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Tuesday, 18 September 2007 |
The following story seems unbelievable but it actually happened and my husband, who always thinks on the straight and narrow, actually witnessed it and still marvels at how he was lucky enough to see it. For those of you who wonder what the rewards are for kindness - they are rewards of the heart.
Several years ago we lived on two acres in a rural area. In the spring we would get some strong storms and the wind would usually blow bird's nests out of the trees behind the barn. After one storm, I went out to look at the damage and noticed a bird nest laying upside down on the ground. I flipped it over and found three tiny sparrow chicks whose feathers were still contained in their protective sheaths (pin feathers). The chicks were fine, but obviously much too young to fly or make it back to their mother. I hydrated them with water from a dropper and wondered what to do.
Later that afternoon I found a wood box and some wire and carefully placed the nest and the chicks inside, climbed up into the tree and wired the box to one of the branches. At that point, all I could do was hope that the mother would return and take care of the chicks.
Several days went by. One afternoon my husband and I were walking behind the barn under the trees. Suddenly three small sparrows began making quite a disturbance overhead, chattering excitedly and flitting from limb to limb just above my head. They were getting much closer to me than birds normally do and seemed very determined to get my attention. I took a closer look and could see that they were young and still had a few pin feathers. I wondered if these were the same little birds. I reached my hand up through the limbs and talked to them and was shocked when all three flew down to my fingers and joyfully chirped and danced along my fingertips and along the length of my arm . A feet feet above my head sat an adult female sparrow. The little birds continued this for a few more minutes, then followed the female sparrow up into the tree.
My husband just stood there in disbelief, then remarked that he believed I had just been given the most meaningful thank you that I might ever receive in my life.
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