Let me introduce these two little birds to you. They are chickadees
Formally called titmice. They are distinctive in that they live all over the North American
continent and in Africa, however they have different names in each area.
But the two little fellows we know in this story are called simply Dave and Edna
As the two little birds sat on the branch one turned to the other and said
"Hey! Dave you know the cold weather is coming, what do you say we
build our nest in the edge of that roof, near the fireplace so we can keep warm.”?
Dave just shook his feathers at the thought of cold weather and agreed
that would be a super plan but they had one problem
there were squirrels who were already inhabited in that particular area of the roof.
They had watched as the humans had been trying to get them to leave.
Now what makes them think they wouldn't meet the same behavior?
They knew the folks loved birds because the woodpecker had told them so.
Most folks don't care for woodpeckers but these people had let him be in peace of coarse,
Woody had stayed away from drilling holes. Not so with the squirrels, they were a rowdy
bunch and had nearly chewed off part of the roof. With some hesitation the little birds
began to plan for their new home. They knew it would have to happen soon for Edna
was about to lay some eggs and they needed some place safe and soft for them to rest on.
This would be the first home they ever built and Edna was really excited.
Since she was a girl bird she of course thought about decorating her nest,
Dave just laughed at her what could she possibly do to just brown sticks straw
and mud to make it pretty? Well Dave started gathering sticks and straw
to make the nest while Edna gather leaves.
Then like a miracle she spotted a bright red ribbon
laying on the ground, it must have fallen out of some little girls hair,
She scooped it up and brought it to the nest.
She was so happy she just started singing out loud.
Usually she just hummed but this was a real occasion to let the world
know she was happy, not only was she going to have a new home
but also she was going to be a mother. Pretty soon some other birds,
all different kinds flocked to help in the building of the new nest.
There were blue jays cardinals and robins that came to help and each of them
left some bright colored feather to adorn the nest.
They were all mother birds and were delighted to give Edna a boost
in decorating her new home. Then one day out in the backyard of the house
they had chosen suddenly there appeared a birdbath.
All the birds were so happy because it meant the humans liked them coming to help Edna
and had provided a place for them to wash up after working so hard.
It was then they spotted a beautiful little girl who came to watch all the birds in action.
She had brightly colored ribbons in her hair and each day would drop one on the ground.
Edna started to suspect it was on purpose because she would scoop up the ribbons
even with the little girl watching. The child would talk to them so softly
and they found out her name was Kelly. It wasn’t long before the other humans referred
to her as Kelly the little bird lady (because of her love for birds of all kinds)
She would bring pieces of bread and scatter it for all the birds.
Soon the word got out and birds covered the place.
The little pieces of bread were not enough so the man of the house brought
out large amounts of corn. This turned out to be a grand idea for soon
there was enough food for everyone. The birds would come for short periods
and then leave, Everyday a family of sand cranes would come by to have a meal
and then move on. Things were going along just fine Edna laid her eggs and
would sit on the nest to welcome all her friends including little Kelly
who would call to her. Then one day there was a terrible thunderstorm,
which really frightened Edna and she was, concerned for her little eggs for they were
so close to hatching. Dave had been gone a long time to get her food
and she feared for his safety. The rain came down in torrents .
She tried to cover her eggs with her small body.
There was a sudden loud clap of thunder that frightened her and without warning
the nest began to tilt and fell from the roof edge to the ground.
She cried for help but the storm was too loud and no one could hear her.
Then as suddenly as the storm came it left.
The sun began to peek through the clouds.
Just as though someone had told them the sand cranes came by and
recognizing the problem they took the nest one on one side the other one the other side
and they flew it gently to the edge. Edna fluttered her little wings in gratitude.
It was not long before the eggs hatched and they had a lovely family.
Kelly watched as their parents fed the little birds and even when they
began to flap their baby wings. It wasn't long before they flew off only
to come visit on occasions.
One day Kelly who was now a teenager who had spent her whole life watching
and helping the little birds: came upon the lifeless body of one of her little friend.
She could tell it was Edna because there was a ribbon in her mouth.
With tender loving care she made a small grave near the house for shelter
and placed her tiny friend in the ground. She made a wooden cross and tied the ribbon
to it. All this time she had tears running down her face.
Her father came and stood near her while they said a prayer to God asking him
to continue to care for this little bird like he does for all the other flocks in the fields.
To this day, though Kelly is now a woman, she is often lovingly called the “The Bird Lady”.
She still throws corn out into the back yard and all the birds come to eat.
The Sand cranes have all died off and their children still come to see Kelly.
The little cross has weathered many a storm and the ribbon has been changed from
one bright color to another so God can look down with favor on his smallest flock.
