The Adventures of Little Dude

Part one:  Hollywood Mindset

Once upon a time, there lived two baby Starling birds.  Their cozy little home was a nest that Mama Starling had built up inside a hole in the covered parking ceiling of an apartment complex.  They were safely tucked away among warm, fuzzy pink insulation.  As these two baby brothers waited for Mama’s return to bring them yummy things to eat, they sat in their private nest, and heard many different conversations from the people below them, coming and going with their loud cars.  The noises were strange and new and very curious. 

One day, the youngest sibling overheard a particular conversation that really set his curiosity buzzing.  Two people were talking about driving to a place called Hollywood.  Hollywood was a place of beauty and glamour.  This couple was going there because one of them wanted to have their lips altered so they puffed out really big and lots of people would admire them and say they were pretty. 

This was a very interesting conversation to the little Starling, because you see, his older brother was always giving him a hard time about how big his beak was.

“You’re all beak, bone head!  I can’t even see your face!”
 
Those words didn’t make the younger Starling feel good about himself.  He couldn’t help that he had a big beak.  Since being hatched, that was all he had ever heard his brother tease him about.

“Fine!” the younger Starling baby said.  “You may not like my beak, but Hollywood will, so I will go there instead!”

The baby Starling started inching his feet forward, intending to fly out through the hole like Mama, and drive off with the couple going to Hollywood.

The trouble was, you see, the baby Starling hadn’t exactly walked before.  Sure, he’d circled around in his nest and adjusted positions, but he had never travelled outside of his cozy little area.  His legs were very wobbly and unsteady, and he admitted that he was feeling nervous the closer he got to the hole where all of the light shone through, but he was determined to show his brother that someone, somewhere, would think his beak was beautiful.

That hole slowly came closer and closer until he could feel the air whip through his downy feathers he was sprouting.  One more little inch forward, and he would be flying like Mama!
He boldly wobbled forward, felt air beneath his body, felt gravity pull him down, spread his tiny little wings like he watched Mama do so many times—and fell all the way to the ground.

PLOP.

Oof!  That didn’t exactly feel very good.  What had happened?  Why hadn't his wings flown like Mama's?  Now here he was, lying on his side on the ground, hearing the couple bid goodbye to someone.

Now was his chance!  He worked his tiny wobbly legs, but it was very hard to get up.  He hadn’t ever fallen over before.  He tried and he tried, but he just wasn’t able to get up onto his feet.

He heard the noise of car doors open and the even louder noise of a car starting, but the noise that was the saddest to hear was the sound of the car backing up and driving off.

The baby Starling was not going to Hollywood with those people.

His tiny little heart was now feeling quite sad.

It made him aware that he was now in a very bad position.  Not only was he not in his nest anymore, he was getting hungry, and when Mama came back, she would find that he wasn’t there.  He kicked his little legs, but nothing was happening.  He wasn’t strong enough to get back up on his feet. 

To make matters worse, he had fallen onto a cold hard surface, and he was getting colder by the minute.  Brrr!  How much he missed his warm nest already!  Who knew he could feel so cold?

A despairing thought suddenly entered the baby’s mind.  What was he going to do?!

 

To be continued. . . Stay tuned to find out!  Part 2 will be available on Saturday!