The Little Eland

On the wide, sunny savanna, a little eland calf stays close to his mother and herd, exploring the grassland with his long soft ears and big dark brown eyes always watching the horizon. One morning he meets a tall secretary bird with grey and white feathers, a bare orange-red face, and a single bright blue feather tucked into its black crest. The two become friends, meeting near a flat-topped acacia tree, where the bird teaches the eland to stamp his long yellow legs to scare up insects and the eland shows the bird how to find the sweetest grass.

When dark clouds roll in and rain falls all night, the savanna turns muddy and soft, and the herd must cross tricky ground to reach fresh grass on the other side. The little eland worries that his small hooves will sink and that he cannot see which way is safe. His friend the secretary bird flies up to a tall dead tree and looks across the whole savanna, finding a path marked by small white stones and guiding the herd from above while the eland leads the way below. This tale by Aysel Banu YAVUZAL can be read on Masal İzle.