Some children are like the brolga in this story. They have a great energy and enthusiasm for life. They are inspirational children, always encouraging others to embrace what life has to offer.
Brolga was a very energetic bird. She was always running around and getting into trouble.
‘Please stop fidgeting,’ said the other birds. ‘You are so clumsy, you are driving us crazy!’ Brolga was upset. She just wanted to help but she always seemed to get in the way. Brolga decided to go for a long walk. She was skipping and hopping and jumping along the path when she came across a fallen star. The star was losing its sparkle and turning grey.
‘What is the matter, Little Star?’ Brolga asked.
‘I have fallen from the sky and I am not sure how to find my way home again. I can’t stay on earth for too long. I need the heavens to renew my sparkle otherwise I will turn to stone,’ said Little Star.
‘That is very bad luck,’ said Brolga. ‘Perhaps you can come and live with me and I will look after you until we can find your way home.’
‘Oh, thank you,’ said Little Star. So off they set, back to Brolga’s nest.
Little Star watched Brolga for some time. Brolga was always moving about and didn’t always seem to know what to do with all her energy.
‘Have you thought about dancing?’ Little Star asked Brolga.
‘Me? Dance?’ Brolga giggled. ‘Dancing is for the graceful birds. I am too clumsy for dancing.’
Little Star felt sorry for Brolga. Brolga was kind and strong, full of life and always trying to help others, but she wasn’t happy.
‘Well, Brolga,’ said Little Star, ‘just try swaying in time with my sparkles.’
Little Star started sparkling very slowly and Brolga stretched out her lovely wings and swayed back and forth.
‘Now, try tapping your feet,’ said Little Star, as she started to sparkle a little faster. Brolga tapped her feet and waved her wings.
‘This is great fun,’ said Brolga, as she added in turns and leaps and swirling motions to her movements.
Little Star started clapping. ‘Bravo, bravo, Brolga, you are a wonderful dancer.’
Brolga took a deep bow and laughed to herself. Maybe I can dance after all, she thought.
‘Thank you so much for teaching me, Little Star,’ said Brolga. ‘Tomorrow we will start looking for your way home.’
Every morning Brolga and Little Star went searching for a way into the sky, and every night they danced and danced. But as time passed, Little Star became homesick and her sparkles faded more and more. Soon she would be too weak to sparkle at all. Brolga was worried for her friend.
‘Do you think we will ever find my way home?’ asked Little Star.
‘I am sure we will,’ answered Brolga. ‘We just need to stay strong.’
Now the other birds had been watching Brolga and Little Star come and go each day and had grown curious. In the evening, they could hear Brolga and Little Star laughing and jumping about.
Brolga and Little Star always seemed to be having so much fun, the other birds were jealous.
‘What are you and Little Star up to?’ asked the other birds.
‘Why don’t you come and see for yourself,’ said Brolga. ‘Meet us down on the mud flats tomorrow night and we will show you.’
As the sun set, all the birds gathered together to wait for Brolga and Little Star.
‘What is taking so long? Where are they?’ the birds muttered amongst themselves.
Suddenly they all went quiet as they could see a light sparkling in the distance. Even though Little Star was getting weaker and weaker, she used all of her strength to help Brolga dance. Brolga appeared and began walking slowly and gracefully across the mud flats, then as Little Star’s light flickered faster and faster, Brolga danced and danced and danced! The moon and stars looked down to see what all the commotion was about. Suddenly all of the stars in the universe started sparkling in time with Brolga’s dance, and the whole sky was set alight in a joyful celebration. All the birds were amazed, they had never seen anything like it before. While the whole universe was dancing together, a remarkable thing happened. Brolga’s wings had swept up the dust from the mud flats and it began to swirl around, reaching up towards the night sky. At the same time, the shimmer from the stars descended down towards the earth. Together the earth dust and the stardust formed a stairway to the heavens.
‘Quickly,’ said Brolga, ‘here is your way home, Little Star. Climb up the stairway and dance along the shimmering light until you reach your place in the night sky.’
‘Thank you,’ said Little Star, but she was too weak to move. She had almost lost her final sparkle.
Brolga scooped Little Star up on her shoulders and ran towards the swirling stardust. She pulled out her largest flying feather and gave it to Little Star. Little Star, with her final spark, leapt up onto the stairway and Brolga’s feather carried her into the heavens.
‘Goodbye, Brolga!’ she shouted as she found her way home.
The other birds stood with their beaks gaping in awe.
‘Can you teach us how to do that?’ asked the birds.
‘Of course,’ said Brolga.
The very next night, all the birds gathered together with their finest feathers and all the stars greeted Brolga with their sparkles. Little Star was the brightest of them all.
‘Everybody ready?’ asked Brolga. ‘Let’s dance up a storm so all the fallen stars can find their way home.’