The Tale of the Stuck Sparrow

  It was a beautiful Spring day.  The flowers were blooming, the sun was shining, the white fluffy clouds were  skittering across the sky.  Buddy sparrow rode the air currents up and down, stretching his wings wide and gliding back and forth in the breeze.  Buddy had not a care in the world other than he was supposed to be looking for a new house for his wife so that she could build her nest.

  Buddy didn’t take many things seriously, so house hunting was not at the top of his to do list for the day.  He searched for fat worms in the warm soil, took a dirt bath in the shade of the old elm tree and spent the greater part of the morning trying to keep out of the way of Mrs. Craig who was busy planting flowers in her flower beds.

    He landed on a tree branch and who should land right next to him but his wife, Betsy.  “Have you found us a house yet?” asked Betsy looking at Buddy suspiciously.  “Uh, I’ve sure been trying, but all the good houses are taken.”   “Well, said his wife, ” You better find one soon because I feel an egg coming on.”  “Oops,” said Buddy and flew off on a mission.

   Around and around the yard he flew stopping at each house where an angry sparrow would say,”Get out of here!”  He was beginning to give up hope when he spotted a cute little house that looked like a cabin.  “Betsy would love this,” he said to himself.  He flew down to take a look. 

  Now Buddy was a sparrow and this house was built for a wren so he didn’t realize he might be just a little too big to fit in the house, but he was going to try.  He stuck in his head.  Oh, oh, the rest of his body would not go inside.  Then he tried to pull his head out. It was stuck!  Oh, no.  Twist and turn as much as he could, he still could not get his head out of the house.  “I’m done for,” Buddy thought.  Then his beak got caught on the wood and he really was stuck.  He hung there, head in and body out of the wren house thinking this was the end of him.

  In the house Mr. and Mrs. Craig were talking about getting some food for the chickens.  Mrs. Craig wanted to show Mr. Craig the flower beds she had been planting that morning.  As they started to go out the back door, Mr. Craig said, “Is that  bird trying to get into that bird house?”  Mrs. Craig looked and saw the backend of a bird with its wings flapping crazily seeming to try to get into the birdhouse.  “That sparrow is too fat to get into that little wren house hole,” said Mr. Craig.  Then they both realized the bird was stuck.  Now Mrs. Craig cannot stand to see anything suffer and she pleaded with Mr. Craig to try to get the bird unstuck.  “Oh, don’t pull his head off,” she cried as Mr. Craig began to pull and twist Buddy’s head around to try to get him loose.  Then he stuck his finger inside the hole and felt around and realized Buddy’s beak was wedged into the wood.  He popped it out and out popped Buddy.   Buddy flew to the ground and suddenly two big dogs were running after him. Would his troubles never end?

  Mr. and Mrs. Craig got the dogs under control and then tried to get Buddy to move where the dogs could not reach him.  He was too dazed yet to fly and felt kind of woozy, but he hopped like mad under the rhubarb leaves and sat there catching his breath.  Mrs. Craig was so happy he was okay.

  After he sat for a while, Buddy tried his wings and soon he was flying again.  He flew to find Betsy to tell her of his adventure and how he was saved by the humans.  But Betsy was not impressed.  “Where am I going to lay my eggs?” she cried.  Buddy spent the rest of the day searching for a home and at last he found the perfect little house and he and Betsy set up housekeeping in it and raised a family of four little chicks.  Also, Buddy went on a diet.

 True story except for the parts I made up.  The end.

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