Gunugu, the vulture, was once a beautiful bird living on the Savannah before he lost his feathers. Once upon a time, Gunugu had beautiful black feathers covering his head, neck and body. Gunugu loved nothing more than to spread his wings and feel the wind brushing his feathers as he soared.

One day, Gunugu noticed that his feathers were falling out. This worried him greatly so he immediately went to see the wise owl for advice. “Please help me. My feathers are falling out! How can I make it stop?,” he asked, clearly panicked. “Don’t worry about it, Gunugu”, the owl said reassuringly. “Sometimes, feathers fall out but they always grow back. So will yours”. Gunugu thanked the owl for his kind words, but deep down, he didn’t believe him. “I’ve never seen any one with falling feathers“, he thought to himself as he continued to worry. But the more he worried, the more his feathers fell out until he had no feathers left on his body.

The other birds felt sorry for Gunugu and decided to give him some of their own feathers. He got feathers from the flamingo, the crane, the stork, the ibis, the hornbill, the eagle, the parrot and many other birds. Gunugu thanked the birds for their kindness and gently attached the feathers to his body using tree sap as glue.

When he was done, Gunugu looked amazing. He was now the most beautiful bird on the Savannah. His bright colourful feathers even made the peacock jealous. Gunugu loved his new look a lot. He loved how the glossy, colourful feathers would shine in the sun when he flew. So, he flew all day and showed his feathers off to the other birds.

After a few weeks, Gunugu became proud and started being rude to the other birds. He laughed at birds like the Hornbill and the Stork and would say things like, “Ugly birds are not allowed near me”. Gunugu became so proud that one day, he demanded to be made king of the birds. “No one else is as beautiful as me”, he announced, “So I should be the king of the birds”.

That was it, the birds had had enough of Gunugu’s pride, so they decided to teach him a lesson. That afternoon they all flew to Gunugu’s tree and one by one, they snatched their feathers off Gunugu’s body “Give me back my feathers you ungrateful bird” they cried. Luckily, Gunugu’s own feathers had started to grow back but all the snatching left bald patches on his head and neck. Gunugu’s beautiful feathers had all gone and all he now had left were dull black feathers on his body. His head and neck were completely bald and have remained that way ever since.

To this day, vultures hang their heads because they are ashamed of the way they look and because of what Gunugu did so long ago.

The End.

The Morale of the Story:
This story teaches us that it is important to be grateful. Don’t be proud or rude to those who helped you.