08 May The Bird – A Story About Addiction
When THE BIRD was only several weeks old, its parents launched it from its nest and forced it to fly. And fly it did. The bird took to flying immediately, as soon as the air caught its outstretched, panicked wings. It learned quickly how to stay in the air, take off and land and navigate the currents of the wind. Within just a few days of leaving the nest, the bird had become well adept at flying…and found JOY in it.
The bird didn’t know much. It didn’t even know or care what KIND of bird it was, it simply LOVED to fly. It flew longer and higher each time it took flight. Somedays it would fly so far away that it had to land and rest and look for food to restore the energy spent doing what it loved so much before it could find its way home again.
Food. The bird also LOVED to eat. It would eat many different kinds of food when it got hungry after a long day of flying. It would eat large bugs, earthworms or grubs, meat from dead mice or squirrels or the occasional sardine or minnow it would come across on the shoreline of the beach or a lake. The bird loved the fish the most because those seemed to give him the most energy when he was tired and he loved the way they tasted more than any other food. He longed to be able to catch a large fish out of the water knowing it would provide him a FEAST, but he never quite could get the courage to try.
One day, the bird flew so high that it caught a very strong wind current that swept him up and far away from his home and his family. It loved soaring on the high breezes and rode this current for miles and miles in the clear, sunny sky, across great swaths of forests and hills, not even noticing that at some point during his flight, the land slowly turned to dry, dusty desert below.
The bird finally realized it was now very far from home and in unfamiliar territory. It became tired and decided to land and look for some food to regain its strength before it headed home. When it set foot on the ground, it couldn’t find a patch of grass from which to harvest worms or a lake or pond in which to catch a minnow. The ground on which it stood was hard, dry and cracked for miles and miles…as far as it could see. It was now too tired and hungry to fly, so it decided to walk for a bit to see if it could find some food, any food…somewhere.
The sun began to set and the bird was unable to find any food. Tired, lost and hungry now, it decided it would bed down there in the open desert for the night and resume his search for food in the morning after it got some rest.
The next day, the bird was awakened by a noise. When it opened his eyes, it saw a Stranger standing above, shielding it from the morning sun as it rose against the horizon. “You OK down there?” the Stranger asked in a concerned tone of voice.
“Yes, I’m OK…just hungry. I haven’t eaten in a long time and I’m weak. I don’t have enough energy to fly back home and I’m really hungry. Do you have any food?”
“Food? Hmmm…well, I have some sardines. Do you like sardines?” The Stranger pulled out a fresh can full of large, juicy, fresh sardines. The bird could smell the fish immediately and his beak began to water. “Sardines? I LOVE SARDINES! Can I have a few?”
“Well, these sardines aren’t free, my friend. These are the best sardines you’re going to find around here. Do you have something to trade?”
“Trade? I don’t have anything to exchange. All I have are my feathers.”
“I can take feathers. I tell you what. You give me two feathers and I’ll give you a sardine. How’s that sound?”
“Perfect! I’ve got LOTS of feathers. Here, take four feathers and give me TWO sardines. Thank you, Mr. Stranger.”
The Stranger gave the bird the two sardines and the bird plucked out four of its own feathers and gave them to the stranger in return. These were the biggest, juiciest sardines the bird had ever eaten.
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