A strange thing happened today. While I was responding to a nice comment on one of my poems, I heard a thump on the window of my bedroom. Curiously I got out of bed and looked out. What I saw on the ground was the body of an adolescent Cardinal. I realized at once that the poor little bugger had inadvertently bashed into the unseen glass; probably on its maiden flight.

The parents, I saw, were sitting in a bush a few feet away chirping away. I'm sure they feared the worst and were frantic to say the least. I resolved to see if the little bird had indeed succumbed to death. I snuck out my backdoor as quietly as I could and peeked around the corner. Happily, I could see that the young fledgling was still moving; its head wobbling unsteadily while its wings were spread out like a blanket. I crept a little closer startling the parent who flew off to a large tree some fifty yards or so away. They could do nothing but watch and wait. I bent down, then moved my hand to rest beside its body.

Being as careful as I could, I moved my index finger under its legs and was rewarded with them clamping tightly on it; it did not try to fly away. Slowly I raised myself and the little bird up and looked him over; still he made no attempt to fly away. I then gently placed my thumb onto the top of his feet to trap him temporarily and slowly moved my hand up and down encouraging the flapping of his wings. Good, I thought, nothing seemed broken and his head was starting to move more normally.

I stopped and removed my thumb, giving him the chance at freedom; still he did not fly away. Instead, his little head turned to the side and I could see he was staring at me. Was he wondering what this giant two-legged monster was doing, I could only wonder. I moved to within a few inches, wondering why he was not frightened; still he did not try to fly away. I determined that he was in-fact OK and so moved slowly over to the bush that the mother and father had been in moments before. I then raised my hand up to a high twig and gently coaxed him to jump onto it. Once he did I backed away, hoping he'd take flight; still he did not fly away.

I could still see the parents off in the distance, so as casually as I could, with much dignity, I strolled to the middle of my backyard and turned to watch. I hadn't long to wait, for the father with his bright red plumage came swooping in and landed at the spot he thought his child should be at. Not seeing the young adolescent he began to call out. Chirp, Chirp! The little bird upon hearing a familiar voice, responded with his own call. I saw the father look to the bush in amazement. At that point the mother swooped into the bush to take a seat near her offspring.

In moments, as I watched, the trio were chirping together. Then to my happy surprise all three took to the air to continue their flight. I felt that this little bird had learned an important lesson that day and was happy that I, in some small way, had helped. Life is like that sometimes I concluded, we meet someone or something and we are rewarded. By sharing a special moment with them I gained something, which hadn’t been there before.

We should all consider these times and events and remember, it’s these little seemingly insignificant moments that define who we are.