THE KITE

The Kite

Worapun Kittisrisopit

Once upon a time there was a little boy who had a lovely and beautiful smile as bright as a sunflower. Everyone loved him. The sun warmed him during the day and the moon shone down on him all through the night. The boy had gentle but strong hands. He could pat his pony gently and it loved him dearly. He could hammer nails and always helped Daddy fix things on his farm.

One day the boy received a special gift from his grandfather. It was a kite, the first kite the boy had ever had. The kite was blue with a yellow circle on it and a long red tail. That morning the boy’s grandfather took him out and taught him to fly it. They had such a good time together.

One day, when all the leaves had turned golden yellow and were falling down to the earth, the little boy went out to fly his kite in a field nearby. He ran and ran until the kits rose up, high into the sky. As he looked up, the kite flew and flew, higher and higher, until the string ran out of his hands. Suddenly, the strong wind blew the boy’s kite far, far from him. He ran after it until he could run no more, and he sat down under a tree, exhausted. The kite was gone and the boy wept quietly and did not know what he could do.

Above his head he heard the singing of a bird and the bird said, “Little boy, why are you crying?”

“My kite flew away. I want it back so much. Do you know which way it went?” asked the boy.

“I can fly to the wind and ask her,” said the bird.

The bird flew away into the wind and asked, “Wind! Wind! Do you know where the boy’s kite went?”

“Sorry, Bird, I don’t know. I just blow and blow and I don’t have any eyes to see,” said the wind.

Then the bird turned to the sun: “Sun! Sun! Do you know where the boy’s kite went?”

“Sorry, Bird, I don’t know; I just sine and shine, brightly all the time,” said the sun. Then the bird went to Mother Earth and asked, “Mother Earth! Mother Earth! Do you know where the boy’s kite went?

“Tell him to go back home and there he will find a surprise!” Mother Earth said.

The bird flew back to the boy and told him to go back home. The boy walked back home slowly. The sun, the wind, and the water were sad that the boy no longer smiled as brightly as a sunflower. But a surprise awaited the boy.

When the little boy came home, the grandfather was just sitting in front of the house, waiting for him. He smiled kindly and said to the boy lovingly, “Dear grandson, I have special, special news for you today. This morning I was working in the field and the wind blew strongly around my head, then it brought something to me. And here it is.”

The grandfather took his hands from behind his back and in them was the wonderful kite. Now the boy gave his grandfather a very, very, bright and beautiful smile, the smile that everyone, even the sun and the moon, loved to see.