One day there was a Kiwi who was tired of eating worms. He saw Woodpecker drilling a hole in a tree with his beak, and went over to him. Wood chips were flying from where he was pounding into an already good sized hole. “Woodpecker, Woodpecker! Teach me how to eat out of a tree like you!” “Okay, follow me.” So Kiwi and Woodpecker found a small tree for Kiwi to practice on. “All you have to do is hit your beak on the tree until you’re deep enough to find the grubs.” Woodpecker hit the tree a few times to demonstrate. “Alright, you try.” Kiwi squared up in front of the tree, reared back, and smashed his beak into the tree. He flew back from the force of the blow. Kiwi sat dazed for a second, and then he got up and walked to the tree, trying to find if he had made a dent at all. He hadn’t. “Sorry Kiwi. I forgot you need a strong beak to get through the tree. Guess you beak is too soft.” Woodpecker shrugged and flew back to the tree he had been working on earlier, leaving Kiwi near the unmarked tree. Kiwi rubbed his bruised beak with his foot, sad that his effort had gotten him nowhere. He stopped rubbing his beak when Roadrunner sped by, long skinny legs churning up the dust in his wake. He looked at his own feet and was struck by sudden inspiration. Maybe he couldn’t peck through a tree like Woodpecker, but maybe he could run fast like Roadrunner. He got up, full of enthusiasm, and went searching for Roadrunner. He found him, drinking out of a small puddle. “Roadrunner, Roadrunner! Teach me how to run fast like you.” Roadrunner nodded. “Sure, come with me.” So they found a long, flat expanse of road for Kiwi to practice on. “All you have to do is put one foot in front of the other, really, really fast.” Roadrunner ran a short distance to show Kiwi how it’s done. “Okay, you’re turn.” Kiwi sped off, but soon tripped over his long claws. He got up, determined, and began again, only to fall as before. Kiwi layed on his belly, feeling worse than before. He looked up when Roadrunner approached. “Sorry Kiwi. I forgot you have to have long legs to run. Guess your nails are too long.” Roadrunner sped off. Kiwi sat up, trying hard not to cry. He couldn’t run, he couldn’t find grubs on a tree, what could he do? All of a sudden, his stomach growled, and he realized that he had skipped breakfast because he had been so busy. He got up and started burrowing in the ground for food. Once he had a large hole, he waited for a worm to pop out. Sure enough, one did, and he snatched it up in his beak, gulping it down. “Kiwi, Kiwi! Teach me how to eat worms like you.” Kiwi looked down at Hummingbird. “Uh… ok. First you have to dig a hole, and then you wait for the worms to come up. When they do, snatch them up quick, before they get away.” “Okay.” Hummingbird began scratching at the ground, but her small feet weren’t working. She decided to move on to Kiwi’s hole. When a worm finally showed up, she tried to grab it, but her beak was to thin and slender to fit the worm in it. “What am I doing wrong? Why isn’t it working?” She looked down, dejected.  “It’s ok Hummingbird. Maybe you’re not meant to eat worms.” “Yeah, I guess so. Okay, thanks anyway Kiwi.” Hummingbird buzzed off, looking for a nice flower. Kiwi returned to his hole, finally content with who he was.

Never try to be anyone else, just be yourself!