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The Importance of Home |
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I am a young yellow bird, just recently born. On my one-month birthday, humans
gave me a huge gift. They came in cars with axes and destroyed our home. My
parents and I were forced to live a wandering life.
One day, I learned how to fly, and my dad found us a good place to settle down,
a high school. We chose a big tree as our new home. It seemed like a great
place, as a few families had lived there before us. My parents got to work,
choosing a branch and building our new home.
During the day, my dad gathered twigs and mud, using his saliva to glue them
together. My mom stood on the branch and beat the mud with her wings, making it
firm. At night, my dad watched over us, calculating how many days it would take
to finish our new home. My mom held me tightly in her warm body, letting me fall
asleep.
Every morning, I woke up to my parents already hard at work. Every night, they
continued working. Finally, my mom collapsed from exhaustion. My dad had to work
twice as hard to take care of me and my mom. It was already hard work, and now
it was even harder.
After a busy period, our new home was finally built. I looked at my parents and
our new home, puzzled, and asked, "What's the use of building this home? You've
exhausted yourselves, and it would have been better not to build it." My mom
touched my head and said, "Child, you're still young, and you don't understand.
When you grow up, you will naturally understand." Although my mom said that I
would understand when I grew up, I was still far from that!
One night, it suddenly rained heavily, and we all huddled together in our new
home. It was then that I finally understood the meaning of home. It was a place
to shelter from the storm.
I slowly fell asleep that night, in this warm home, during this storm. I dreamed
that humans started protecting animals and caring for nature. My family and
friends returned, and we sang and danced together. |
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