Dan The White Dove

• Eden Cheuk, Grade 4
• Short Story
• 2021

I must win, I must win for my tribe!”. There, stood a white dove named Dan. He looked like a weak and scrawny bird but he was ready for a competitive flying competition. In a jungle, there were various birds cheering for the contestants. Dan knew he needed to win the prize for his tribe. He was a bird who had to fight for survival. He and his tribe lived in poverty and was being bullied by other stronger tribes in the kingdom.
One day, the bird king decided to host a flying competition and the prize was food supply for the contestant and their tribe for a whole year. Everyone was excited including Dan. Each tribe started discussing who should be nominated to represent their tribe, but Dan’s tribe knew that they couldn’t compete against the other strong tribes. They weren’t eager to participate except Dan. He knew that he must win the competition to provide his tribe with enough food.
Every day, he trained days and nights. He swerved around the trees, flew in different directions many times to practice his skills. Each time he trained, he’d gain more confidence and skill. But one day, when Dan was doing his daily training, a sneaky hunter entered the jungle. He strolled silently with a gun, eager to shoot a bird. When the hunter saw Dan, he immediately shot him. Dan squawked with pain and tried to fly but he couldn’t. He knew if he tried to fly, he would unbalance and fall straight down. Instead he waddled away slowly.
The competition was coming real soon and Dan got injured badly. He was a bit disappointed but he never gave up. Every day, he would still train morning until dawn and he slowly developed a technique that made him balance when flying. He would always try his best when practicing, even though he could only use one wing. After a few days, the competition began.
The contestants from each tribe started to line up. The signal went off and the birds started flying. Dan swerved around many trees and spun when he tilted. He crossed the finish line, thinking he was first but wasn’t. Unfortunately, the eagle tribe had won the competition by a millisecond! Dan was disappointed and started to sob. But when the eagle contestant saw how Dan flew, he was really inspired by his movements and control. He grabbed Dan by the wing. “You might have lost the competition, but do you want to train with me?”. Dan turned around and said “Yes!”. So the eagle contestant and Dan would train every day, teaching each other new moves. And the eagle promised that his tribe would provide as much leftover food as possible and share it to Dan’s tribe.