Feathered Guest

Did I tell you I found another bird? I was walking to the store and a bird was sitting in a puddle, sopping wet and not minding in the least that I had nearly stepped on it. Neither did it try to run away when I put my hands down to catch it. It was the oddest full-fledged bird I have ever come across and certainly the smallest I have ever held. I decided that the sidewalk was no place for a bird of beauty.

"The next day, we prepared to go to the summer cottage. We were delayed, however, by an unexpected guest Sanna picked up in a local puddle. He called shotgun, tried to drive the car, made us pull over for snacks, and didn't even say "thank you" as he took his leave. Of course, we still don't know his name. Or whether he was a he or a she."

- Alicia

I suppose it was a finch. It had the beak for one. We took it to the cottage, where it hopped about in its cage, staring up at the sky. I finally let it out, and it sat on my knee for a moment and looked at me with those bright bird eyes that seem to say something and then it flew away--a burst of wings, a flutter--and it sailed out over the treetops and was gone.