When the Sun Goes Away
The forest gradually became colder. The sun is only visible for a few hours each day. A family of mice has built a cosy nest on a large mound. A hedgehog and his family live in a pile of leaves nearby.
A badger and her cubs lived right next to the fox family, and in the treetops, small bush squirrels were exercising under the supervision of the old owl.
Every animal has a job at the beginning of winter to gather enough food before the snowy days. So it’s important to start collecting early. As soon as the sun sets, all the animals retreat and snuggle into their warm and soft nests.
In the morning, when the sun had not yet risen, people heard wild chirping from a nearby tree branch. It’s Sunny. He is always the first to wake up and greet the new day with his chirping. His call was so loud that all the animals were awakened from their deep sleep.
“What a racket!” Mother Mouse complained. Her little birds were now hopping around the nest before breakfast was prepared.
“Does that bird have nothing else to do but wake us up every day?” the badger grumbled at the fox. The fox is also not happy with Sunny.
One morning, the animals got so angry with each other that they gathered together to complain about the daily noise.
“If Sunny is gone, we can all sleep longer!” said the old hedgehog.
A brave rabbit suggested that they talk to Sunny and asked him to be a little more considerate in the morning. Others agree. So the bunny sat down under the branch where Sunny usually started the wake-up call.
“Hey, Sunny!” said the rabbit. “Do you realize you’re bothering all of us by waking us up so early? All the animals in the forest were talking about it, and everyone said they would be happier if you were gone.”
Sunny looked down at the rabbit. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He thinks his chirping is very useful to the community.
He was very sad and thought to himself, “If this is really true, it seems like I am no longer welcome here.”
Sunny looked down at the rabbit. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He thinks his chirping is very useful to the community.
He was very sad and thought to himself, “If this is really true, it seems like I am no longer welcome here.”
The rabbit saw Sunny fly away, so he turned back to the others.
The next day, the animals woke up when the sun was high in the sky. Mother squirrel squealed: “How could this happen? Kids, you should have gone to school a long time ago!”
Immediately afterwards, the father fox shouted: “I can’t believe it! I’m never late to start hunting!”
The mice also fell asleep. They will get in trouble at school if they come to class late.
So it went the next week. Mice and squirrels constantly miss the best time to collect seeds and grains for the winter.
“If this continues, we will not be able to accumulate enough supplies!” The father mouse groaned. All the animals gather together to find out why they overslept.
The wise owl joined them and said, “Don’t you remember what happened? You wish you could sleep longer and not be woken up. So Sunny left. He usually wakes you up on time so the kids can go to school, and you can go to work.”
The animals looked at each other. They realized their mistake and how much they missed Sunny. After all, he didn’t want to bother them with his chirping. He has accepted an important mission in the forest. They decided to search and apologize to Sunny immediately.
“You are right, wise owl,” said the father mouse. “Now we know how important Sunny’s chirping really is. We didn’t do the right thing. How the hell are we going to find him again? Perhaps he has flown far away.”
The animals asked the owl to keep an eye on Sunny because they didn’t know where to find him, but the wise owl came up with an idea.
At the far edge of the forest, the owl heard a sad chirp and immediately recognized Sunny’s voice. She told Sunny how much the other animals missed him and how much they wanted him back with them.
The next morning, Sunny screeched happily from her tree branch, and all the animals were able to start their day on time. From that day on, each of them thanked him in the morning for awakening them.
