Once, long, long ago, there was a little girl named Sabeena. Sabeena loved to paint. She painted on paper, rocks, wood, even the walls. One day, she was lying in the grass outside of her home when she looked up at the sky. She noticed how bland it was: plain and white, no color, no joy, nothing. Sabeena realized that the sky was like a blank canvas, an empty surface begging for something exciting to happen to it. From that day on, Sabeena made it her mission to paint the sky. With her paintbrush and palette in hand, Sabeena climbed the tallest tree in the village, but when she reached the top, she couldn’t touch the sky. Then she tried to climb the clock tower, but the sky was still too far from her hands. Finally, Sabeena climbed to the tallest point in the village, the top of the mosque, but when she tried to paint, not a single brushstroke appeared.
Sabeena trudged home, tired and disappointed that she couldn’t touch the sky, when all of a sudden, she heard Eagle’s screech. It was then Sabeena realized that the only way she could paint the sky was if she learned how to fly.
Sabeena chased Eagle all the way to his perch.
“What do you want, child?” Eagle asked. “I’m busy.”
“I need you to teach me how to fly,” Sabeena said.
“Teach you how to fly? You expect me to give my wisdom to a child?” Eagle scoffed. “How foolish.”
“Please!” Sabeena begged, “I need you to teach me because I must paint the sky!”
Eagle’s eyes widened with interest. “Alright, child, I will teach you on one condition. You must paint the sky a beautiful blue to complement the sun’s rays.”
Sabeena was overjoyed. “Thank you, Eagle, thank you!”
So Eagle taught Sabeena how to fly. It was very difficult for Sabeena to fly. According to Eagle, she was doing it all wrong. Her arms weren’t straight enough, her head was not high enough, her legs were too bent, and so on. Sabeena kept falling or losing control when she tried to fly. There were days when she thought about giving up, but painting the sky was too important to her. The sky needed color, and Sabeena knew she was the one to do it. She had always been the painter in her village, and she just couldn’t bear looking up at the boring white sky for another day. As time went on, Sabeena got better, until one day she could soar through the air effortlessly, her fingertips brushing the atmosphere. When her training came to an end, she thanked Eagle and promised him she would paint the sky a beautiful blue.
The day had come. It was time for Sabeena to paint the sky. She gathered her paints and paintbrushes and made her way up to the sky. In her palette, she had the most beautiful blue you had ever seen. She also had a collection of pinks and oranges in her palette to soften the sky when the sun started to set. For when the moon rose, she had dark purples and blues to let the stars shine. Sabeena glided her paintbrush across the blank canvas, and brushstrokes of blue and white started to fill the space. When the sun started to set, she painted pinks and oranges to make the sun glare, and when the moon rose, Sabeena filled the sky with gloomy purples and blues that made the stars twinkle with glory. As the days went on, Sabeena’s work added more beauty to the world. The sky made the grass greener, the oceans sparkled, and the sun shone brighter. Every day, Sabeena saw Eagle gliding through the air, his wingtips brushing the sky, letting out a screech of joy.
To this day, people still talk about the girl who painted the sky. Others say they still see her flying through the air, trying to finish her work, but everybody knows that Sabeena left a little more beauty in our world.