The story of Little Bird and Cat

In a land far away east of Eden and not far from Nod, there is a copse of stately trees in a circle.

These are not ordinary trees. Their strong, beautiful branches are laden with silver-filigreed leaves that shelter ripe, luscious fruit of every kind and color.

Birds with vibrant plumage live in little hollows in these trees. They live peaceful lives under the watch of the bird council. This council is made up of very wise, older male birds whose adornments set them apart from their ordinary wives and other, lesser birds. But they rule their kingdom strictly and fairly.

All these birds live in the copse safe from every danger, except for the cats that live in a community nearby raising their own little families. The bird council make efforts at keeping peace with the ferocious felines, and some even believe that cats can be made into birds if they just try hard enough, or want to be a bird badly enough.

And so, dear reader, we visit a little, grey female bird who listened to the council of wise, elderly birds. A stray cat befriended her, and she began to think that not all felines are bad. This one, anyway, seemed very nice.

Little Bird made a place for her new friend in her home. He was so warm and cuddly, and was so very nice. He brought home gifts of mice and squirrels from neighboring communities, and even though she couldn't enjoy those gifts as much as Cat did, she was glad for his thoughtfulness in bringing her things.

It wasn't long before Little Bird realized that Cat wasn't going to change into a bird. She looked carefully along his fur as she preened him with her little beak, but there were no signs of small, unfurling feathers against his skin. His smile still showed sharp, needle-like teeth, and his claws grew longer and sharper, not shorter.

But more than those signs, Cat began to show his true feline nature. He watched his little grey bird as she puttered around her little hole in a tree at the edge of the copse, his eyes like green slits. His tail twitched, his eyes narrowed, his body tensed, and he pounced on the helpless little bird for fun. But he never hurt her enough to kill her. She was his toy now, like a ball of yarn to pounce on and chase and sink his teeth into just enough to hurt, but not puncture.

Frightened, Little Bird went to the council for help. She stood before the group of eleven, brilliant birds in a special tree used for such meetings. In the dim light entering the chamber, they could see that her feathers drooped, her eyes were dull, and she looked as if she was molting in patches.

Little Bird told her sad story. Although the council was not happy that she had allowed such a cat into her home, they encouraged her to keep trying to make peace. With enough patience and goodness, Cat can turn into a bird, they said. They have heard lots of stories from other communities where that had happened. They assured her they would be there to help her and support her, but that she should go back and do her best to change him...and pray to their God.

Reluctantly, the obedient little bird went home. When Cat found out what she'd done he pounced on her again and pinned her underneath his heavy paw while he hissed and spat in her face. As she lay there, she cried out to the great God who made her and waited for the rampage to end.

Remembering the advice of the wise bird council, she went about seeing to Cat's needs and whims without complaint. She made squirrel stew and mouse steak because he still brought these home. But they were not gifts anymore. They were products of his labor, he said, and it was her job to use them for his pleasure.

Cat's cleverness continued along with daily pouncings and terror-inducing games. But he decided that if he was going to keep living in the bird community, he should at least try to fit in. So he went to weekly bird meetings on Sundays where all the birds sang to their God and listened to one of the wise bird council members speak. Being a cat, he never tried to sing, because he knew he would stand out as not a true bird because of his caterwauling. And every Sunday, Cat took some of the feathers he'd stripped off his Little Bird and carefully glued them in places on his sleek body so that other birds could see he was a changing cat. As for the bald spots on Little Bird where her feathers were gone, she learned to artfully arrange what was left very carefully so no one would know.

But still the torture continued. After one especially horrible attack where her spindly legs were nearly unhinged from her body, she went to the council again. Please help me, she said. I am afraid for my life.

This time, a few older council members went to talk to Cat. Surprised at being confronted about his hidden behavior, the feline admitted to some of his wrongdoings. Giant tears fell down his whiskers and dropped onto his soft paws as he asked for their help to become a bird like them.

The older birds congratulated themselves on a job well done and set about having Little Bird and Cat meet for counselling every two weeks.

At first, Cat was better. Little Bird stood up to him when he crouched in position ready to strike, and threatened to call the head bird on council. But after several months of behaving himself, Cat couldn't hold back anymore. Neighbor birds heard him screeching and howling at night. But they stayed silent and didn't offer to help. After all, changing from a cat to a bird can't be an easy thing to do.

One night, Cat snapped. As Little Bird sat near him watching him eat his liver pie, he screeched and hissed and spat at her. His eyes became green slits, his tail twitched, and this time when he pounced, he sank his teeth into her. But as he let go to throw her into her little nest, she escaped! She flew and flew, around the house and out the hole in the tree, and all around the neighborhood until she couldn't fly anymore. Cat bounded out of the tree and meowed sweetly for her to come home (other birds were watching, you know) but she didn't. She landed on the edge of the community in tall grass and fainted.

Well, you would think that would be the end of cat living there, wouldn't you? He was punished after neighbors found Little Bird. Big crows came and took him to a special tree with bars and made him stay there awhile. When the crows let him out, he was told not to go near Little Bird. He was so sorry about what happened, and so afraid that the crows would take him back to that horrible hole, that he didn't. He agreed with the council that Little Bird needed time to heal because he hadn't been very nice and understanding after all. But he arranged with a few, not-very-smart little birds to send secret messages to her. The letters, written on very thin leaves, were spotted with Cat's tears, and in every line he said how sorry he was.

The wise elders of the bird council saw that he was sorry, and still had hope that he could become a bird because he wanted to so badly. So they let him come back to Sunday meetings, but only if he would stay away from Little Bird.

But Little Bird wasn't fooled anymore. She knew about all the times he had dressed himself up in her feathers, and he had amassed quite a few. He wore them all the time now. She saw clearly that he had glued a piece of plastic to the top part of his nose to look like a beak, and that the thin little feathers sprouting next to his trimmed whiskers and along his body were stitched on. Little Bird was amazed that only a few other birds recognized that this cat sprouting grey and white feathers was not a bird.

Even though Cat had promised to stay away from Little Bird at Sunday meetings, and he knew crows were waiting to take him away if he misbehaved, he prowled around the hollow rooms in the meeting tree, looking for her. He always told other birds how sad he was and he only wanted another chance to show Little Bird he loved her. Sometimes he snuck into the back of a room where Little Bird was...and sat there...and stared at her with his slitty, green eyes.

After three years, the wise birdmen were impatient with Little Bird. They wondered why she wouldn't give him another chance and let him come home. They wanted to know why she couldn't see the changes in him. If he was going to kill you, he would have done it by now, they said.

The last time Little Bird appeared before council, she didn't look at all like the bird she used to be. She walked with a limp, one wing was crooked, she had bald patches where luxuriant feathers used to grow, and there were scars all over her little frame. She stood with head bowed, because she was so tired of trying to make them understand that Cat was only pretending to be a bird. She warned them that he was only playing cat-and-mouse games with them. But they didn't listen. After all, she's only a silly little bird who let him into her home in the first place, they said. She made her nest and now she must sit in it.

On this day, the in the dim lighting of the council chambers, with the sound of happy birds singing outside, eleven brilliant birds in vibrant cloaks of many colors looked at Little Bird with pity. But their pity for Cat was greater. They turned her away one last time and told her that she is actually the one who needs help. She must forgive Cat, they said, and to understand that cats can be birds after all, if they are given enough patience, time, care, and prayers to their God.

Little Bird left the council chambers for the last time.

There in the hallway, hiding in a corner, was Cat, covered with stitched-on feathers and a plastic beak. He pounced, with teeth bared and claws unsheathed.

Little Bird was no more. She flew away.