Flying High With Raggity-Anne - A PowerHouseCreatives Contest

Life Story Peter, Paul and A Cape Sparrow

Once upon a time two little brothers aged six Peter, and eight year old Paul were playing outside after howling winds had rocked the trees to and fro for what felt like forever!

Outside at last, Peter and Paul played together imagining dinosaurs stomping around the world, when playing under the tree they saw what looked like a Pink blob laying quietly on the ground.

Clever boys do not touch everything they find, they yelled for Mom.... "Now what have we here", she asked, Peter with big eyes blurted, "I don't know but it moved"!

Picking it up gently in a soft cotton towel the three took this tiny new born bird inside, Paul rushed to find a shoebox to make it a home, with Peter more worried about why it's mommy had left the baby alone, "But why"?

Quietly telling Peter it must have fallen out of the nest high above and mommy bird could not pick it up to take it back to the nest.

They decided it best to try feed the little one, with only Pro-nutro chocolate flavour in the house, that was a good enough start.

Mixed with water, tiny little bits on her freshly washed finger Mom showed the boys how to tickle the lower beak offering it small amounts of cereal.

Smiling at her sons they gave the nick-name shit face with chocolate smeared all over, after taking a little and gently holding now warm bird in a cotton cloth, splashed it's face clean using a syringe with water, the boys jeered that it was getting it's first bath.

Mom placed it into the shoe-box, silently hoping it made it through the night.

Every two hours Mom got up to repeat the feeding and washing process, Peter and Paul learned tiny birds need a lot of loving attention.

Day two a quick drive to the shops to buy plain Pro-nutro, bird had made it through the night! Now it was up to the boys to give it a name.

Raggity was the chosen name, perhaps it was one leg that looked slightly bent, Gran reads a lot of books to them, maybe it was something they heard and liked, so Raggity is a new member in the home.

Weeks went by with energetic boys being taught if one son held Raggity gently, the other could feed carefully now using a small wooden teaspoon taking turns, washing was still done by Mom.

Peter and Paul thought it was magic when the first little feathers appeared, now wobbling around in the shoe-box home, yes the leg was deformed Raggity was a happy little bird excited with life.

As time went on it feathers revealed the female Cape Sparrow (we call a Mossie), so name was adjusted to Raggity-Anne.

Peter and Paul loved playing outside, Raggity-Anne was never caged being a wild bird, she learned to ride on either boys shoulder when playing outdoors, sinking her sharp little claws through their T-shirts and clinging on for dear life.

With all the running around Raggity-Anne starting to attempt flying, being lifted up to the closest shoulder when landing on the ground, eventually returning to Peter and Paul every time, landing on a shoulder.

Returning from work Raggity-Anne would fly down and settle on the Mom and remained indoors at night. During daylight she would fly in or out through the bathroom window, go down the passage to the kitchen to have her seeds, dry Pro-nutro cereal and water, slowly learning to eat with the other birds outside.

Being with Peter and Paul all her life they watched her meeting a handsome young male, they excitedly told their Mom she was playing in the trees making new friends!

Now was the time to teach them when you love something wild you need to let them go, deep down they must have seen how Raggity-Anne was changing, going out for longer and longer every day.

Well that lucky fella did get our beautiful girl, not to be seen for almost eight months when one day coming home from school the boys were sitting indoors and who flew in Raggity-Anne with two little ones with her, they circling the room a few times they flew on out, never to be seen again.

Now fully grown men they think back fondly of their little pink blob that changed their lives, helping many more young birds thrown from nests in high wind season when nests get blown out of trees.

Peter and Paul always kept shoe-boxes in case they needed one in an emergency to help a feathered friend for a night, a week or until they were big enough to go out alone.

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Thought for Today: "Brothers love each other when they are equally rich." ~ African proverb

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Short story contest on #powerhousecreatives hosted by @zord189

Not bird photography, a bird related story share on #featheredfriday with @melinda010100

All pictures SOURCED ON GIPHY

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