The Bravest Person in the Whole World

 There was once a little girl who wanted to be the bravest person in the whole world. But she knew there was a problem. She was too little, and she knew that the bravest person in the whole world must be very big.

    One day, a bird lay limp alongside the road, his wing bent back and his small breaths escaping his beak in a desperate kind of way. Many people passed by the bird without a thought, to get on their way and because it was dangerous to stop alongside the road. Not one person paid him any mind, until the little girl saw him. She knew it was dangerous, but all the same she ran to the bird, bent over him and began to tend to the hurt wing as best she could. She made a small sling, carried the bird home, and fed him tiny bits of worms until he was well again.

    As the bird took flight, he whispered in her ear, 'You are the bravest person in the whole world.'

    The little girl smiled sadly, thanked the bird kindly, but then said, 'I don't think so. You see, I am not big enough.'

    The bird cocked his head, and then replied, 'Ah, but on the other hand, the fact that you have done something so big being so tiny makes you all the braver.'

    The little girl considered, but as she waved the bird off and marveled at his healed wing, she couldn't quite believe him.

    The thing is, at that moment she really was the bravest person in the whole world, even though she didn't know it. But then, the bravest people in the world never do.

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