The Songbird (A Children’s Story)

11 year old Sara woke to the sound of a songbird outside her window. Throwing off her blanket, she slid into her slippers and put on her robe as she ran to the window. Her songbird was back! The songbird was her morning wake up call all summer and when the weather turned colder and the fall fog was a daily event, he had stopped coming. Although it was colder, the sun was bright and the wind was just a slight breeze so it seemed natural for the songbird to return.

As Sara watched from the window, the songbird would face her standing on a nearby branch close to the window. The songbird would sing and then turn its head to the left to see Sara’s smiling approval. Then he would turn his head to the right and sing some more. Hopping to another branch, the songbird would continue its song and dance and seemed to enjoy Sara’s delight.

Finally, the songbird would stop and turn its head to the right to look at Sara with its right eye. Then turn its head to the left to see Sara with its left eye and that became Sara’s time to clap and the bird flew away.

Late that afternoon, Sara asked her father if she could visit her friend who was having a small birthday party a few blocks away. Father asked if she had a present to give her friend and Sara showed him what she had made for her. Sara had made a fine beaded necklace for her friend and Father smiled and nodded his approval.

He lit his pipe and told her to be home when the street lights came on. Sara said it might be later because the family was providing pizza and cake for dinner. Father nodded again and went back to his reading drawing two short puffs on his pipe and the smoke curled up alongside his face as it turned into a grey-blue haze that hung in the room near the ceiling.

The party was fun with games like tag and hide and seek. Sara was introduced to the game called capture the flag. There was a lot of running, shouting and laughing and the party was a very happy event.

By dinner time, Sara and the party-goers were really hungry and the pepperoni pizza smelled delicious. Hot chocolate, soft drinks and garlic bread was served with the pizza and Sara ate and drank until she could not eat another bite. Presents were opened and Sara’s gift earned her oohs and ahhs and a big hug.

Sara left the party and was surprised that thick fog had rolled in while they were inside. Sara could barely see the white fence that enclosed the front yard as she stood on the porch looking for the street lamps to see if they were on or not. She could not tell but the night had come and something was filtering through the fog. Sara walked the path to the fence listening to her shoes clap and echo with each step on the concrete walkway.

Sara could see now that the street lights were on so she hurried along. The fog clung to her face and skin and her clothes were getting cold and damp. Listening to her footsteps, she noticed a clacking coming from behind her so she stopped and looked. The clacking behind her stopped but through the fog, about Sara’s knee height, she saw a faint red glow in the mist. As she peered, straining to make out what the strange red glow could be, she heard a terrifying low growl from that direction.

Sara froze as panic swept over her. Her head tingled and a shiver slid down her spine. Her legs weakened and they shook. The red glow came slowly closer. It must be a dog she thought but just then, the red glow slowly rose until it was the height of a tall bear. The red glow looked like an eye of some growling creature and she knew she had to run. Run she did.

Her steps were loud and fast and the clacking of the thing behind her was running too. Were those the creature’s long nails on the pavement, she wondered? The misty fog felt like light rain as she ran hoping to see a familiar house so she would know how far her house and the protection of her father would be. The fog was still so thick she could not see the houses, though, so she just kept running.

In her panic run, she had passed her house and would have to go around the block again because she couldn’t go back with the red-eyed creature behind her. Sara rounded the first corner and thought maybe the creature wouldn’t be able to follow her in the fog and continue straight but by the time she rounded the second corner, she could hear that the creature was still behind her. As Sara rounded the third and fourth corners Sara knew the creature had come ever closer and as she peered through the fog and saw her house, she could hear the creature’s labored breathing. Could she make it to her home and lock the door with the creature so close now? She burst opened the door and slipped on the tile floor as she tried to stop and close the door. Sara managed to get to her feet and close and lock the door.

Through her heavy breathing, she listened at the door and heard no sound outside. The double doors to her father’s study were slightly open and Sara smelled the familiar pipe and the rustling of her father’s newspaper. Running now she slammed through the double doors surprising her father sitting in his favorite leather chair. “Oh, daddy there was a creature chasing me all the way home and it had an eye that glowed in the dark!” Sara breathlessly exclaimed.

Sara’s father held her in his arms on his lap and chuckled, “Well you’re home now and I’m here, Sara.”

Sara relaxed into the warm arms and snuggled against him as he held her firmly on his lap. She could hear his heartbeat steady and strong and allowed herself to grow calm. “It was really scary, daddy.”, Sara began. “I ran and ran and thought I was going to die. I don’t know what terrible things would happen to me if the creature caught me.”

Father chuckled again, “Well you can’t run anymore, can you?”, he said more as a statement than a question.

Puzzled by the statement she looked up into his eyes to better understand and there she saw one eye, glowing red!

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Sara slowly opened her eyes. It was morning and she was in her own bed. Had it been only a bad dream? The memory was still vivid and she grew angry with herself. Sara reasoned that stuffing herself with pepperoni pizza and hot chocolate was why she had her nightmare. Never never never would she stuff herself like that again, she vowed.

Through her bedroom window, the sky was blue with just high wispy clouds. The rustle of the leaves showed Sara there was a gentle breeze but the songbird’s limb was empty.

A little sadly, Sara turned away to ready herself for the new day.

Suddenly the songbird began his song. He had returned once more to celebrate the new day with Sara and she went to the window for her serenade. Sara’s smile grew wide as she put her dream behind her and let it fade as dreams do. Then Sara stopped smiling for as the songbird turned his head, Sara saw one eye glowing red.