Jenny-Wren-s-Discovery

Jenny Wren’s Discovery

Donna j. Mann

Jenny Wren perched high in the tree. As tiny as she was, she could stretch to see through the leaves to watch everything that went on in the farmyard. She could see Hetty the Hen with her little brood of chicks, scrambling and playing together as they looked for bugs, seeds, and anything else that would provide a good breakfast.

She noticed Jack and Dolly Donkey nuzzling into the fresh hay that Farmer John had placed in the corner of the yard. Maybe Jenny would fly down later and say hello to them. First, she needed to take to the air for a little time for herself. She looked over her little family in the feathered nest tucked out of sight, hidden by leaves and a strong branch that served almost like a door. They were safe and happy.

Jenny had loved her busy spring, finding the right place for her nest and then laying her eggs. Now that her babies were grown a little, she felt she could leave them for a short time. How she longed to fly here and there, chatter with other birds and maybe find some new food to bring back to her young ones.

She soared through the air landing on the rail fence, and then she flew a little higher to the top of a yard light before swooping down the lane towards the creek. There were always fresh worms in the moist meadow earth. When she was finished checking this area, she decided to explore the valley. She hadn’t been there for a while and it would be a nice flight on this spring morning.

It was not long before she saw the mountain, “Old Baldy,” and then the curving roads, trees, green fields and sparkling water. She flew down on a shelf to rest. No! It wasn’t a shelf...it was a pretty sign. Jenny could not read but she was sure it was important because it was close to the road. As she fluffed her wings and picked some dust from her feathers that she’d gathered during her flight, she saw her friend, Sharon, come out the front door of the house and sit on the veranda. So this is where she lived!

Jenny had seen Sharon over at MeadowLane Stories always laughing and chatting with Mrs. Friend and Farmer John. But, today Sharon looked sad. As Jenny watched, Sharon put her arms around a big fieldstone pillar on the veranda and pressed her face against the beautiful stones. Then she walked across the lawn to the flowering crab tree and gave it a big hug, just as she might greet a friend.

“Haven’t seen you here before.” A robin chirped down from a nearby tree. “Are you visiting the Valley?”

“Yes, a friend of mine lives here,” Jenny replied. “But I don’t know why she looks sad today. Jenny began to chatter to the robin as she delighted in looking around at the green grass and full-leafed trees. “This is such a special place, I can tell. I can’t imagine why Sharon is sad.”

“I know why.” Robin said, “Sharon is selling her house and she’ll be moving. I heard her tell the neighbours and she’s told all the birds and trees, too. She always talks to us. I know that moving away is hard for her. Moving is always hard for everyone.

“Oh dear,” Jenny chattered even louder. “No wonder she’s unhappy. I can see she loves her home. There must be a very good reason why she’s moving..” Jenny hung her head and looked at her feet. “I remember when I had to move my nest one year.” Just then, Sharon walked slowly from the porch to the backyard, carrying a book.

“Goodbye, Robin,” Jenny said, “I’m going to follow Sharon.”

Jenny flew into a cedar tree and settled there watching Sharon. She sat down on a bench that had been carved from the trunk of a willow tree.

“That must have been a beautiful tree a long time ago,” Jenny thought. “Something must have happened to it. Probably a storm blew it down. What a good idea to make the trunk into a bench where people could sit and rest and look at the beautiful valley.” Jenny noticed that new branches were sprouting up from the trunk of the willow tree. “I want to get a better look at that tree,” Jenny flew closer to the willow. Sharon looked up from her book. Was she looking at Jenny? No, she seemed to look past her.

Suddenly Jenny saw Sharon smile. A quiet laughter rang through the stillness. It was a contagious sound and all at once, Jenny wished that she could laugh too, to share this moment with Sharon. As soon as she began to write in her book, Sharon looked very peaceful, and content. “This must be Sharon’s ‘poet-tree’ that I’m sitting in.” Jenny thought. “I’ve heard her tell Mrs. Friend about the special tree where she sits to write her poems. Maybe Sharon is writing about me. “

It pleased Jenny that Sharon looked like herself again – the way she remembered her. So Jenny didn’t have to be concerned, anymore. She suddenly thought of her babies and decided she must go back to MeadowLane before they missed her. As she left the tree, she looked again at Sharon, who watched Jenny fly away.

“Put your words on wings and write about freedom,” Jenny chirped. “Maybe my visit is a gift – a parting gift.” Before too long, Jenny rested again in her own tree and then quickly snuggled down with her babies.

Courtesy of BirdFinders.co.uk

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