The other day I found a little bird in the house.
It was flying around the kitchen ceiling, flapping its wings and fluttering frantically.
I’d say the poor thing was just desperate to get back outside and fly through the sky all over the world – the way birds are supposed to do.
I had to do something but there was no way I could catch it.
For a start it was too high and it was too fast but mostly because I can’t fly.
All I could think of to do was to open the windows and hope that the little bird saw its chance for freedom.
For a while it just sat on the window ledge staring out.
I think the poor little thing was staring across at the flowers in our garden and up at the clouds in the sky.
It probably wished it could be there instead of being stuck flying in circles around our kitchen ceiling.
I don’t know for sure how it got in the house. I must have left the door open when I was getting something outside.
I sometimes hear little chirping sounds from little birds coming from the attic direction and I think they must be nesting in our gutters on the roof.
We leave food and water out for them in bird feeders outside in the garden so we always have lots of birds around the house.
We love having little visitors around the place.
They are the best kind of visitors because they are lovely to watch, eat very little, make beautiful music and you never have to wash up after them.
After a while the little bird trapped in our kitchen began to flutter on the spot. If you’ve never seen a bird fluttering on the spot you should
watch the birds around you.
They’re everywhere – if you look.
All you have to do is sit quietly, near enough to see them but far enough away not to frighten them.
If you do this often you will see the birds doing all sorts of amazing and funny things.
The little bird on my window fluttered there for a while then suddenly stopped and just stared at the shrubs.
It was probably wondering if it would it ever get outside to peck at the soil looking for worms, or search the bushes looking for berries.
I sat quietly and waited some more. I was hoping the bird would forget I was there because I knew it was afraid of me.
I think it was so scared that it couldn’t see the open window inches away from where it was sitting.
If I was a bird I would have been afraid of me too.
For all the bird knew I could have been going to kill it.
Lots of creatures kill little birds. Animals like cats, foxes and even other birds – like owls or hawks.
It’s all nature’s way.
But I’m not a fox or an owl and I wished I could let the little bird know that I just wanted to help it.
The window was open and all it had to do was fly – but it didn’t.
Next thing was I heard the tiny scurrying feet of my puppy, Eppie.
She had woken up from her nap and must have sensed and smelled that there was something in the house that shouldn’t be there.
Eppie is very lively and very fast and she came charging through the kitchen so fast she slid the last few feet.
At that second the little bird must have realized it just had to make its escape.
It saw the open window and suddenly the little bird was up and away, through the window, across the garden and up in the sky.
It only took seconds for the little bird to disappear from view.
I thought I’d never see it again.
But the very next day there was that same little bird. It was sitting on the water-butt watching me.
At least I think it was the same bird – you never quite know with birds.
THERE ARE MORE CHILDREN’S STORIES FROM BALLYYAHOO HERE.
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