4 The Baby Birds

Inspired by “The Council of Pecans” in Braiding Sweetgrass

Once upon a time, there was a robin. This robin was a mother of three young birds. Her baby birds lost their father not too long ago, so their mother was left to nurture them on her own. Mother and her babies loved to eat sunflower hearts. One day, mother bird told her babies to go out on their own and bring back some sunflower hearts for dinner. Mother bird wants her babies to start to become more independent so that they can one day take care of themselves. Her three babies went out on their own to bring back their dinner. The baby birds flew away from their nest together. They flew about a mile away where they knew they would find the seeds. When the birds arrived, to their surprise, there were no sunflower hearts to be found. They searched in the grass, under the soil, and every place in sight, but they could not find any. They were worried to come back with nothing because they didn’t want to disappoint their mother. With no seeds in sight, they flew away empty handed. When they arrived back at their nest, they were nervous to tell mother that they didn’t have any seeds. Mother greeted her babies and said, “Hello my darlings, let’s see what you brought back for our dinner.” The baby birds replied with sad eyes, “Mother, we looked and looked for the seeds, but we couldn’t find any.” Mother looked a bit concerned and then said, “Oh dear, you are sure you looked everywhere?” The babies replied, “Yes, mother. We are so sorry… What are we going to eat now?” Mother said, “Don’t worry. I will go find some worms in the dirt. It just rained yesterday, so I am sure there will be some.” Mother flew away from the nest in search of worms to eat for dinner.

A few minutes later, mother returned with a mouthful of worms. She placed them in the nest, and the four hungry robins gobbled up their dinner not leaving one scrap behind. After dinner, mother put her babies to bed. After they were fast asleep, mother stayed awake worrying about the lack of food. She felt, because she couldn’t supply an abundance of food for them, that they would be better off living some place else with a parent that would have more than enough food for them. Mother dozed off to sleep after thinking about this for a couple of hours.

By morning, mother had gone out to find some breakfast before her babies woke up. Mother was unable to find any seeds and was only able to find 3 worms. She returned to the nest and woke up her babies. She told them that they would be having a small breakfast. By the time they were done eating, she had decided about sending her babies away. Mother looked at her babies with very sad eyes. She said, “My darlings, I have some serious news to share with you.” One of the babies said, “What is it, Momma?” Mother replied, “There is no more food here. I feel like a terrible mother because a good mother always has food for her babies, and well, I can’t find any more food for you. I have made the decision to send all of you together 30 miles away from here. You will start school and have a new home.” The babies said, “Oh, momma. What are we going to do without you? We are going to miss you so much!” Mother replied, “I will miss all of you very much, but it is for the best.”

Mother helped her babies pack up all their belongings. They then flew out of the nest together. Mother led the way to their new home. When they arrived at their new nest, they were greeted by a friendly robin. They introduced themselves to one another, and then momma and her babies had to say their goodbyes. Mother said, “My darlings, I am going to miss you very much. I love you all, and hope that one day, we are able to be together again.” Her babies replied, “We love you momma!” Mother then flew back to her nest. She knew that she had made the right decision to leave her babies in their new home, but she felt so very lonely.

The baby birds were settling into their new home. They were fed a plentiful dinner of nuts, fruit, and seeds. They went to bed with full tummies and thinking of their momma. A couple of weeks passed by. The babies were enjoying school and being fed large meals every day. They missed their momma more than they thought that they would. They asked their new caretakers why their momma couldn’t just move in with them. The caretakers said, “Well, I don’t see why not.” The next day, momma bird came by to visit her babies. When she arrived, she was greeted by her babies. They excitedly shouted, “Momma, Momma! We don’t have to be separated anymore! You can move in here with us.” Mother was overwhelmed with joy. She said, “Oh my. It is like my dream has come true.” All six birds ate a bountiful meal together and everyone was happy to be all together again.