‘Birdie Finds a Home’

Mark was so excited he could barely talk. “Marcy ... come see.”

“Come and see what?” Marcy asked

“Upstairs ... it’s ... come on!”

“Calm down, Mark. Nothing is that important.”

“This is,” he said. “There’s a bird in the tree.”

“What’s so special about that? Birds are always in the trees!”

“But this tree is inside the house! Come see!”

They ran up the stairs and stopped by the bedroom door. “Shhh.” Mark slowly opened the door. In the corner by an open window was the silk tree their mother used for a decoration.

Marcy tiptoed closer to the tree. There was a young bird with a red and orange throat and sharp little legs. “Well, hello, little bird,” she said softly.

The bird flew to the ceiling and tried to get out the skylight.

“You’ve frightened it,” Mark said. “Now what shall we do? The skylight doesn’t open. The bird is trapped!”

“Well, it flew inside, it will just have to fly out again,” Marcy said. “Leave the window open and close the door.”

When they told their mother what happened, she said, “The bird will find the right home, you’ll see, just like the big herons, egrets and pelicans that live around here.”

“I’m glad they didn’t fly in our window!” Mark said.

“And don’t forget the gulls,” Mother added.

“Gulls will eat your lunch if you’re not careful,” Marcy said.

“Speaking of lunch,” Mother said, “shall we have a picnic at the beach?”

When they returned home, Mark said, “Let’s see if the bird is still there.”

Cautiously they opened the bedroom door. The bird was nowhere to be found. “Whew! It’s gone,” Mark said.

“Not quite,” Marcy said. “Look, over there.”

On the wall hung a picture of a beautiful white sea gull with outstretched wings. And right next to the picture perched on a mirror frame was the little bird, fast asleep.

Mark laughed softly and whispered. “The bird must think the gull is its mother!”

“Oh, let’s keep it,” Marcy said. “Can we?”

Mother answered, “The bird’s real mother may wonder where it is, don’t you think?”

“Right. I know what to do.” Marcy gently wrapped the bird in a soft T-shirt and let it go out the open window.

In the tree outside was a loud chirping noise. “Sounds as if Birdie has found the right tree this time!” Mark said.

Author’s note: This is based on a true story.

Hear this story read aloud at latimes.com/kids or by calling 1-800-LATIMES, Ext. 4KIDS (1-800-528-4637, Ext. 45437).