The unusual eagle
‘You have to leave, Felicia’ My Mother, a fine strong eagle, said to me.
I raised my head and narrowed my eyes. Through I was full-grown, I didn’t want to leave and as was the custom ,build my own nest. It would be too stressful.
I frowned. I had been living off my parents even after all my mates had gone off and build their own nests. The outside world was scary.
‘You are leaving now’ Father said to me. Together, they came forward and pushed me out of the nest.
I was falling, falling and just as I was about to hit the ground, I raised my wings and flew.My parents were watching.
Fine, then I would leave. I would go somewhere far away and build my own nest. I was an eagle after all and a fine, strong one at that.
I flew over the trees, looking down at the hills, the valleys and the rivers for a place to build my new home.
During the next few days, I spent my time gathering materials for my nest. I collected leaves, wood and quickly made a small, cute nest on a big oak tree. It looked perfect and cosy. Wrapping a leave around myself, I went to bed that night.
The sound of a thunder woke me up. Lightening struck the earth. A storm was beginning.
It hit the earth suddenly, a heavy downpour of rain. I held on to my nest as a heavy wind blew at it. Then the nest broke into pieces.
I screamed in outrage. Everything that I worked for was gone. Like my parents taught me, I should have taken more time with the nest to make it bigger and stronger.
Why brother with a building a home and finding a mate anyway? I raised my face in determination. I would fly around and see the world instead.
I flew over the sea. I flew and flew for days.
Finally, I came to the land across the sea far away from the forest I once lived. I settled on a tree and looked around me. There were humans about, all kind of tall buildings and trees with fruits I had never seen before. I felt a rush of excitement.
I flew to a tree and dug
into a round red fruit. It tasted sweet. I flew to another and ate the small round berries. It tasted juicy. I flew from tree to tree, eating from their fruit.
Something hit me, piercing into my
shoulder. I fell, losing consciousness.



When I woke, I was in a cage. Beside me, there were other birds, mostly brightly coloured. All around us, were stalls of all sorts, selling
all manner of products.

I hit the cage as hard as I could but made no headway. It was too strong.
‘Why are we here?’ I asked another bird, a gray coloured one.
‘To be sold, this place is a market place and we are to be sold off’
I gulped. ‘Is there no way out?’
‘Not that I know off’
I waited impatiently. The moment anyone opened my cage, I would fly off.
People came over to look at the each bird. Each time I held my breath in fear but no one chose me. One by one, the other birds got sold off until I was the only bird left. In the late afternoon finally, an old man came by.
‘I want a bird to give to my daughter as a wedding gift’ said the old man.
Our vendor signed. ‘We have only one bird left, a fine eagle but no one could afford her price’
‘I take her, no matter what the costs’
‘Fine, then’ I watched shakily as they made their deal.
Next thing I knew, the old man took my cage and myself for his own.





The old man took me to a large farmhouse. It had large shutters in the windows.
‘Papa’ a young woman with long brown hair and blue eyes came out the front doors of the farm house.
‘Papa, where have you been? Joseph just got here, is something wrong?’ She caught sight of my cage. ‘What is this?’
He raised the cage up. ‘It is your wedding gift, Ruth’
She gave him a peck. ‘Oh, you shouldn’t have, thank you so much’
She took the cage from him and led the way inside. In the parlour was a young man who bowed and hugged the old man.
‘Thank you father’ the young man told him at the sight of me.


I quickly got used to my new home. My job was just to sit in the cage and look pretty while visitors to the young couple, Joseph and Ruth, gushed over me.
I thought long fully of the
days when I had flown freely across the sky. And I so missed the other birds and my mother and father. I wished I had done what my parents wanted
I wanted to be free again. But days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months.
One day, my eyes blurred and I
began to feel weak.
‘Blue looks a bit dull today’ Joseph told his wife.
She nodded. ‘I look after her’
Soon afterwards, she came over to my cage and held a piece of wet bread.
I opened my mouth to eat and then spat it out. It tasted bitter.
‘You have to take your medicine or you won’t get any better’ She said and holding me firmly, she poured liquid medicine into my mouth.
I fought as hard as I could, but the medicine went down.
She petted me when she was done. ‘Be a good bird ‘she petted my wing.
She came every day to give me my medicine and I gradually felt better. I began to like her from that point.




Another month passed quickly.
One evening, Ruth opened my cage slightly to clean it.
‘Oh, Ruth, can you come over here for a minute?’ Her husband, Joseph called.
It was my chance. I pushed the cage open and flew out, out the cage and out the open window. I was free again.
I flew high, high into the sky. The air
was crisp and fresh. I felt alive and free. Yes.



I was flying free above the sky feeling really happy. I swooped down into the jungle hungrily. I looked around and went for some apples in tree. Suddenly a rope from nowhere caught my feet. It was a trap.
A young man came soon to get me. I lost consciousness again.
When I awoke, I looked around. I was in a tent, all alone.

The young man who had caught me came near and picked me up.
He carried me outside to a platform in front of a cheering crowd.
‘He is back, the puppeteer is back’ they cried. I felt like I was in the middle of a nightmare. I was raised up high.
A gown was brought and placed on over my head.
‘Now, hear him talk’ His hand held my mouth tightly and made it move.
‘I am a bird from Canal and, I have four brothers and two sisters, I came here when I got older.............
I burst into tears while the crowd hooted with glee. It was as if he was telling my real story.
And so it was every day. Crowds came to watch the puppeteer make the eagle talk. I felt used and alone.
One day, the show was over when a old gentleman stopped my master.
‘Can I buy your eagle?, I am willing to pay any price’
My master immediately named a high price.
‘Agreed’ said the old man.
The price was paid and I was handed over. What would happen next, I wondered?
But he opened my cage. ‘Go’ He said.
‘Be free’
I was filled with surprise and relief. I bent my wing gracefully to him and took off into the sky.
I flew past the sea again. When I got home, I was going to build a strong nest and be a good little bird from now on.