The little blue hummingbird felt sad and tired. He had become lost while traveling with his family, who were looking for a warmer place to spend the winter. When night came, after much time spent looking for them, but with no luck, he took refuge in a small cave he found in the mountainside. Inside the cave there were only a few dry twigs and leaves that had been blown their by the wind. Although feeding himself wasn’t a worry, seeing as he had always been so good at it, not knowing whether he would see his loved ones again deeply saddened him.

-"Don’t stray far from us when we’re migrating,"

his parents had always repeated to him. But he would get so excited at all the little things he would discover during their journeys, and there he would be, open-mouthed, contemplating these wonders, flapping his wings over every new treasure, while the others just carried on with the journey, not noticing his absence. That day, while flying, he had seen a flash of light, a reflection coming out of the trees, and without realising it, he swooped low and approached to see what was the source of the beautiful light.
And he discovered an enormous, picturesque lake of crystalline waters; a sight that left him completely surprised.

-“Wow!!”

he exclaimed, seeing himself reflected in the water,

-“How wonderful!!”

He’d never seen anything like it. The sun was beginning to fire its rays onto the water, and these became brilliant golden reflections that almost blinded you. It was a spectacular sight.

There he played, flying over the water, playing with his own reflection; using the calm waters as a mirror, viewing the white clouds sliding past overhead. Time passed without him realising, and when he gained altitude and called for his family so he could show them what he’d found, his call went unanswered. His parents and brothers and sisters had continued on with the journey, and they couldn’t hear him.

Suddenly an enormous fear arose in him. All that beauty disappeared from his eyes, and he could only hear strange noises that increased his fear and his feeling of uneasiness. Cries of strange birds echoed around the forest, and everything that had hitherto seemed beautiful turned into something gloomy and ghostly. The sun now seemed to cast only shade, and he was afraid of being left alone in the forest. He flew out of the trees, in search of his family, but the night came and he was still alone. So then he sought out a place to shelter and pass the night. With the little leaves he found in the cave he made a small nest. It was a bit noisy since the leaves were so dry, but at least it gave him some warmth that night. The following day, when he woke, he didn't remember that he'd become lost, but soon after getting up it all came to mind, and he began worrying.

-“Oh, my God! What will I do here alone? Where is my family?”

and he soon found out how much he missed them.

His parents had always repeated to him that, if someday he should get lost, what he should do is not go far from the last place they had all been together, put himself in a place that was high enough so he could be seen when they returned, and that he should never allow fear to stop him seeing reality.

-“It’s true!!”

he said, remembering this,

-“My parents told me what I would have to do if I get lost, so I have nothing to be afraid of. My family is looking for me right now, and soon we’ll be together.”

And so he left his little cave, thanking it for having given him shelter that night. Once again everything outside was beautiful, and the confidence that he would find his family made him fly happily in what was an unknown place for him. Before long he once more found the beautiful lake, and there he found the tallest tree, where he perched himself. While he was waiting he began humming, and gradually the little birds who lived there joined in with him. He told them he was lost, and the birds decided to sing really loudly so that anyone passing would hear them. Soon their song could be heard from very far off, and this helped his family to quickly find him.

After that day, our little hummingbird was a bit wiser. Now he knew that he should always let his family know when was going to fly off from them during their travels. He also knew that during the course of his life he would meet others who would offer him their help. And, most important of all, he learned that when fear got the better of him the most beautiful things could come to appear the most terrifying.

***
N.B. this story is a collaboration with Rosa Maria Roe