How Nate Turned to Lefty for Help with Amelia
Things are not always as they seem in the world of birds
After their “catching up” in Chapter 1, Nate and Lefty move on to the real reason for Nate’s visit. Lefty gives Nate directions for how best to help Amelia. You may notice that he gives Nate some valuable information about what Amelia truly needs but also what Emily truly needs. The lessons they need to learn will drive the main action of the story.
I told Lefty how it all began when a friend had asked, “Will you take Amelia?” The only explanation had been, “She needs you.”
My friend lives in a very rural part of a city next to mine but needed five and a half acres of land to have any chickens. He didn’t know about that law, but his city did and said Amelia and the others in her flock of twelve needed new homes.
“I don’t understand how my city lets me have as many as six hens on a small city lot,” I said. “And in his city, my friend can’t have any chickens even with a yard six times as big as mine”
Lefty nodded knowingly. He had to move away because of a different law in my city that said, “No roosters allowed.”
“I visited them when they were growing up, and Amelia was definitely special and highly intelligent. She did everything before anyone else ever thought of doing it, just like you, Lefty. She loved flying to high perching places no one else could reach. She would have been a challenge for you, My Best Little Buddy.
“Once they moved outside, she would lead the whole flock as they flew from the back porch to the little koi pond and then to the magnolia trees or wherever her heart desired. I never knew chickens could fly like that, but they did. Maybe because they saw Amelia doing it first.
“She has always been so independent, and I don’t understand how she could ever need me.”
“What kind of chicken is she?” he asked.
“Amelia is a Plymouth Barred Rock with black and white markings, just like Mayflower who grew up with you. Amelia has always insisted on being treated as a person, not as a chicken. Do you think she might be a Guardian like you?”
“Even if I knew she was a Guardian, I would not be allowed to tell you. That is a chicken law. The choice is hers alone to reveal it to you.”
I had hoped Lefty would tell me more about what it means to be a Guardian, but he didn’t. He just looked over at his coop with me, and we both watched as a robin landed on its doorway and then hopped inside.
“A chicken may be something other than that,” he added. “Was she the only one you adopted?”
“I chose one more to come along for companionship. She didn’t have a name, so I named her Emily because it is a sweet name that seems to fit her. She is like a little lady who always minds her manners and expects others to do the same.”
I paused because Lefty had been so clever. He had told me there are more than just Guardian chickens and had changed the subject so quickly that I didn’t have time to ask any more questions.
“She is a Golden Laced Wyandotte, so her brown markings on gold feathers make her stand out. She also has iridescent green in the feathers on her neck and face. She is the smallest of them all, and she seems to adore Amelia with all of her heart.”
I looked over at the coop door, but there was no longer anything out of the ordinary to see.
“Emily seems to have adjusted very well, but not Amelia. They have a temporary home right across the garden path from the one that you and I built together. It’s where the old compost pile used to be. That way the two groups can slowly get accustomed to each other. Then I will find a way to connect the two homes into one home.”
“That is prime worm-hunting real estate,” Lefty said. “You must love them very much.”
“I do. Even though Amelia won’t talk to me, but Emily will.”
Two wrens were perched on the back of a chair near the door to their coop. It was an odd chair with the legs curiously cut short. The robin flew out, and the first wren made a quick flight over to the doorway opening and hopped inside.
“Does she talk to Gracie and the others?” Lefty asked.
“She does. And you know what? They had distinctive dialects of ‘City Chicken’ and ‘Country Chicken.’ That surprised me.”
“I have a feeling there are many more even bigger surprises in store for you,” he said. “But tell me, what do you think Amelia needs?”
“I think she needs to be out in the country where she can fly. She can’t do that in the city. Do you think Amelia might be better off here with you and Rudy? Emily can come with her.”
“That is not what your friend told you. Your friend knows both Amelia and you. Maybe you need Amelia just as much as she needs you.”
“So what do I do, Lefty?”
“You need to start by building a new and bigger home right in the middle of the backyard garden. I will miss being able to do that with you. This time you need to use longer boards. Eight feet long, not six feet long like before. It must be big enough for a person to walk inside and for chickens to fly inside.”
