Know your Ability

Rebecca, the squirrel lived in the trunk of a banyan tree. She was hard working. every morning she would go into the forest in search of food and return back to the tree in the evening.

While she lived a good life, Rebecca was sad. Being small made her feel helpless. She felt that unlike other animals, she did not have any unique quality.

Filled with sadness, Rebecca one day decided to end her life by jumping into the river.

With a heavy heart, she began to walk towards the river. Along the way, she saw many rabbits running here and there, in search of a hiding place.

"Why are you running?" Rebecca asked the rabbits.

"We need a safe place to hind." replied one of them. "A wolf is behind us and if he catches us we will die."

"We do not have sharp teeth or claws to fight back. Unlike you, we cannot climb trees to save ourselves!" saying so the rabbit disappeared into the bushes.

The fact that she was not a helpless as a rabbit, surprised Rebecca squirrel. She could at the least, climb trees to protect herself when in danger.

But soon, Rebecca had filled with sadness again and continued to walk towards the river.

On reaching the riverbank, she saw a group of frogs huddled on a rock, frightened.

Rebecca went up to them and asked, "Why are you sitting here, when you can be out, enjoying the water?"

"A crocodile is moving in the shallow water of the river. We are waiting for him to move to the deep end. He has eaten many fishes and some of our friends who were sunbathing on the riverbank," said an old frog.

"But why did the fish and your friends not run away to save themselves?" asked Rebecca.

"Fishes cannot run, nor can they live on land? they are helpless because they can only swim in water. they did their best to swim away today, but the crocodile was faster," explained the frog.

"Frogs can live on land and in water. On land we cannot run, only jump. In water, we can swim, but not as fast as the crocodile. A few of us managed to find a safe place on this rock and are waiting," said the old frog sadly.

Rebecca took a step back. She thought of the conversations with the rabbit and the frogs.

"A rabbit cannot climb a tree. A fish cannot live on land and a frog cannot run. All these creatures have their own limitations when in danger," she thought to herself. "While, I can climb a tree, run fast, or hide in the smallest hole, tree trunk or land burrow, because of my small size."

Suddenly Rebecca realized she had many special qualities. She understood that every animal was unique. Rather than wanting what others have, she should feel grateful for what she did.

Rebecca now laughed at her idea of ending her life and came back home a happier, confident and grateful squirrel.