Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are!!!

Elizabeth got up early to help the neighbor with a yard sale. Up in the morning she called and asked for $20 so she could buy their parakeet. "We really do not need another animal!" I told her. That wasn't the answer she wanted so she begged and pleaded. I told her I would talk to Michael and to call back in a few minutes. She called ten minutes later and thought telling me the cage and stand were included in the price would help her case. Eventually, we agreed to the bird living with us, 5 cats, a king snake, and a sand crab.

Elizabeth fed the bird and played with it so it would feel at home. She moved things around in her room so the HUGE cage would fit. After and appointment and flat tire in Lexington that same day I returned home. Leah told me the bird wasn't in the cage. She said, "I'm serious!" so I thought I should go look. She was correct. No bird. The cage had been knocked over and the little sliding doors were open. We waited for two days and no sign of the bird. We looked all over the house. Elizabeth left little Hansel and Gretel trails of birdseed ALL OVER the house. I didn't have the heart to tell her to quit.

Kristin and Danielle returned here from a weekend of football games and fun. The girls were straightening Kristin's room. I heard bloody screams from the basement bedroom. Then I heard, "I found the bird!" I could hear the girls jumping two steps at a time. They were torn between laughter and panic. Kristin had found the bird but not in the condition we had hoped for. There on her closet floor was a head, two little feet, and a few feathers.

Elizabeth failed to see the humor when asked if she wanted to make a necklace out of the feet.

Tomorrow Elizabeth is going to the pet store to get a new bird. Tonite we will wire the sliding doors closed. I am sure that at least one of our cats went to bed happy that night.