three blackbirds press
All of the birds were traveling in the same direction as the children. Some of the birds were as fascinated by the children as the children were with them; these birds would swoop down to get a closer look and then would chatter amongst themselves. There were birds everywhere; flying in the air above the children’s heads, crowding the river, and resting by the narrow trail upon which the children walked. About half of the birds the children recognized by sight, the other half, the children had never seen, not even in books.
They saw peacocks, ptarmigans, egrets, a flamingo, orioles, ruby throated warblers, guinea fowl, crested honey creepers, wild turkeys, eagles, scarlet ibises, hawks, some turkey vultures, red billed ox peckers, ducks, terns, geese, nightingales, painted snipes, seagulls, cranes, tufted titmice, kingfishers, parrots, nukupuus, loons, ravens, hermit thrushes, pelicans, cranes, doves, pigeons, bohemian waxwings, a flock of red winged blackbirds, yellowed billed coots, albatrosses and all sorts of fantastic birds that didn’t even have names that were known to human beings. The children passed the time thinking up interesting names for the birds they saw. Names like Silver Crested Wonderbird, Deep Blue Chested Yellow Beauty, Rainbow tail, Emerald Eyes, Bird with a coffee mug for a head, The Elephant Bird, The Fantastic Scarlet and Orange Brightie, the Magical Golden bird, The Sloppy, The Silly Old Gray Bird, and The Copper Feathered Apparition.
Every type of fruit known and unknown to the children grew along the river. Flowers of every shape, size and color filled the air with their fresh sweet perfume. Tall oak and Walnut trees dropped their ripe nuts along the riverside. The odd thing was that all the fruits, nuts, and flowers were all ripe at the same time. The ripe apples were right next to ripe blueberries. There were hazelnuts falling from bushes right next to lemon trees. Odder than that were the coconut palm trees that stood next to trees full of juicy ripe pears. There were trees laden with fragrant gardenias, trees brimming with star fruit, plum trees, nasturtium vines, bright begonias, columbine, banana trees, and gooseberry bushes, to name a few.
The children never had to stop to eat because as they walked they would pick what they liked right from the tree. The birds feasted on the different types of fruit, drank the nectar from the flowers, ate the leaves and nuts from the trees, some of the birds fished in the river, caught worms, grubs, and insects, and the children even came across strange smelly things surrounded by ravens, vultures, and other scavengers.
