My children ask me to sing to them before bed. They love listening to our beautiful Ukrainian lullabies and lyrical songs just as much as I love singing them. One night, I was singing “If I had the Wings of an Eagle” for the fourth time in a row, by request, and my little one asked me to tell her “the story of the song.” The song is beautiful, with sombre minors and a tinkling and gliding first soprano part. The lyrics, however, are flat – a girl wishes for the wings of an eagle so that she could fly to Ukraine to find her lover. When she doesn’t find him, she simply sits down and cries.
Not inspiring in the least. Not a lesson for my little girl.
I knew I had to think fast. Out came a story of a girl who prayed for wings, didn’t get them, and was all the better for it.
This story is for all girls who are anything but little on the inside. Enjoy!
Click to read “The Girl Who Wanted Wings”
