Birds of a Feather (an embellished true story)

Once upon a time there was a poor little Lovebird. His name was Mickey and he was a very sad bird. You see, he was all alone. He had no one to share his joys or sorrows with. And, as days went by, all alone in his little cage, he just became sadder and sadder.

His People became very worried about poor Mickey as they watched him change from bright green and brilliant yellow to a faded memory of his former self. They decided to take Mickey to the veterinarian, hoping that something could be done to make Mickey happy again.

The vet took one look at Mickey and said, “Your Lovebird is very sick. He will have to stay in the hospital for a while. I’ll do all that I can, but it doesn’t look good.”

With heavy hearts Mickey’s People left him at the animal hospital and went home without him. Home was an empty place without Mickey’s bright colors.

At the hospital, Mickey remained in a sad state. He wouldn’t eat. He wouldn’t sing. He became weaker by the moment. Everyone at the hospital was losing hope. Even poor Mickey felt that his days were numbered.

Meanwhile, there was a Starling named Lucinda who made her home in the attic of a nearby store. She had built a nest to prepare for the day when she would have sweet baby birds. But, birds and their nests were not appreciated by the store owners and they decided to spray some smelly oil where the birds were nesting. “This will get rid of those pesky birds!” they thought.

Well, Lucinda had dreamed so long of little baby birds of her own that nothing could stand in her way. She stayed in the attic and was soon covered in the smelly oil. Now, when oil gets onto a birds’ feathers it is a really bad thing. They can’t fly and they can’t keep warm.

Lucinda knew that she had to admit defeat and leave the store attic, but now she could no longer fly and she was getting really cold. She cried, “What shall I do? I don’t want to die!” And she did something drastic…

…she made her way to a hole that led to the outside…

…held her breath…

…and jumped!

Poor Lucinda. She landed on the pavement outside of the store. She couldn’t move.

She started to shiver.

She cried.

And as she lay there, as pitiful as can be, all she could do was hope that help would come her way.

Luckily, there were some caring people passing by. They took one look at Lucinda and knew that she needed to get to a doctor soon or she would die.

Well, it just so happened that Lucinda the Starling ended up at the same hospital where Mickey the Lovebird was being looked after. Mickey gazed at Lucinda for many days and felt compassion for her. He worked hard to cheer Lucinda as the doctors tried to remove the oil from her feathers. He spoke softly to her every day and would slip next to her to try to warm her.

The doctors were amazed at the friendship that was growing between Mickey and Lucinda.

“Imagine that!” they thought, “a Lovebird and a Starling becoming friends!”

As they watched the friendship turn to love they noticed an amazing thing! Both Mickey and Lucinda seemed to be healing. The two sick birds comforted each other and blossomed once again. Mickey’s feathers regained their color and Lucinda dreamed again of baby birds.

When Mickey’s People came to get their now healthy bird, they saw how happy he was with Lucinda and decided that nothing in the world could break the bond between Mickey and Lucinda.

Mickey and Lucinda are now together and they have built a nest.

I don’t know what you call the children of a Lovebird and a Starling…but, I do know that they are loved.

Perhaps we can call them LoveStars.

So, you see, it’s not always birds of a feather who flock together. Sometimes different feathers are what we need. Especially if those feathers give us love.