The little bird has a friend

It was another beautiful day in the forest and as the morning dawned bright and early, the megapode was already up and about, humming a cheery tune as she cleaned her feathers energetically. She sighed contentedly as she recalled the past few weeks after she turned her life around with her newfound confidence. She had even been successful in making a new friend and the two were hardly ever seen without each other. As she clambered out of her cosy burrow she expectantly looked around in anticipation for Fred, her ally. Suddenly from nowhere a colourful creature came whizzing near her and went round and round her head till she started feeling faint.     ” Gosh Fred, stop it!”, she screamed trying to swat him away. “ Every single time! “, chuckled Fred, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.  “ Can’t you just sit still for a single minute Fred? “ asked the megapode , who had to clutch a tree stump to steady herself as the dizziness slowly faded away.

“ I am a hummingbird, darling”, said Fred, “ We are tiny and cute and buzz around everywhere”. The megapode knew that even though Fred put up a brave front and joked around all the time, his tiny size bothered him a lot, and she was the only bird he ever confided in. They had become thick friends and Fred accompanied her to the vegetable farm everyday, where he joined the other hummingbirds in the job of plucking tea leaves.  Even on this particular day, the megapode bid adieu to her friend and went to help the old lady hen in picking carrots from the ground. She toiled all day cheerfully , grinning to herself as she recalled all the times Fred had her laughing so hard that she got a stitch in her side. The sun had almost started setting by the time she left the vegetable farm  after collecting some cherry tomatoes that she knew Fred would love to nibble on.  

But the Fred who greeted her that evening didn’t have his usual upbeat attitude and he silently perched upon a tree right above her head. “ Why the sad face, buddy ?” asked the megapode, her face full of concern for her friend. “ Oh , I just had a long day. You need not worry about it.”, said Fred trying his hardest to get back to his normal self. But the megapode knew him better than anybody else and she had never seen him like this before.  She quickly decided  that she had to do something about it, and she knew exactly who would be able to help her. “ Come on Fred, “ she said, “ I want to take you to meet someone I know . He is a very good friend of mine and I am sure that he will help us to find a solution to whatever it is bothering you right now .” “ But I am perfectly alright” protested Fred, who was not totally convinced about the success of the idea.  “ Just trust me” Said the megapode .

“ Hey little one , what a pleasant surprise!” greeted the owl warmly as the megapode and Fred entered his  hollow in the tree trunk. As they settled down and were offered the customary cups of tea , the megapode explained the reason for their visit and she urged Fred to tell them what had happened that day. “ Well “, began Fred “ I was going about my work as usual when this blue jay came flapping along and he messed up the pile of tea leaves that I had spent the whole morning collecting. He kept  giving me a hard time about what a small and helpless creature I was and no matter how hard I tried, I just could not muster the courage to stand up to him”. The megapode immediately started comforting her friend while the owl just sat there silently staring at the hummingbird.

“ Why don’t you both accompany me on a little trip tomorrow morning?” he suggested.“ You will find all the answers you seek .” he assured the hummingbird. So the next morning, the hummingbird arrived at the owl’s place with his trusted friend and the three set off towards a field located not too far away. The megapode knew that the owl must have a specific reason for taking them there and she hoped that her friend would soon be rid off all his problems. “ Well , here we are .Why don’t you look around? I will be back shortly “ said the owl and he flapped his wings and flew away. The megapode and hummingbird were taken aback and gaped at each other wordlessly. Suddenly, they heard a loud caw and saw a crow flying straight at them. The megapode had little time to react before the sharp claws pierced her and she cried in agony. The hummingbird shouted in anger and before he knew was madly flying towards the crow and attacking him with such speed and energy that the crow could not defend himself at all. After chasing the crow away, Fred rushed towards the megapode to make sure she was okay. The megapode was amazed at the way Fred had fought off the crow and she looked at him admiringly. “ Gosh Fred, what happened to you? That was some spectacular fighting I saw there” she said. “Well, I could not bear to see you hurt. I had to do something . You are my best friend, Magda”, he said to the megapode.

The owl arrived from his well - hidden spot from where he had been observing patiently all this time. He knew that hummingbirds were a naturally aggressive species and he had only enabled Fred to see this for himself. “ Did you realize what a courageous little bird you are Fred?”, he asked the hummingbird. “That crow has been attacking every bird that ever crossed this field . Never judge anyone by their size , even yourself for we all have incredible strengths hidden inside us . “ he said to the astounded hummingbird. “ Did you see what I did there Magda, did you see? “ shouted Fred and he flew round and round the megapode as she cheered him on.