A few weeks back, I read a wonderful book by a South Korean writer Sun-mi Hwang. While browsing through countless books at a book fair, this candid title “The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly” caught my attention. I gave no second thought. I instantly bought it.
The story is rendered through an animal character- A hen. It’s a cheery book, easy to read, fun characters and a moral lesson to conclude. I usually find these flavors in children’s books. The story is narrated in s a beautiful way that I couldn’t find anything, but endearing. Yes, for an adult like me too!
What did I find here for myself?
Power of Love
I found love can be so powerful. She raised an abandoned egg like her own only to find out later that it is a duckling which she brought into this world. But, that never changed her love for the baby. She loved deeply without any bias, protecting him fiercely from any dangers. She felt complete because he gave her the joy of motherhood.
Lesson
Love is a wonderful thing. When you truly love something, you move beyond any bias. You no more hold onto barriers. You can only think of deepening it and giving all that you can.
I also found that love never goes to waste. It works as a wonder and the return is even more profound.
Courage
I saw courage through this story. I saw the hen was strong in her disposition. Fascinated with nature, she was in awe of the sprout that grows into a leaf, undeterred by the strong winds.
Despite being locked in the coop for the sole purpose of laying eggs, and knowing that she may not have a chance to go outside her confined world. She still hoped and had the courage to dream about her life outside the coop. And, like that sprout, she remains unaffected by any setbacks. That’s why she named herself Sprout.
Lesson
Being steadfast in your conviction, remaining undaunted by any situation and working toward things you believe in shows courage. With courage comes hope. And, hope can give us immense strength when circumstances aren’t favorable. When one is courageous enough to let the difficulties test his inner strength.
He will be the winner.
Grace
Hardships can teach you many things. It can either make you or break you. But, Sprout with each day grew more and more graceful. There was a time when she was called ugly by her peers at the farm. A sick, ugly hen who could never lay an egg and hatch.
She experienced difficult times, remained aloof raising her kid alone and underwent challenges and one fine day when she visited the farm, the leader remarked, “You are more confident and graceful, even though you are missing some feathers.”
This was the moment that really struck me deep.
Lesson
To a lot of people, hardships may have different learnings. Some grow stronger, some fade away with time. But, when you face hardships with hope, with a light in your heart and possess the audacity to face the unfair world, you gain wisdom.
Experiences make you wiser. And, that wisdom brings a deep conviction, confidence, and grace in you.
This book has many lessons to teach. Talk about determination, optimism, and hope, there is an abundance of learning in here. I would not just recommend a child to read it. But, the adults too, who grow more complex, confused and complicated with time. We need more lessons than a child does.
We lose faith in ourselves too easily. So, a book like this would cheer you up and make your life better.
Buy it and cherish the lessons.
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