Somewhere in the woodland, there was an amazingly beautiful and mysterious bird, whose name was Astra, which in Latin meant "star." People called it a "free bird" because it did not make nests and never hatched eggs. Maybe because of that, there were only a few such beautiful creatures left on the earth.
However, if some woman had the great luck to see this bird, she would receive a peerless clear voice and magnificent snow-white wings as the gifts. There was only one question: whether they would bring happiness to the chosen one. That was why we have knew such a surprising story, which became the stupendous legend.
In days gone by, in tale dating from hoary antiquity, beautiful Astralina lived in the Western lands. She received for her generosity and magnanimity heavenly gifts: an unmatched voice and angel’s wings. The girl would fly for hours. She hovered in the clouds like a small bright bird of paradise, singing wonderful songs or rushing like the wind, cutting through the night mist.
Nonetheless, her large and strong snow-white wings would never know fatigue. Her pure, tender heart was always quivering in some indescribable delight and infinite joy, feeling with all her consciousness the enchanting feeling of unlimited freedom from the dizzying flight. She knew that somewhere far away, in transparent soft skies, lived the one to whom she owed it all, and she never forgot about that.
But one day, the girl met a young man who turned her life upside down and compelled her to rewrite it. He was the slender, attractive, and highly self-confident brave hunter Ephrus, born in the same lands.
Although this handsome man did not have a rich inner world. Ephrus was down to earth and knew nothing of spirituality and sublimity. He did not understand the extent and grandeur of her flight, and could not value the beauty and uniqueness of her wondrous singing. The hunter appreciated a bird only as a roast for dinner. Despite this, the maiden accepted him for what he was, being under the illusion that he would reciprocate too.
When people are in love, they place a lot of trust in their romantic partners, thinking that they know them well. Maybe because of that, the old saying that the enamored look at the world with “eyes wide shut.”
Of course, the time of amorousness is the most exciting time in life. Many people grow "wings" during that amazing period. Unfortunately, sometimes the wings are false, even if they imitated real ones rather well. The same happened with Astralina. She was fascinated by the new terrestrial flights and forgot about the former heaven that was her real essence. And there was nothing to do about it, since love is love. It brought fleeting, brilliant flashes of joy in the beginning and, only in the course of time, delivered eternally hopeless torments.
One way or another, at the first sight, nothing was so bad. They were walking together and talking about their great plans for the future. He hurried to build a comfortable house, and she equipped the dwelling with her soul.
Yet, suddenly, there came a little, almost weightless request on his part—to lay down her wings for a while and to stop singing. A little later, there was a strong call—to hide the feathers away from his eyes and to sit with him in silence. Finally, there was an urgent request and even a rude ultimatum, to forget about flying and just be silent forever.
All these things, nevertheless, were not happening in one moment, but gradually, step by step, year by year. The engagement was followed by a wedding, and later the children were born.
There were three kids, one boy and two twin girls. The restless little "angels" were running, chattering, making noise, and giving their mother no spare moment. They took all the time, and no matter how much the woman was working as the honeybee over a huge hive, the household chores never ended.
Nevertheless, that was not the point. She was most of all depressed and saddened by the fact that her once loving and caring husband turned into an indifferent, always dissatisfied, surly grumbler. He didn’t spend one hour at home with her. Hunting and the pub became his principal and habitual way of life. Often the man was returning home in dirty and ragged clothes, barely able to stand on his feet after another bender.
As a result, she had to wash and mend a lot, and not just for her "darling" husband, but also for the cute children, who preferred to spend their days running down the dusty country roads. Due to this fact, her once gentle fingers and smooth arms became hardened and swollen, but no one wanted to notice this.
The "cute" kids inherited their father’s temper. They grew recalcitrant and rebellious, and always refused to help their tired mother.
Therefore, little by little, her life became unbearable. At night, the poor woman was crying into her pillow, fidgeting in a cold bed. During the days, she was lowering her pensive, sad, swollen eyes full of bitter tears.
From time to time, Astralina would still send long, deep sighs and wistful looks up at the sky, but then she would continue to drag her excruciating burden on her fragile shoulders. The woman thought it her duty to remain a faithful and a loving homemaker. That was her good nature—to bring light and warmth to everyone, even if somebody did not deserve this.
But one day, when her children turned seven and eight years old, Astralina decided to try again to gain at least a grain of freedom, to spread her almost shrunken wings and to sing an old song with a slightly hoarse voice. Her husband became so angry that he tied her mouth and broke her feathers.
Thereafter, the poor woman took to her bed with suffering from incredible physical and emotional pain. Then she got up again and continued to bear parenting and the endless, hard family concerns on her crippled back.
Consequently, over the years, instead of the light and divine "bird," the woman turned into a "laden cloven-hoofed animal" who quite forgot that there was a blue sky. The miserable one even ceased looking up to the sun, avoiding all reminders of her former free life. Her husband, seeing her prematurely gray hair and the callous hump instead of broken wings, was only joking haughtily. “Your time as a carefree bird has passed. The time of a three-humped camel has come!”
Although, the man was deeply mistaken, for Astralina had not three, but four humps; and the last, the biggest one, was rubbing her sore back the most. As you might expect, she finally bent so strongly under these "blocks" that she couldn’t leave her bed anymore.
Then the poor woman called for her husband’s help for the first time: “Darling, please bring me some food. I cannot get out of my bed.”
“Lie down, have a rest, and then you’ll take what you want, as you usually did. Stop playing the fool; it's time to get up and work. There is no fire in the hearth, the clothes are dirty, the children are not fed,” he replied, slamming the door.
Next Astralina asked her “lovely” twins to whom she dedicated so much: “My dear ones bring your mommy some cold water. My throat is so dry that it's hard for me to swallow. My legs refuse to bear my weak body.”
“We’ve got no time, Mom. Don’t you see that we are playing? You’d better get well quickly and help us. Let our little brother bring you water to drink. We are very busy.” The girls shrugged and quickly forgot about their ill parent.
After that, the woman was compelled to turn to her son: “I cannot take it anymore, sonny. Bring me, at least, just a sip of water to moisten my dry throat, so I do not lose my voice.”
“I can’t too, Mommy. Every new day of your illness, I become more and more hungry. You’d better get up. The house is dirty. And if you need something, ask your husband and lazy daughters first of all,” he muttered irritably, and ran into the street.
Bursting into tears from disappointment and bitterness Astralina lifted up her eyes to the skies, to ask the one who dwells in the highest heavenly courts to give her back her freedom. She pleaded, sending her bitter words up to him: “Now see that I have no one by my side. All my toil and fussy concerns were in vain. Only you are my protector and support. I set my hopes on you. Only you I can call for help. If you don’t take pity on me, I will die tonight.”
Her heavy groans subsequently were heard, and youthful force of the past returned to her in a moment. The woman rose to her feet confidently, straightened her newly slim back and, singing a clear song with a new beautiful voice, left the house. Then everyone saw how she unfolded her large bright wings and turned into a beautiful white bird. She flew high into the clouds toward the sun, deeply inhaling her sweet freedom.
The kids saw how their mother was flying away, and became afraid to be left alone and helpless. They threw down their toys and ran after her at full speed, shouting and shedding copious tears: “Mommy, Mommy, please come back. Forgive us! We will give you drink and food ourselves. Please, just don’t fly away!”
Yet, it was too late. Astralina had already ascended to the clouds and vanished like a little smoke. Her husband, clutching his head, was left alone with his small, unruly screaming monsters.
For this reason, the old story asserts that since then a strange and marvelous bird had appeared in the forest, a divine creature that really knew how to appreciate the freedom and on whom it can rely.