Once upon a time, in a big forest, there was an eagle who lived high up in the mountains. One day, she laid some eggs and carefully kept them warm, waiting for them to hatch. Soon, three of the eggs hatched, and three strong eaglets came out. The mother eagle was very happy, but one big egg was left. Finally, the giant egg cracked open, but a small, slow-moving tortoise came out instead of a baby eagle!
The mother eagle was surprised and thought, “Oh no! This can’t be my baby. How slow and different it is from the others.” The eaglets thought the tortoise was strange and didn’t want to play with him.
The tortoise felt sad and lonely, so he left the nest. He wandered through the forest, looking for a place where he might belong. One day, he found a small cottage where an older woman lived. Inside, he saw a cat and a hen sitting near the woman. The old woman noticed the tortoise and felt sorry for him, so she let him stay for a while.
But after some time, the old woman said, “You’re too slow and different from the others. You can’t stay here.” The tortoise felt even sadder and left the cottage, wandering alone in the forest again.
Days passed, and the tortoise kept walking, feeling lonely and unsure of where he belonged. One day, he reached a big lake and saw an eagle flying high in the sky. It reminded him of the family he left behind. The eagle flew down and landed beside the tortoise. To his surprise, it was one of his eaglet siblings, now grown into a strong eagle.
The eagle asked, “What are you doing here all alone?” The tortoise, feeling embarrassed, said, “I don’t belong anywhere. I’m slow and different. I can never be like you.”
The eagle smiled and said, “You don’t have to be like me. You have your special strengths. You carry your home with you wherever you go, and your strong shell protects you from danger. We’re all different, and that’s what makes us special.”
The tortoise realized that even though he was different, he had his special qualities. He didn’t need to fly like the eagle; he had his own way of living. From that day on, the tortoise and the eagle became good friends, understanding and appreciating each other’s differences.
The tortoise learned that being different is okay because everyone has their strengths and unique things to do.