December 02, 2006

Since the mother sparrow was coming to her babies and feeding them, we thought that there was nothing to worry about as long as the babies were being fed. So this time we did not take any interest in the babies and got busy with our work. When the sun was about to set ,the mother bird went to her nest, leaving the babies there. At first the babies began chirping so much that it was difficult for us to even study in the same house. But after a while, they became quiet

A few weeks back, a sparrow made a nest in our drawing room. It was located at the top of the window. We thought that the nest was rather unsafe and that it could fall down any minute as the bird had taken the support of the net curtain that covered the window. So, to be on the safe side, just when the bird started making the nest, we took it out and threw it away hoping that the sparrow would stop making the nest there. But to our astonishment, the bird started it again and we were forced to throw the nest again as we thought that the chicks would really be unsafe at the top of the window. The following morning, we were astounded to see that the bird had not given up and had started working on her nest all over again. This time we let the bird make its nest, although it was a very risky place for the chicks to be hatched.

A few weeks later, my sister and I were watching television when my eyes drew to the window. I was stunned to see a baby bird clinging to the net curtain; it was about to fall and was trying to make its way towards the nest. Just beside the nest were the mother and the father sparrow looking at their baby, but both were in despair. They couldn’t find a way to help their baby reach the nest. I asked my sister to look towards the window. Even she was astounded. We decided to help the baby bird. I ran towards my mother’s room and woke her up and told her the entire story. She too came to see the baby bird. By that time, the mother and father sparrow had gone, maybe to search for some food. We all racked our brains to think of an idea to rescue the baby bird.

Soon an idea occurred to us. We wore thick gloves and took the baby bird off the curtain and held it in our hands. It was the first time in my entire life that I had ever held a baby bird and looked at it so closely. It had some feathers grown and there were some pink patches where they had not grown yet. It had a small beak and was opening it again and again as if asking for some food. At that time we crushed some grains and gave it. The poor chick ate some of the grain but soon began feeling uneasy as if it was choking. We then decided to wait for its mother to come.

I held the baby bird in my hands outside the window, waiting for its mother to come and give it some food. By that time even the crows smelt of the baby bird and began swooping towards it. After a while my hands started aching and I told my mom that we should somehow keep the bird’s baby back in its nest as this could not last any longer.

We were not very certain whether it was a good idea to touch the nest as the other chicks in the nest might as well fall down, but it seemed the only way out. So my sister held the baby bird and we kept it in the nest. I saw the whole nest from the inside. There was only one more baby!

It was a Sunday morning and we all were having breakfast together. My sister noticed that the mother sparrow was again and again coming to the drawing room as if looking for something. Inquisitive to know what the bird was looking for behind the couch below the window that had the nest, we bent down to see what was there. To our enormous surprise we saw that there were two baby sparrows. One of them was a little big but the other one was small and looked feeble. We then understood that the mother sparrow must have known that her children have fallen down from the nest and are hiding behind the couch and so she was coming there to feed them.

Since the mother sparrow was coming to her babies and feeding them, we thought that there was nothing to worry about as long as the babies were being fed. So this time we did not take any interest in the babies and got busy with our work. When the sun was about to set, the mother bird went to her nest, leaving the babies there. At first the babies began chirping so much that it was difficult for us to even study in the same house. But after a while, they became quiet.

After an hour, their quietness worried us so much that we were determined to see whether the babies were alright or not. I pushed the couch forward so that I could have a clearer view of them. I still remember it very vividly though, that the sight had given me goose bumps. One of the babies whom I had described as the feeble one lay dead on the floor and the other one was just taking his last breath. Its eyes were closed tight but it kept opening and closing its beak as if having a lot of difficulty breathing. I called my mom and even she was thunderstruck. We gave a few drops of water to the baby bird who was just taking its last breath, and it drank. But soon it too died.

As I shed tears, both the babies lay dead on the floor. I felt guilty as I had a feeling that I was the one to be blamed for the death of the babies. I kept on telling my heart that I should have kept the babies in the nest again, but then my mum consoled me, and told me that it was the bird whose nest was so unsafe and that we tried our level best to save the baby birds but sometimes circumstances can go out of our hands and that we should not blame ourselves for things we are not responsible for. This conversation with my mum helped me feel a lot better.

However the next morning, I woke up really early. The reason behind this was that I wanted to see whether the mother bird would come to feed her children or not. I sat there waiting for her to come. To my greatest surprise, the bird did come. She looked behind the couch, when she couldn’t find her babies there she looked behind the television and in ten minutes she had searched the whole drawing room. At that very moment I felt so doleful and I just could not help wishing that I could tell the bird that her innocent babies were gone. I wished that I could speak the language of the birds. The bird went away but she came again after exactly five minutes and searched everywhere. She came to our house more than seven times. Looking at the flustered bird made my eyes fill with tears again. It really was a touchy scene.

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