Chapter One

 

A brilliant shaft of light flashed through the trees and announced the long-awaited appearance of the sun.

The birds sang out in celebration.

The early birds had been singing for almost an hour with the first hint of the brightening horizon.  As the stars faded one by one and the sky transformed from velvety blackness to pale blue, more birds awakened and joined their voices to the chorus.

But as the golden rays multiplied, the melodic phrases and twinkling trills took on a real urgency.  Birds sang out from every direction and increased their volume ten-fold when the blinding orb of the sun revealed itself at last through the leafy canopy.

A new day began exactly as every other day -- and yet as unique as an individual snowflake.

The sun’s golden light gleamed across a street named Willow Hollow and into the yard behind the house located at number 3477.  A particularly bright beam pierced through the leafy canopy of a dogwood tree and lit up a single branch like a spotlight.  Two mockingbirds sat on the branch and waited expectantly as three eggs shuddered with life.

And in that very moment, the miracle of birth occurred.

Small chunks of eggshell cracked and fell away from one egg as it rocked excitedly.  A tiny voice called out with heartwarming urgency as the outside world became visible for the very first time.

Sunshine’s heart quivered with excitement.

The female mockingbird cocked her head to one side and peered intently.  She flicked her long, graceful tail as her excitement reached a fever pitch.  She then hopped from side to side and opened her beak in a smile.

Sunshine couldn’t contain her emotions any longer.  She stretched out her wings and held them out wide.  With her face toward the sky, she sang her happiness for the entire world to hear.

Suddenly, the egg rocked side to side as more eggshell crumbled away.  Seconds later, a tiny beak and face peeped out.

The first baby emerged from the shell.

The two lifelong mates stared with open beaks as the tiny form pushed the remaining section of eggshell back and wriggled itself free.

The fragile creature shuddered with the first brush of air across its wet body.   Its head seemed far too large compared to its tiny body in that first minute of life outside the egg.  Struggling to lift its head and discover its new surroundings, the baby moved with jerky, unwieldy motions as it used its muscles for the first time.

Both parents leaned closer with eager expectation.

Lifting its head up, the baby cried out its first, precious words.

“I’m cold, and I’m hungry!”

Sunshine turned to her mate and laughed out loud.

Treetop smiled and flicked his long tail proudly.

“Feed me!  Feed me!  Feed me!”  the baby mockingbird peeped urgently.

“Oh, Treetop.  It’s a little male.  And he looks just like you,” Sunshine trilled happily.

Treetop sang out joyfully as he leapt into the air and flew far above the trees, his song filling the air.

The birds in the nearby trees stopped their own singing to listen with awe and respect, realizing that a proud new parent was singing about the birth of his babies.   Treetop’s vibrant voice echoed throughout the trees.

As the golden sun rose steadily into the clear blue sky, the other two babies slowly worked their way free.

Three newborn babies now cried out to their parents with constant calls for attention.

Sunshine and Treetop got to work.

First, Treetop reached into the nest and picked up the largest empty eggshell with his beak.  He leapt into the air with it and then flew far away from the nest before he dropped the eggshell into the middle of a large bush.

He quickly flew back to the nest to remove more egg debris.

While he and Sunshine flew back and forth and carefully cleaned the nest, they recalled the two oldest sayings of nest-wisdom that all families of bird held dear.

The first: ‘A clean nest means a clean bird.’

This oldest bit of wisdom applied first for the parents as they sat long hours warming the eggs before the young hatch.  But its primary meaning applied to the parents after the young hatched -- keeping the young clean and quickly disposing of all waste, external and internal.

Of course, caring parents by and large kept the nest and the babies clean; it was simply a part of being a good parent.  But keeping a nest clean was not just important for appearances; it was an essential part of protecting the babies from potential predators. Snakes, possums, raccoons, and other birds would relish a meal of tender babies if they could find the nest hidden among the leaves.

If parents allowed waste to fall to the ground directly underneath the nest, they might return to the chilling sight of an empty nest and a few scattered feathers -- and no babies.

The second proverb had a similar meaning, but it applied more broadly to the everyday life of all birds.  On any given day and in any given tree, a bird would likely hear this bit of wisdom chirped and chided by a parent to its offspring …

‘A stupid bird fouls its own nest.’

Treetop and Sunshine had been mates four seasons now.  Together, they had successfully raised six sets of young.  Their first nestlings usually hatched in early spring.  After these babies were taught how to fly and how to feed using their own skills, Treetop and Sunshine would build another nest and raise another set of young, these usually being born during the heart of the summer.

The babies born in the nest this bright, wonderful day were their second set of hatchlings this season.

Sunshine flew back to the dogwood tree to feed her babies for the first time.  Their cries for food touched her heart and urged her to fly faster.

