Let’s get festive

The mid-afternoon sun beat down on his back and warmed the crown of his head. While usually he was so keen to enjoy the sunshine, especially now that the sun was staying out later and later every day. There was a bird somewhere outside the barn, and it was making some of the most alarming sounds he’d heard yet. With that high stepping gait of his and an odd tilt of his head to offset his ears and better pinpoint the source of the shrieking trills, he circled the outside of the barn. Long, sensitive whiskers kept him from walking into the barn walls.

Eventually he found himself standing at the backside of the barn. He could hear the steady thunk, thunk, thunk of a narrow beak on wood. He knew there were fences around the back of the barn, but always struggled to remember exactly where. His strides slowed as he tried to hone in on the source of the sound. A harsh, guttural warbling sounded just above his head. Then, the wet sounds of tearing flesh. The coppery scent of blood filling his nostrils. Usually it was only the really big birds that ate meat, like his dads companions or the big eagles that sometimes flew overhead. His family was still wary of leaving he and his siblings unsupervised when the eagles started to get too comfortable, especially since he couldn’t exactly see them coming. This didn’t sound like an eagle or hawk, though.

A rasping shriek nearly made him jump out of his skin. He knew the sounds of small birds by now, but he wanted more information. Taking off at a dead sprint back the way he came, the gangly youth went looking for some of his leftover food from breakfast. Maybe he could feed the bird, and make friends with it! A bird that ate meat! How cool, he would be the coolest out of his siblings! With only a single collision with the barn wall along the way, he managed to skitter back around the side of the barn.

By the time he got back, the little bird was in a new spot. He could tell right away, the little thunk, thunk, thunk noises were coming from a new spot. With a strip of warm meat dangling from the side of his mouth, he honed back in on the new site of the strange bird’s fixation. As he reached the edge of the fencing, his toes brushed against something warm and furry, but also wet. He dropped the meat, and pressed his nose closer to the strange new object. The sensitive pad of his nose, in combination with his whiskers and tongue, identified the lump as a disembodied mouse head. The bird must have done this!

Wriggling with glee, the youngster picked his leftovers up off the ground and reared up to prop his oversized paws against the fence posts. Craning his neck, the slate and onyx marked boy hefted the stringy strip of buffalo meat up to where he hoped the little bird would be able to see it. Now he held himself oh so still, barely able to contain the excitement that came with this latest discovery. It was only when he felt something picking and tearing at the meat in his jaws that he let his tail wag as hard as it wanted to go. Success!