Rainbow Feathers

At the edge of a shallow, salty marsh, pink flamingos balanced on one leg like ballerinas. In the middle of the flock, new chicks splashed and tumbled. Their pink fuzz glistened in the sun. All except one. Fia had pale, gray feathers.

"Maybe tomorrow I'll turn pink like everyone else," Fia said.

Days pass and the other chicks grow pinker and fluffier. Fia stayed the same. One of the other chicks, Lulu, teased...

"You look more like a pigeon in a parking lot than a flamingo at ballet," Lulu said.

Fia smiles on the outside, but feels small on the inside. The chicks continued practicing their one-leg-balance passe in their ballet class. Fia wobbled, waved her wings, and plop, landed face first in the water.

"Even the little fishies are staring," Lulu said.

"I wish I could just blend in," Fia said.

Aunt Cerise calmly approaches the flamingo chicks and reassures Fia. You'll find your balance, Fia. Everyone wobbles at first. The chicks gather round. Lulu then offers...

"Come on, try again. I'll wobble with you," Lulu said.

They sway, they giggle, they pull silly faces. Fia falls again, but now with some encouragement from her friend, she's laughing and having a good time.

"Mayday, mayday! Flamingo down!" Lulu said.

After practice, Fia often stayed behind and wandered to the quieter side of the marsh. The calm water was perfect for seeing her reflection as she practiced. Every day there were little wobbles and little wins. One day, during one of Fia's solo practice sessions, a wise pelican lands next to her.

"You're far from the flock," Pelican said.

"No one can see me wobble here. Also, I'm still not pink. My gray feathers don't feel so odd when I'm alone and away from the flock," Fia said.

"Different can be brilliant. You may have a gift that only shines with practice. So, keep going, even when no one's watching," Pelican said.

The pelican whooshes off quicker than a kite catching a gust. Seasons changed. Fia stretched taller. Her wings growing strong. She practiced every day, balancing, spinning, leaping. One morning, she noticed something new. Tiny sparkles of purple on her legs.

"My legs, they're glittery," Fia said.

The more she practiced, the more the sparkles spread. Then her wings began to change. Yellow tips, then orange, then bright red and green, until blues and purples danced across every feather.

"You're a rainbow, and your legs sparkle. It's like magic," Lulu said.

"Maybe a sprinkle of magic and some practice. Actually, buckets of practice," Fia said.

Fia goes passe on releve, spins a pirouette, stretches to arabesque, then jete, and lands in plie. The flock claps their wings. From then on, when a chick wobbles, the flock calls...

"Fall, laugh, try again. Just keep going, even if you think it looks silly," Fia said.

And so, in the marsh by the sea, a rainbow-feathered flamingo with sparkly purple legs danced with joy, feeling perfectly herself.