Can you be my mother?

Twenty years ago high up in the mountain in America, a female condor laid an egg on a bare rock. The male and the female condor took turns in incubating the egg.

Finally after about nine weeks, a baby condor pecked out of its shell. The newly hatched chick was covered with gray-brown feathers.

CHEEP! CHEEP! The baby condor was hungry. It was waiting for its parents to return with something good to eat. During this time, the baby condor depended completely on its parents to feed it with several pieces of meat.

The baby condor waited and waited but no Daddy condor and Mommy condor came back. As she heard shooting, she became more scared for her parents.

The next few hours, a dying Mommy condor came flying low and told the baby condor to take care of herself as there would be no more mommy and Daddy who would take care of her. There were bad people who shot and killed the adult condors.

"GRRRRR!" said the Mother jaguar. The baby condor came nearer and asked: "Can you be my mother?"

"No no no no, I cannot be your mommy! I have dark ringed spots on my sides and back called rosettes. You are covered with grey-brown feathers. Sorry, I cannot be your mother," the jaguar said and then climbed with her cubs in a tree nearby.

"SMOOOCH!" said the mother chimpanzee. The baby condor came nearer and asked: "Can you be my mother?"

"No no no no, I cannot be your mommy. I am covered with brown hair and have long legs to walk and hands to hold things. You are covered with grey-brown feathers. Sorry, I cannot be your mother," the chimpanzee said and called her young ones to swing through the trees to explore snails and butterflies.

SPLASHED! The mother and baby sloth swam in the river nearby. The baby condor came nearer and asked: "Can you be my mother?"

"No no no no, I am the slowest mammal in the world. All I can do with speed is swim. You are covered with grey-brown feathers and for sure you could not swim. Sorry, I cannot be your mother," the sloth said.

"OH MY GOD!" the female mountain police ranger said. The baby condor came nearer and asked: "Can you be my mother?"

"Yes yes yes yes! I can be your mother. You are one of the only 9 California condors left in the world. I will take you into a safe place where you will be protected," said the female mountain police ranger.

The baby condor was very happy for she found a real mother.

NOW, there are already 90 living California condors as protected by the government of the United States of America.

I Love You Just The Way You Are

In the African grasslands, there was once a mother Cheetah who had four cubs. She loved them all. She groomed them with her long tongue and cleaned the grayish -brown fur on their heads and backs.

Mother Cheetah hunted for their food as the four cubs followed her white tipped tail. At her command, the four cubs stopped while she chased a gazelle. She held the prey and called the cubs to practice the killing bite.

The youngest cub, Zita, was not happy. She wanted to learn more skills so she could hunt better and survive in the grasslands.

"I want to have a trunk like the elephant, so I can toss the gazelle. For sure Mother Cheetah will like me more" Zita told her siblings.

So Zita went to see the Fairy Queen Ricah who lived in an old castle.

"Oh Fairy Queen Ricah please help me, cried Zita. "I want to have a trunk so I can toss a gazelle. For sure Mother Cheetah will like me more."

So Fairy Queen Ricah tapped Zita's head with her magic wand. And in an instant her mouth with sharp teeth disappeared and a long trunk slowly formed on her face.

Zita hurried home to Mother Cheetah. "Look at me Mother Cheetah," Zita said happily. "I am very special. I"m not like the other cheetahs. I now have a trunk."

Mother Cheetah was shocked when she saw Zita. "What have you done to yourself? You are not my baby cheetah anymore. And how can you be the fastest mammal reaching speeds of more than 60 miles per hour if you have your trunk dangling infront? You cannot even practice the killing bite," said Mother Cheetah very sadly.

Feeling lonely, Zita went back to look for Fairy Queen Ricah again. "Please Fairy Queen Ricah," begged Zita, "grant me one more wish."

"I want to be myself again," wished Zita. Once again fairy Queen Ricah tapped her head with her magic wand and Zita was back to herself again.

Zita ran home quickly. "Look Mother Cheetah," she said happily, "I'm your little Zita again."

"Thank goodness!" said Mother Cheetah. "You're my little Zita once more.

Mother Cheetah then gathered her cubs and said: "I love everyone of you. I love you just the way you are!"

P-U-R-R-R-R. And the baby cheetah cubs were ready to nap after drinking their mother's milk.

Zita contentedly drink her mother's milk too and smiled to herself knowing that she was loved.