The Man and the Bird

One Summer day, as he was walking in a park, a homeless man found a beautiful bird. It looked exotic, like something from the deep jungle. To his surprise and delight, this beautiful creature climbed right up and perched on his shoulder. "You must've escaped from someone's house," he says. The bird liked the man, even though he didn't have a house... or much else for that matter. The man prized this lovely little treasure he'd found and never let her out of his sight... well, maybe just once on the beach one night. Each day they got to be closer and closer friends. The bird would fly here or there and the man would follow. The man would go here or there and the bird would follow. There could never have been a better pair, perfect partners from the start. Then, the icy cold winds of Winter began to blow, that strange season of frozen loneliness and cold darkness that we all have to go through to reach the warm breezes and renewed freshness and energy of Spring. The bird was too young and could not wait out the Winter. It was born for the sunny days and warm ray of the Summer. But she couldn't leave her friend all alone. So, she tried to hang tough. Until one day, she couldn't keep going anymore. She fell nearly faint in the man's arms. She always felt so safe there. As the man saw the pain and cold in her eyes, he knew what he had to do. He said to her, "You'll never survive here. You aren't ready for the harsh Winter. You'll surely die. You go south for the Winter. Now fly! And return next year when you're strong and wise." The little bird refused. She swore she would never leave him. She would've rather stayed with him and died. But the man loved the bird more than she loved herself, more than anyone could love anything. There was only one thing he could do. He pushed the bird away and forced her to do what would save her life. The bird did fly and it did live on. The homeless man cried all Winter long and prayed constantly for the warm Spring breeze to bring his little bird back to his arms.

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA
To Deanna Herrera
2000




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