Ma, Did I win the Race?

Ma, did I win the race? So asked Phoenix his Mom.
Phoenix is a cute little falcon – around 5 years young. Who else is 5 years or 4 years or younger around you? Can you tell me their names? You can see phoenix’s picture on the web.
So what was Phoenix’s doubt? See, in the evening Phoenix had a flying race at his school. There were many other birds participating in the race. There was Vayu the eagle, Garud, the crested serpent eagle and Sumeru the big Vulture. Now Phoenix was the champion racer – he had one almost all the races till now!
The race started – and Phoenix was leading the flock. There you can see him in the picture below. There he is right in front of the rest of the birds. He is a strong and a fast flier isn’t he? All other birds were perched on the big Banyan tree and enjoying the race. Some parents were excitedly cheering their kids, others were more magnanimous and cheering all the birds. All and all, everyone was enjoying the race. And then tragedy struck. Garud got entangled in a kite that was flying close by – and his wings were slightly hurt – down he toppled. He was going round and round and round – and was completely out of control. Like one voice, the crowd shouted out in fear.
The racers stopped for a moment – but then continued on with the race – they believed that winning is everything – but Phoenix stopped. He dived down hard and strong. The wind whistled through his feathers – he had always seen his Appa diving down – and now he knew what has to be done. He tucked in his feathers – straightened his tail and kept on diving. The wind now became a roar from just a whistle – and he knew that he had never gone this fast before – but what to do Garud had to be helped. Soon he was next to Garud. Phoenix opened up his wings a bit and slowed down. With on wing he arrested Garud’s spinning and brought him back to balance. Garud’s cut was not deep and with Phoenix’s help he reached the Banyan tree.
Once all the events were over, Vayu who had come first in the race was given a gold medal. Phoenix was slightly disappointed – it was the first time that he had not won a medal in the race. But then he got a surprise, his name was announced – and there the chief guest gave him the biggest ever cup in his life!

Phoenix was happy, and he went flying to his home. His mother had already heard the full story – and was she proud??
And that’s when Phoenix asked – Ma – did I win the race? Why did I get the cup? His Mom could only smile, because she knew that though Phoenix had lost the race, he had won the first round to become a good bird, a falcon that everyone will be proud of.