"The Mountain and the Sky" – Simple and classic.

Once upon a time, nestled in a vast and wild land, stood a grand mountain. Towering high above the trees, it was covered with snowy peaks and had rivers cascading from its sides like silver threads. The mountain was proud. It stood tall, unmoved and mighty, looking down upon everything beneath it—forests, rivers, animals, even villages that dotted the valley below.

"I am the strongest of all," the mountain often thought to itself. "People climb me to test their limits. They paint pictures of me, write poems about me. I am a symbol of strength and majesty."

Above the mountain stretched the endless blue sky—soft, calm, and ever-present. The sky would change from morning gold to deep blue, from soft pinks of sunset to the starlit blanket of night. But unlike the mountain, the sky made no noise, had no pride, and never tried to draw attention to itself.

One morning, as the sun rose from behind the horizon, the mountain looked up at the sky and said, “You’re just air and emptiness. You have no shape, no form. No one climbs you, no one stands in awe of you like they do me. Honestly, you don’t matter as much.”

The sky, as always, was quiet for a moment. Then it replied gently, “You may be strong and tall, Mountain. But we both have our place in the world. While people climb you for glory, they look up at me for peace, hope, and dreams. I may not be solid, but I hold the sun, the stars, the clouds, and even the rain. Without me, there would be no light, no warmth, no water.”

The mountain scoffed. “Empty words from empty air.”

The sky didn’t argue. It simply watched as the day moved on, letting the sun warm the mountain’s face and letting clouds drift by, casting cool shadows on its slopes.

But then one evening, dark clouds began to gather. The wind grew fierce, howling through the trees and rushing down the mountain slopes. A storm was coming. Thunder cracked, lightning danced across the sky, and rain began to pour. The mountain, for the first time in a long time, trembled. Rocks broke loose. Small landslides slid down its sides.

The mountain shouted, “Sky! What’s happening?”

“This is a storm,” the sky said. “Sometimes I must let go of the rain I hold. Sometimes I must thunder to remind the world of my power. I do not wish to harm, but I cannot be only calm all the time.”

The mountain was scared. It had never felt this way before. All its strength couldn’t stop the wind. All its height couldn’t block the rain. It stood silent and shaken.

By morning, the storm had passed. The sky was once again blue and peaceful. A rainbow arched across it, and golden sunlight warmed the mountain’s slopes.

The mountain was humbled. It looked up at the sky and said quietly, “I was wrong. You are not weak. You are not empty. You are powerful in ways I never understood. And more than that, you are kind.”

The sky smiled. “We are both strong in our own ways. You are the earth’s strength, and I am its breath. You hold steady when all else moves. I move so all else can breathe. We are different, but we both belong.”

From that day on, the mountain and the sky became good friends. The mountain stopped boasting, and instead admired the way the sky changed so beautifully. The sky, in turn, painted the mountain with colors of sunrise and sunset, hugged it with mist, and gave it stars at night.

People who came to climb the mountain began to notice the sky more—how it made the mountain glow at dawn, how its storms carved new paths on the rocky face, how its silence brought a deep sense of peace.

The mountain no longer needed to feel proud to feel important. It knew now that being strong didn’t mean being loud. And the sky, once taken for granted, was finally seen and loved for what it truly was—vast, mysterious, and essential.

Mora:We all have different strengths. Some of us are solid and steady like the mountain, and some of us are gentle and ever-changing like the sky. No one is greater or lesser. We all matter, in our own way. True strength lies not in comparison, but in understanding, respect, and harmony.