The Blessing of Loyal Friends
Standing up for those loved because of how they have touched your heart
Only one chapter in our newsletter this week because it is an important one not only for the plot but also for what it says about the characters and life as chickens view it. Again there is mention of “the greatest flaw” found in people. Gracie seems to be cast aside by those in the world of birds with power and authority, but her true friends stand up bravely in support of her.
“Introductio et praefatio. Introduction and preface,” called out the Assistant to the Chief Local Librarian. “State your topic, your Indexer, and Cataloguer.”
“Let us dispense with that formality today,” said the Chief Local Librarian. “Give the password.”
“Gobsmacked Bits and Bobs,” The Robin, The Laughing Gull, Nate’s Wren, Gracie’s Wren, and The Young Raven said in unison.
“Have your cataloguers told you why you have been called to this meeting?” asked The Chickadee.
The Pages nodded to affirm that they had been told.
“To give our opinions whether the chicken named Gracie or the chicken named Emily is The Key to The Living Library,” said The Robin.
“Not your opinion—your possible evidence. Your opinions do not count. Only mine as Local Chief Librarian. I report directly to The Head Librarian along with the full catalog of Librarians. Structure and order must be maintained. Remember that our meetings always follow the pattern laid down by the books of times long past.”
“Pagina recto folio. Right page,” called out the Assistant to the Chief Local Librarian. Most of the invited Pages felt relieved to be following the routine they had come to know so well. It also appeared to give them courage to speak what might be considered unpopular.
“So why are you so quick to abandon our friend, Gracie, as your possible Key to The Living Library,” asked The Robin, “And why are you so eager to choose Emily instead? Is Emily’s gift any better than Gracie’s?
“We have all been taught from the nest up through first flight and heard it again into old age that The Key combines heart knowledge with head knowledge. Hasn’t Gracie done that?” asked the Robin more forcefully. “Have you forgotten her Sewer Rat Eradicator Machine invention that once fascinated the entire world of birds?”
“Yes, that is what we are taught as a fundamental, but Emily has combined them as well,” said the Chief Local Librarian. “Emily combined what her heart knows about loving and trusting Nate, the Gardener, with what her mind learned about drawing.”
“But Gracie also combined what her heart knows about loving and trusting Nate, the Gardener, with what I, as a Living Library Page, told her about ballet dancing and doors that birds can operate without hands,” said The Robin. “Emily did not receive any knowledge from The Living Library, the way Gracie did. This fact should not be overlooked.
“Therefore, Local Chief Librarian, are you saying that the knowledge of People with their greatest flaw is superior to the knowledge of Birds? Ours is the knowledge we have often collected and curated from people while excluding their flaw from the knowledge held by us, your Pages? Knowledge is knowledge, and truth is truth.
“Moreover, are you forgetting that Gracie could likely be called a Living Treasure just like Emily because Gracie can hear what others cannot hear, such as The Music of The New Day or the Waltz of the Dandelion Seeds?
“What’s more, she can turn what only she can hear into a dance that everyone who is watching her can hear. By watching her, they can hear the same song that only Gracie could hear.”
The Chief Local Librarian looked even angrier and more aggravated than ever before.
“There has only been one other like Emily, a Living Treasure so gifted as to be able to bring things from and send things to distant places and times,” said the Chief Local Librarian. “But that one does it with his feathers and not through a drawing. For his own reasons, he has become a runaway, and his whereabouts are unknown to The Living Library.”
You may remember that this is The White Peacock in Professor Accipiter’s Cabinet. Amelia is the only one to know what became of him, though it does seem likely that The White Peacock would end up at the Blue Moon Circus along with the other runaways who find their way there.
“Through feathers or drawings on paper, the gift is still the same,” said The Young Raven. “I have studied The Living Treasures.”
“And there has been no other like Gracie. She is unique as a Living Treasure,” spoke up Gracie’s wren. “I know my assignment is to record Gracie’ life, but every bird has a right to their own gift and their own life. You would put Emily away somewhere and have her do your bidding as if she were a captive slave.”
Isn’t Gracie’s wren insightful? He makes an unexpected comparison between Professor Accipiter and the Chief Local Librarian. But he doesn’t stop there!
“You would have her draw an army of birds from throughout history and send them out to destroy everyone who would destroy you and your authority. You would destroy the world of her garden that she built and tends with her friend, Nate, The Gardener. You would ruin it until it would bear neither flowers nor fruit, and provide neither beauty nor bounty.”
“As if she were a Circus Sideshow Performer,” said the Laughing Gull. “And that makes you no better than Professor Accipiter himself. It begins with slavery. Then it goes on to war and the destruction of the Earth because he cannot control the desires of his heart and instead seeks to control the desires of others. I have seen this myself as evidence of what I say. He is a Living Instrument of The Absence of Love. Will you, Head Librarian, be like him?”
“Irregularity!” said the catalogers on the left.
“Wrong thinking!” said the catalogers on the right.
“Hateful, irrelevant knowledge!” said the Chickadee.
“Anarchist doctrine based on opinion, not fact!” said the Kestrel.
“Sinistra pagina folio. Left Page,” called out The Assistant to the Chief Local Librarian. “Satis loquentes. Enough talking”
“Have you forgotten these chickens have names?” said Gracie’s Wren, not backing down. “Names given to them by Nate, The Gardener, a person created in the image of The Great Gardener? None of us have names and neither we nor our decisions will be remembered, but theirs will.”
“What do you say, Nate’s Wren?”
“If anyone is a key, it is Nate. He was The Key for unlocking the gifts of Gracie and of Emily. He is always there when their gifts are used to bring goodness into the world.”
“What makes him The Key in your way of looking at the world?”
“His love for them is the Key that unlocks their gifts. There is no greater Key than Love.”
And then, rather than the Assistant to the Chief Local Librarian saying the final words to end the meeting, the Chief Local Librarian herself, said them.
“Ultima Pagina. Final page. Fiat ita. Ita esto. Let it be so. So let it be. Chickadee, show them out.”
Until next time…
Although the wrens in this chapter have a great deal of useful advice, our best advice to you this week comes from Nate’s wren: There is no greater Key than Love. Whose gift will you help to unlock today? And don’t overlook your own gift!
Thank you so much!
John, Gracie, Bessie, Blanche, Pearl, Emily, and Amelia
John — this was fun. I love the poll at the end. I wished Gracie was in the middle but I believe it to be Pearl. That said—I’m only guessing.
This is terrifically done. Unique. Special. Awesome.
I will convey your good wishes to my uber-gang. I have 2 of their joint adventures up now at my Substack and will post the rest in due time.