All the animals and creatures in the forest were happy. Except one. The Koga bird was the most beautiful bird that had ever existed-it was pure white; it had magnificent wings and long white feathers on its tail. When it flew overhead, all the creatures looked up at the Koga bird. It was such a pure white that tears would come to their eyes, and they would have to blink not to be overwhelmed by the magnificent bird.
Koga knew he was the most magnificent creature ever made. All the animals were jealous of his blinding, white feathers and the strength of his wings as he flew overhead.
"Nothing is greater than I am; nothing is more beautiful than me!" Koga would say, as he flew over the heads of the other animals in the forest. "I also have the most beautiful voice of all the birds."
It was true; his song was by far the most beautiful of all the birds.
But Koga was not happy. Every morning when the sun came up, all the animals would look toward the sun and bathe in its warmth. If they were paying attention to the sun, they were not paying attention to Koga. He was eaten with jealousy.
"I have to steal the light of the sun!" he said.
With his mighty wings he created thunderclouds that blocked out the light of the sun. The earth had become dark. The thunderclouds didn't go away; they became worse. Koga hadn't realized he needed the bright sunlight to reflect on his beautiful white feathers. In the darkness, he was just another bird. Koga had been wrong; he had to undo the damage he had done.
He flew high above the stormy clouds, and with his mighty wings, he created a wind that blew the clouds away. Unfortunately, a bolt of lightning struck Koga and his magnificent white feathers were burned black, the lightning also destroyed his beautiful voice.
Koga fell to earth, his feathers short and black, and his beautiful voice was gone. He lived, but now he was no longer beautiful. He was just another bird, with short black feathers and a harsh voice that only said, "Caw! Caw! Caw!"
Koga had tried to steal the light without thinking he would destroy the forest; his friends couldn't live without light, and undoing the damage he had caused cost him everything. Koga was now a black crow with short black feathers and a terrible, annoying voice. He wanted everything; he ended up with nothing.
Some people want to "steal the light." They can't stand it when other people are happy or doing well. They are petty and jealous and try to spoil things for other people. They go through life bursting other people's balloons. They are unhappy with their own lives so they don't want other people to be happy with their lives.
I had a friend named Shorty. He was always happy, always smiling, always laughing. He couldn't understand why other people were negative, even cruel. He'd just laugh and shrug his shoulders.
Shorty had a saying for everything that happened. He said you couldn't worry about what would happen to you because if you were born to hang, you'd never drown. He'd often say he didn't have the sense that God gave a goose.
I know Shorty had a hard life-filled with disappointments, bad luck and heartbreak-but he never let it make him bitter and he never stole anyone's light.
Crying Wind is the author of Crying Wind, My Searching Heart, When the Stars Danced, Thunder in Our Hearts, Lightning in Our Veins, and Stars in the Desert.This article is taken from the Council Fire daily devotional. You can order your copy by using the form on p. 18, or contact us at Indian Life Ministries (IndianLife.org).
