"The Seagull and the Mouse"
by Paulo Coelho
"A seagull was flying over a beach in the Black Sea when it saw a mouse. It swooped down from the skies and asked the rodent, “Where are your wings?” Each of them spoke a different language, and the mouse did not understand what the seagull said, but did notice that the animal standing before it had two big strange things emerging from its body. “It must suffer from some disease,” whispered the mouse.
The seagull noticed that the mouse was staring at its wings and said quietly, “Poor thing! It was attacked by monsters that left it deaf and robbed its wings.” Filled with pity, the seagull took the mouse in its beak and swept it away for a ride in the skies. At least this will bring memories of the old days, the seagull thought as they flew higher and higher. Then it very carefully deposited the mouse back on the ground.
For a few months the mouse was a very unhappy creature, it had flown high up in the sky and seen a vast and beautiful world. But as time passed, it eventually grew used to being a mouse again, and thought that the miracle that had taken place in its life was just a dream.”