But as she approached, Treetop glanced up at her with a strange expression, and she felt her heart seize with dread.

“There’s a problem,” he said simply.

“What’s the matter?”  she asked with a frantic tone.

“Something’s wrong.”

“What?  What is it?”  Sunshine gripped the branch tightly.

“It’s… it’s one of the babies.”

“What is it?  Tell me!”

But Treetop turned away and shook his head.

“Tell me!”  she pleaded urgently.

Treetop sighed heavily.  He spoke with his back still turned. “He’s deformed.”

Those two, heart-rending words started ringing inside her head in a nightmarish chant -- over and over again.  The chant quickly drained all her energy and then all her joy.  Her legs grew weak while the world around her spun out of control.

‘He’s deformed…’

She had never considered this possibility.

Somewhere deep inside her breast, where her heart had beat so happily a moment before, a dark and terrible emptiness began to blossom like a cancer.

“Feed me!”

Sunshine looked away in horror.

She was afraid to look.

But she was afraid not to look.

Sunshine took a deep, shaky breath.

And turned around.

Three baby mockingbirds lay sprawled in the bottom of the nest seemingly naked with their fine down clinging to their fragile bodies in wet, dark streaks.  The wet down would soon dry and give their tiny bodies some protection from the air.

Sunshine leaned forward, carefully looking over each baby in turn and trying to determine what was wrong, but all she could see were three tiny babies who shuddered with new life.

She turned to her mate.

“They look fine to me,” Sunshine said with a rush of hope.

“He’s deformed.”  Treetop groaned. He nodded at the nest. “The little one -- the last one born.  Look closely.”

Sunshine’s head spun as she realized the littlest baby was moving oddly.  And the more she looked, the odder his struggles seemed.

“Look at him closely,” her mate added with anguish.

Hot tears clouded her vision as she tried to focus.

Without intending to, she looked at the first-born male instead. The baby noticed his mother’s glance and cried out once again, his message direct and to the point.

“Feed me!  Feed me!”

Sunshine ignored the cry even though it tugged at her heart and triggered something deep inside.  She looked him over carefully, blinking back her tears.

Next, she looked at the second born, a female.  The baby recognized her mother and cried out with the same, urgent message.  She smiled down at her daughter a moment.

Finally, after a long and fearful hesitation, she turned to the last born, another male.

The baby struggled to raise himself up with open beak in expectation of his first meal.

But this baby had more trouble than the others and could not balance himself enough to lift his head upright.  The other two had successfully raised their heads with beaks open as they pleaded urgently to be fed.

The last baby struggled awkwardly...

He wobbled unsteadily a moment and fell backward with a plop.

Sunshine couldn’t understand why he couldn’t raise himself up like the others.  She looked closer and gasped.

“He only has one leg!”

Treetop and Sunshine looked at each other with great sadness in their eyes.

The terrible emptiness inside her breast smothered Sunshine.  She felt like she was suffocating from the overwhelming sadness.  It felt as if her world were crumbling around her.

“It can’t be…”  she whispered.

“He’s… he’s deformed” Treetop collapsed on the branch and sat there shaking his head.

Sunshine felt the world spinning out of control.

“He’s only got one leg,”  Treetop repeated in a whisper. He began to sob silently.

Sunshine peered down at the struggling baby, who’d finally managed to raise his body partway up on his one leg.  She looked closer and saw only a tiny stump where the second leg should have been.

She stared at the baby a long time in stunned silence.

She felt helpless.  She felt powerless.  And she didn’t know what to do.

Treetop hopped up beside Sunshine as all three babies suddenly cried in unison and begged to be fed.

“He’ll never live,” Treetop said sadly.  “He’ll never live long enough to leave the nest.”

“What?  How can you say such a thing?”  Sunshine asked haltingly.  Her mind was in so much turmoil, it seemed everything was confusion.

“Have you ever seen a one-legged mockingbird?”  Treetop asked.

“I don’t know…”  Sunshine whispered with doubt.  “I’m not sure…”

“I mean, have you ever met a one-legged mockingbird?  Have you even heard of one?”  Treetop asked more forcefully.

Sunshine quickly looked away as more hot tears streamed down her cheeks.  After a moment, she looked back at her babies.  She focused on the poor one-legged baby while her heart broke in two.

“No, I’ve never heard of a one-legged bird before…”

 

 

Chapter Two

 

“Good morning, Sunshine.”

Sunshine’s eyes fluttered open as she awakened to a new day.

Instantly, the overwhelming sadness from yesterday flooded her mind and heart.  Now a terrible ache filled her breast -- where once her heart had been so happy.

She looked up at her mate with puzzlement and wondered how he could act so… normal?  How could he awaken her as if nothing had happened?

How could he just stand there when one of their babies was going to die?

“Are you all right?”  Treetop asked with concern.  He hopped up on the branch just above the nest.

