The Golden Bird

In a faraway kingdom, there lived a King who had an incredibly beautiful garden. Right in the middle of this garden grew a magical tree that bore only apples made of solid, shining gold.

As soon as the golden apples were fully grown, the King counted them very carefully. But the very next morning, one of the golden apples was missing!

The King was furious and ordered his oldest son to sit under the tree all night long to catch the thief. But when the clock struck midnight, the oldest son fell fast asleep. The next morning, another golden apple was gone. The King then sent his second son, but exactly the same thing happened—he fell asleep at midnight, and another apple vanished.

Finally, it was the youngest prince’s turn. Because he really wanted to catch the thief, he knew he couldn’t just sit comfortably against the tree trunk. The youngest prince stood up, rubbed his eyes, and walked in circles to stay completely awake.

Just as the large clock tower in the distance struck midnight, a bright, glowing light shone through the dark garden. It wasn’t the moon or the stars; the light was coming from the sky!

The youngest prince hid behind a bush and peeked out. Fluttering down into the branches of the apple tree was the most magnificent bird he had ever seen. The bird’s plumage was made entirely of glowing gold feathers that lit up the whole orchard like a torch.

The glowing Golden Bird gently snapped a golden apple off a branch with its beak.

The young prince jumped from behind the bush and shouted! The bird was startled, and as it flew away in a flash of bright light, one of its golden feathers dropped to the soft grass below.

The next morning, the brave youngest prince took the glowing golden feather to his father. The feather was so incredibly valuable and beautiful that the King gathered all his wise men to look at it.

“This single feather is worth more than our entire kingdom!” the wise men declared in awe.

The King smiled down at his youngest son. “Well done,” he said proudly. “Thanks to your dedication, we know who is taking the apples. And now, the true adventure to find the Golden Bird begins!”

Moral of the Story: Patient attention and steady effort can reveal what hurried guesses miss.

Keep exploring: Read more think-before-you-act stories or map the clues with the story sequence worksheet.