Blue Wings

Trapped in a hollow baobab tree after a flood, a giraffe makes a deal to lend the wings of an exhausted blue bird who has alighted on the tree to recover its strength. The giraffe promises to return after one day of flight. But at sunset, greatly tempted by the grand experiences of free movement into breaking her promise, she must decide what’s more important: keeping her vow, or keeping her liberty.

And then, when the flood recedes and leaves behind a desert, and a gazelle seeks refuge at the baobab, the captive bird tries to make a deal of his own, but help does not come to him the way he expects—leading to unintended consequences for them all. And so, each learns that freedom cannot be achieved by betrayal , or by good intentions or prayer; and that only honesty and self-knowledge can deliver one from both physical and mental prisons.

Poetic, evocative, and vibrantly illustrated in a striking expressionistic way that will entrance children and adults alike, this gentle fable is a perfect example of story and moral that leads to a satisfying conclusion: those who would be free must first feel free.