Sunshine rested on the nest, her warmth protecting the babies underneath her feathers.  She felt one of the babies wriggle with life.

She shuddered and wondered if it was the deformed baby moving under her.

“Yes, yes.  I slept really deeply last night,” she lied, not daring to tell him of the disturbing dreams that had haunted her all night long.  “I didn’t know where I was when I woke up just now.  It just kind of… scared me.”

Treetop chuckled lightly.  “Well, you’re sitting on the same nest you’ve sat on each night for over two weeks, except now three babies lie underneath you.”

Sunshine’s dark, slender beak, curved slightly downward like all mockingbirds.  Now she opened it ever so slightly in a bird-smile at the thought of their three babies, but the expression in her piercing eyes remained somber.

“Are you sure everything is all right?”  Treetop asked again.

They looked deep into each other’s eyes a long moment in mutual silence.

She slowly stood up and glanced back down under her feathers.

The three tiny forms lay motionless except for their regular breathing.  Their soft down had now dried and covered their bodies like a fine layer of gray fleece.  Though their large eyelids remained tightly shut, their heads jerked ever so slightly when the cool morning air washed across their tiny bodies.

“Sit on them until they wake, please.” Sunshine hopped onto a branch on the opposite side of the nest from Treetop.  “Do you have breakfast for them?”

Treetop stepped into the nest, carefully placing his three-toed feet between the sleeping forms.  Before he sat down, he fluffed out his feathers to provide them comfort and warmth.

“I found several juicy bugs.   I’m digesting them right now.  Breakfast should be ready in a few minutes when they awake!”

Sunshine nodded approvingly, although in her heart she again felt terrible confusion.  They were both talking as if nothing had happened.

“Good, good.  I’ll go get myself some breakfast and then eat a few more bugs for the babies.  I should be back shortly.”

“Good hunting!”  Treetop whispered enthusiastically while he gently moved his body from side to side to nestle the babies deeper within the warmth of his feathers.

She leapt into the air and experienced the refreshing rush of wind against her face.  She performed a quick check of the sky and nearby trees for signs of predators who might be watching for hints of parents feeding newborn babies.  Sunshine hadn’t raised fifteen babies without learning to be vigilant.  She’d not lost a single baby to predators yet, or due to anything else for that matter, and she wasn’t about to start now.

But predators were an especially grave danger.

Last season, she and Treetop had been forced to fight off a gang of Blue Jays who stumbled upon their nest.  It had been simple coincidence, the jays landing in their nest tree.  Of course, the jays had immediately heard the cries of the helpless babies.

The ensuing battle had been fierce.  Treetop took on three of the biggest birds by himself while she took on the other two.  Both parents fought with a vengeance, diving at the jays and then going into a tight turn and attacking from a different direction.  The air had reverberated with their angry cries while they pressed their attacks.

The gang were quickly confused by the overwhelming intensity of the parent’s assaults.  Still, the Blue Jays outnumbered the Mockingbirds and they regrouped and fought back with beak and claws.  The melee quickly grew to a fever pitch.

But the ferocious attacks of the parents prevailed and they drove the jays off in raucous retreat.  And though Treetop and Sunshine had both been bruised and each missing a few feathers, the gang had never come close to their precious babies.

After assuring herself that all was safe, she soared away from their tree. The exhilaration of flight sent a thrill throughout her being.  Her heart pounded with excitement, and she relished this welcome emotion that quickly pushed aside the suffocating sadness.

Flying had never felt so good.

She flew faster.  The thrill of her newfound freedom filled her heart with gladness.

As her wings beat rhythmically and the distance grew greater, she felt a sense of relief -- almost as if she were leaving all her troubles behind.

Like all mockingbirds, her lithe body was covered by light gray feathers across her back, head and down to the base of her long tail.  Her breast and belly area was adorned with whitish feathers.  Each time she fully extended her wings in flight, the famous ‘white patch’ flashed like an insignia on her mid-wing.  Her long, elegant tail feathers were black with several white feathers on each edge that also flashed while in full flight.

Her fears faded, and she slowed her wing strokes.

Sunshine now flapped her wings several times and then folded them against her body, allowing her to drop in a slow arc through the air.  After a few seconds, she flapped her wings again until she regained her original altitude; then she again folded her wings and dropped.

She flew gracefully through the air in this rhythmic, undulating flight.

Sunshine neared her favorite hunting spot on a street of houses directly across from a small patch of woods.  She found the bugs juicy and numerous among the manicured lawns.  The bugs literally jumped out of the grass here.

She landed in the nearest yard, and her thoughts immediately went back to Treetop and the three new babies.

Everything was so different this time.

She couldn’t quite understand it either.  After their other babies had hatched, everything had been so good.  Every single egg had hatched to reveal a fragile but living baby eager to begin life.

