The Nest

A little girl went walking in the woods.

As night fell she came across a nest.

Inside were two oddly shaped eggs – one blue, one pink.

She climbed in and lay down with them.

‘Not as comfortable as my bed,’ she said, ‘but it’ll do.’ After a while she fell asleep.

In the morning when she woke up, there was only the pink egg left. In place of the blue was a bird.

‘Can I have some breakfast?’ it chirped.

‘Yes, alright,’ said the girl and went to pick some berries.

When she returned, the pink egg was gone. In its place was another bird.

‘Tweet, tweet!’ said the first bird excitedly. ‘This is my friend.’

The two birds and the girl ate the berries and they played together all day.

‘Where is your home?’ the birds asked the girl.

‘Far away,’ said the girl.

‘Do you miss it?’ the birds asked.

‘Most of all I miss my warm bed,’ she said.

As night fell the birds said goodbye.

‘Can I come with you?’ asked the girl.

‘You can’t fly,’ they said sadly. ‘And we can’t carry you, our home is too far away.’

They kissed the girl and flew away.

The little girl climbed into the empty nest.

As she slept, the two birds returned: one with a sail and one with the blanket from her old bed.

They nudged the nest into a stream and watched the girl float towards the sea over which they lived…

… and followed her all the way.