Chapter 1
A Dream Bigger Than His Wings
The sun rose golden over the wide African plains, warming the tall grass and stretching long shadows across the sand. Ollie the young ostrich stood tall on his long, wobbly legs and looked up at the sky.
Above him, birds soared.
They dipped and glided, spinning through the air like dancers in the wind. Their wings stretched wide, catching invisible currents that carried them higher and higher.
Ollie sighed.
“Oh, how I wish I could do that,” he whispered.
He flapped his small wings as hard as he could. Feathers fluttered. Dust puffed. But his feet never left the ground.
From nearby, the elder ostriches watched him.
“Ollie,” one of them called gently, “our kind does not fly. We run. And we run faster than almost any creature on these plains.”
“But I don’t want to run,” Ollie said. “I want to soar.”
The other young ostriches were practicing their speed, racing in circles and kicking up sand. They laughed and cheered as they dashed past him.
Ollie looked back at the sky.
He didn’t want to be the fastest runner.
He wanted to be like the birds above.
That night, as the stars shimmered overhead, Ollie made a decision.
If birds could fly, then he would learn too.
No matter what.