“That will mean giving up vegetable space.”
Lefty cocked his head and stared at me. He did not look happy.
“Did you or did you not tell Gracie that she was more important to you than anything in the garden when she was worried about The Biggest Scary Thing?”
I wanted to ask how he knew about that private conversation, but he didn’t give me time.
“Are you saying that Amelia is less important than Gracie?” he demanded.
Suddenly I was wondering what was truly in my own heart for Amelia. Then Lefty smiled. I was relieved he had only been pretending to be angry.
“I see what you mean, Lefty. I need to treat Amelia as if she has always been with me, just like Gracie. But how will this new home help?”
The first wren flew out of the coop, and almost as quickly, the second wren landed at the doorway and hopped inside. Seemingly from nowhere, a lady cardinal landed on the top rail of the chair, and the second wren gave her more room.
“Once they have moved into their new home, Amelia will let you know what you need to do next. When she does, come back and see me. Bring a drawing of what you have built. Then I will tell you what you need to add especially for Amelia.”
“This feels like the old days when you and I built things together, Lefty.”
“I am excited about it too. Don’t you want a clue as to what it will be?”
“I trust that whatever it will be, it will be exactly what Amelia needs.”
“Trust is the word you must remember as you build. It is what Amelia needs too,” he said. “I have a feeling that she only trusts herself while Emily trusts everyone but herself. Now come take a look at my family one last time before you leave. My little ones won’t be so little and cute the next time you see them.”
The lady cardinal was no longer on the chair. I had missed seeing where she had gone, but I suspected the second wren had flown out of the coop and she was likely inside.
“Are you sure this is a good time?” I asked and nodded towards the chair.
“What an odd question,” he said. “Sometimes your imagination does get the best of you.”
Then he laughed nervously, but did not explain why Rudy and the baby chicks had so many songbird visitors.
“Does it look like it is clearing up to you?” he asked and pointed upward with his beak.
As I looked up at the sky, out of the corner of my eye I saw the cardinal flying out of the coop door.
“I know there is a question you have been wanting to ask,” he said. “So I will go ahead and tell you.”
At last, I thought, he will tell me about the songbirds.
“The chair with the legs cut shorter is for Otis. He is too big to sit in the chair without tipping it over. So The Farmer cut the legs off some so it’s just right for Otis to sit in and watch over us. You might say he is a Best Big Buddy for us.”
Lefty called for Otis who came bounding across the yard and then sat in his chair. He kept his eyes firmly set on the door to the chicken coop, smiling happily. It was easy to see he loved his new job.
“Just so you know and because I haven’t really given you a chance to ask—the songbirds that you have seen coming and going are Pages of The Living Library. Rudy is serving temporarily as an Indexer. They are working together to gather fact that will help us understand why most songbirds, except starlings, avoid Professor Accipiter’s Blue Moon Circus and Sideshow Extravaganza.
“They are also recording what they see here in a project that I am working on. They are learning the Old Chicken language even though they are not chickens. They will never know what those words mean to chickens. But they will know what they mean for defense against predators. It is a kind of secret code.”
He saw the puzzled look on my face.
“I will show you,” he said.
And so this chapter ends with a hint that there is more going on with the “country chickens” that the “city chickens” know nothing about. (As you may have guessed, Lefty and Rudy have become leaders in preserving the world of the birds.) This chapter also serves as a setup for the fast-paced action of Chapter 3, one of my favorites.
Special Note: Chapter 3 will include words in Old Chicken. If you share it, be sure to share it carefully and only with trusted friends. The world of birds is dependent upon your discretion!
Until next time…
Thank you for reading along with us. No poll questions this week, but if you have any thoughts you’d like to share, please use the comment section or email them directly to John.Spiers@yahoo.com. We are always appreciative of your thoughts and feelings, ideas and suggestions.
Thank you for reading!
John, Gracie, Bessie, Blanche, Pearl, Emily, and Amelia
I'm behind on my reading, but I'm glad I made the time to read this.
The line "I have a feeling that she only trusts herself while Emily trusts everyone but herself" made me think of how I do not trust people easily, whereas my fiancée is the opposite.
volume on exciting music slowly rises....