The Mockingbird


by Athena Louise - Date: 2006-12-01 - Word Count: 427 Share This!

When my sons were young, we had a menagerie in the house. Aside from the two dogs, Froggy baby, and the box turtle, we also had two baby mockingbirds. The lynx came later.

Bitty bird and Tweety bird had fallen out of their nest. Before their mother could get to them, a neighborhood dog did, so Bitty bird did not live too much longer than that. Tweety bird, on the other hand, adopted me as his mother.

I had called the wild bird clinic, but the birds were too young to be taken there. Consequently I had to raise them. I fed them every half hour, for twelve hours a day, seven days a week, until Tweety was older. Then he would fly around the house and attack anything he thought was going to hurt me - like the broom, or the tail of the box turtle. If the dogs came too close to me, Tweety would dive bomb them.

On nice days, I would put his cage on the porch and leave the cage door open. He would fly around, check out the neighbor hood and return to sit on top of his cage. One day, he brought a friend with him. He had come to say good bye to me. Then the two of them flew off to start a new life together.

I was reminded of Tweety bird a few months ago. I was out with Bubba for our morning trek, when I saw a Hawk being chased by a mockingbird. The sight of this little bird chasing one six times its size, was a sight to see.

The hawk flew into a tree and tried to hide among the leaves. The Hawk waited about three minutes then flew out of the tree. The mockingbird was waiting for him and as soon as the Hawk was in the air, the mockingbird dive bombed him, the same way Tweety did to the broom, or the dogs.

The mockingbird knew the Hawk could have turned at any point and crushed him with powerful claws. This did not matter to the mocking bird. This little bird was willing to give its life to protect its young. Instead, it managed to chase the Hawk away from its nest.

This simple act in nature reminds us that if we stand up for what is right, it does not matter how big or powerful our opponent might be. Do not look at the odds and say it cannot be done. Remember the little mocking bird. He had the courage to try and he succeeded, so can we all.


Related Tags: bird, hawk, courage

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