Birds by the Day

What winged things they were. Some took flight, others not. All of them Helena cherished in the highest. The warm feeling of knowing the fowl of air, land, and sea stirred up in her spirit the truth about gift-giving. This all took place in Wilmington, Delaware.

“Look, mama, the geese are all laying platinum eggs,” a chocolate-colored babe yelped, a smile curling around her mouth.

“Yes Romera. I see,” Helena nodded her head in a slow way.

The calling birds’ songs all lilted upward as the three hens pecked. Then came a rumbling. A car.

“I’m sorry, ma’am. These birds cannot be here,” Constable Cavett Chamberlain intoned.

“But this is my property. I may do as I wish here.”

Just then, Helena’s husband Domar approached the officer.

“Good day, sir. Is there an issue at hand?”

“Yes. These fowl must go to a government site. They can’t be on private grounds.”

Seven swans in the lake made silky moves on the surface of the water, surrounded by greenery.

“Why is this?” Domar asked.

“We must conserve the endangered birds.”

“How? None of these birds are endangered. Even if they were, there’s no sense in giving them over to the State.”

Constable Chamberlain snickered like a jester and flashed his lily white teeth.

“You just don’t get it. These birds must be protected no matter what the condition is. You can’t just give them to your wife and say you did something.” Then, a van rolled up to the house. Men with tan uniforms and catcher equipment encroached on the property.

“You’re not taking a single bird off of this land. My lawyer will have something to say about this.”

“Okay, okay. Boys!” Chamberlain announced. “Fall back.” He turned to Domar. “This isn’t over.”

“And you better come back with warrants!”