All the other births had made her feel so happy inside.

But her happiness was tainted this time…

She stood perfectly still, and then she cocked her head to one side and peered intently at the blades of grass, searching for movement.  After a few seconds had passed and no bug revealed itself, Sunshine used the oldest trick in the book.

Sunshine held her lithe body completely still with her head to one side.  She spread her wings one-third fully extended and held them still for a full second.  Continuing her stop-motion movements, she now spread her wings half-way and again held them in position for less than a second before fully extending them.

In the next moment, she folded her wings back against her body.

Nothing moved.

She took two quick steps forward and repeated the stop-motion action of extending her wings.  This trick of mockingbirds was used to startle any bugs into movement so they could be pounced upon.

Finally, the trick worked.

As the shadow of her wings crossed a patch of grass, several small bugs jumped.

Sunshine snatched first one and then several more with rapid strikes of her sharp beak.  She felt satisfaction knowing that soon her babies would have more food.

Sunshine hopped a few feet forward, stirred up some more bugs, and efficiently consumed them.

But the strange, gnawing fear struck her heart again.

She tried to analyze her turbulent emotions, but the fear inside her heart suddenly exploded.  Her entire body shook for a moment.  With great effort, she pushed it all away and focused on finding more bugs.  It was almost like she was running on automatic pilot now: find food and feed the babies; do what needs to be done.

She had perfected this act of denial ever since she realized yesterday morning that one of the babies was deformed. She and Treetop had flung themselves into feeding the babies. In so doing, there wasn’t time to think; there wasn’t time to fear.

One of them would sit on the babies until the other returned with food.  While that parent dropped the warm, juicy protein down one open, pleading beak after another, the other would leap into the air and hunt for bugs.  As soon as they had filled their maw with the gently digested protein, they would fly back and take their mate’s place.  They repeated the routine over and over again.

Treetop and Sunshine threw themselves into this routine performed by all parents since the beginning of time.  They did it with joy.  They did it because they wanted to do it and because they had to do it.  They were good parents.

But something was terribly wrong inside her heart, and it frightened her.

She went back to hunting. She couldn’t deal with this dark, foreboding fear that came and went like some ominous breeze right before a storm.  It felt as if the storm would explode at any moment.

She wanted to be happy so badly.

She was supposed to be happy…

Sunshine continued feeding until she realized her maw was full.  She also realized that more time had passed than she intended.  Treetop would be tired and probably hungry himself.

She flapped her wings and leapt into the air to return to her babies.  But even though the joy of flight filled her heart as she soared above the trees, the all-too-familiar dread returned.  Fear filled her heart once again -- a dark foreboding filled her being.

She flew faster!

Overwhelming panic suddenly gripped her soul, and she felt an irresistible urge to fly far away.  In that instant, she realized what she feared so much -- she was afraid to return and find the baby dead.

Sunshine veered away from the tree that held the nest and her young and flew away as fast as her wings would carry her.

Yes, that was exactly what she feared -- that was the deep, dark, dread that killed her joy and even made her question whether life was worth living now.

She was afraid she would return and find the poor baby dead.

What would she do then?

Fear gripped her entire being. She had to get away.

She couldn’t handle this...  It was just too much.  After all, how could she help this poor baby?  How could she teach it to hop, much less fly?

Treetop was right: he would certainly die!

And she just couldn’t face that terrible eventuality.

She didn’t know how long she flew away in fear.  All she knew through the fog of confusion inside her mind was that she had to fly.  On and on, she flew. Her vision blurred, and the branches of a large tree appeared. She turned away and flew faster. Now a strong headwind pummeled her body and caused her to lose altitude. She turned again so the wind aided her flight. Her mind was filled with confusion – again and again she changed direction while she flew among the trees. And with each change of direction, she flew ever faster.

All at once, she broke through the maze of tree limbs and flew out into the open air.

She realized she was heading back to the nest.

But how?

Inside her heart, she knew she had to feed the babies.  She had to care for them.

After all, she was the mother.

A new feeling grew inside her heart as she drew near the nest.  It was a powerful feeling that fought against the terrible dread.  A new determination pounded inside her heart; a new sense of purpose filled her being and pushed against the dark emptiness.

Quickly, she channeled this new surge of energy.

She felt it deep inside her heart, more deeply than she had ever felt any emotion in her entire life.  It gave her such clarity of thought that she knew exactly what she had to do.

She would feed all three babies.  She would nurture each and every baby.  She would teach each one how to fly.  Both she and her mate would raise them just as they had done with all the others.

Somehow, they would do it.

The baby with only one leg would live.  And not only would it live -- it would thrive.

This newfound determination filled Sunshine’s entire being with power.

And inside her mind, one thought echoed over and over again.

No baby of mine is going to die!