Little Bird

I wished for a ladder.


I crossed the parking lot and approached the building, a Chinese restaurant. I was astounded to find one.

So while my daughter and wife browsed inside the nearby consignment shop, I acted. That was the deal I made with myself -- if there were a ladder, I'd help, because I decided that this was test. To not act was to fail -- it was inhumane. So I set the ladder in place and climbed carefully.


There was not one bird but two stuck in the runny tar, next to a large ventilation unit. But only one bird, the one that I saw flapping from afar, was still alive and struggling.

I had hoped that just its leg was caught. But I was dismayed to find that its right wing was also stuck. I pried it off carefully and climbed down the ladder. Then I tried to figure out a way to hold it without getting my hands sticky as well. But instead I dropped it, and it fell onto the soft grass rather than fly away as I hoped it would.

Now what? I decided to find a heavily shaded area to let the bird rest in. I had water with me, too. So I set the bird down in the vegetation and placed a leaf full of water in front. Perhaps it could gather its strength and survive.


Back at home, I started to have nagging questions about the affair. Was the other bird its mate? Shouldn't I have kept them together? Was there a nest that I couldn't see behind the ventilation unit? The bird I "saved" probably won't survive with its wing disabled with grease or tar -- shouldn't I have taken it to a nature center? Why was the ladder in that spot anyway -- does this happen regularly? Are birds attracted by the grease in that area -- do they often get stuck and then have to get rescued by the restaurant workers? Should I have tried to contact someone at the restaurant?

Then I prayed that the bird would not suffer.