desert’s long, winding debate.

The closing moments pull the tale together with a gentle, almost fable-like cadence. Each creature has shown courage in his or her own way: the ostrich’s steady, ground-driven speed; the vulture’s hunger and cunning tempered by exposure to a quicker, more grounded alternative; and the lizard’s reinvention and insistence on reinterpreting what matters most. The desert, ever a silent observer, offers no grand victory parade, but rather a nuanced sense of balance achieved through adaptation, resilience, and a willingness to learn from others. As the sun bleaches the horizon, the characters carry on in their own paths, the memory of the day’s lessons tucked like a tail behind the ostrich’s stride and a tune carried on the breeze.

Hey, little bird, come with me—there’s plenty of tasty things over there!

I said ‘fly,’ not ‘run’!

If you can’t, we’ll teach you; if you don’t want to, we’ll make you!

Wings, wings… Legs!