The Ostrich Who Ran Away from Home – A Gentle Animal Adventure for Kids
Large text for little eyes.
In the wide orange sands of the Savannah, there lived a young ostrich named Otto.
Otto had long legs, fluffy feathers, and one very big feeling:
“I don’t belong here!”
His brothers raced too fast. His sisters kicked up too much dust. And the grown-ups? They never listened when Otto talked about clouds or made up songs about rocks.
So one day, after stuffing snacks in a pouch and tying a feather around his neck for luck, Otto looked over his shoulder and whispered, “Goodbye, home.” And off he ran.
Adventures with Strangers
Otto’s legs were strong, and his heart beat with hope. He ran through grassy hills, past giraffes who nodded politely and zebras who showed him how to drink from a stream.
In a shady grove, he met a group of meerkats who invited him to join their lookout games. Otto tried—he really did, but his big feet squashed their tunnels.
Later, he met a parrot who spoke five languages. Otto loved it until the parrot teased his running style.
No matter where he went, Otto felt out of place. “Maybe the world isn’t where I belong either,” he sighed.
A Storm, a Shelter, and a Thought
One evening, clouds rolled over the plains. The wind howled. Rain began to fall in big splashes, and Otto couldn’t find a tree big enough to hide beneath.
Shivering and lonely, he curled under a crooked rock and remembered his warm nest, his siblings’ dusty racing, and the sound of his mother humming as she tucked them in.
“I didn’t fit in,” he whispered, “but I was always safe.” The wind quieted. The rain slowed.
And Otto made up his mind.
The Road Back Home
The next morning, Otto ran—not away this time, but back. When he arrived, feathers dripping, legs tired, he expected frowns.
But what he got was a rush of hugs (and lots of questions).
He told them about meerkats, parrots, and the storm. His mother tucked him under her wing. “You don’t have to fit perfectly,” she said. “You just have to be you. And you belong here.”
And from that day on, Otto still sang about rocks and watched clouds; only now, his family listened (and sometimes sang along). Sometimes, you have to run far to realize how close home really is.
The End !
