Author’s note: This story is written in the Four Queens English. You will notice some alternate spelling.
One day Wire Dog noticed a cute little sparrow happily singing as is hopped around in a bush in his back yard. He saw it again the next day, merrily singing the same song. For several days the little sparrow returned each day and no matter what the weather was like, the little sparrow seemed just as happy as the day before. Wire dog decided to watch this little bird every day to see if he could figure out how it could be so cheerful all the time.
Day after day she flitted about her business with a bundle of energy whistling her merry tunes. Even before sunrise, when other animals were still groggy with sleep, the little sparrow would sing her heart out, as if she was trying to encourage all the sleepy heads around to get a move on and waste not another moment of the precious morning. She worked all day without showing any signs of tiring. She was often one of the last of the birds to go to sleep at night and never went to bed until she had sung nearly everyone else in the nabourhood to sleep. In sunshine or rain, in hot or cold weather, in summer, winter, spring or fall, the little sparrow’s cheerful attitude never seemed to change. When other birds and animals were complaining about too little food or miserable weather, the little sparrow tried to cheer them up with her happy attitude and her positive outlook on life.
One day some old crows were watching the cheerful sparrow from their perch on the dead branch of a crooked tree. Suddenly one of the crows cawed down to the little sparrow and asked, “Hey you, little bird down there, why are you so happy all the time and why do you sing so much?”
The little sparrow cocked her wee head to one side as if she was surprised to hear such a silly question, then she cheerfully replied. “I am happy, of course, because life is glorious and beautiful; and I sing to let everyone know it.”
Then the crow cawed back, “Oh, sure, you’re happy here. There is no wonder about that. Who would not be happy living in this pretty little naborhood in a cozy green bush, with plenty of seeds, grubs, and bugs to eat, and with a bird bath provided by people in the city? I’ll bet you would change your tune if you had to leave this place and live in an ordinary farmer’s field with no fancy water fountain or bird feeder hanging from the naboring trees.”
But the little sparrow shot back a hasty reply. “I’d like to see the farmer’s fields you are talking about. Can you show me where they are?” The crows looked at each other with surprise then flew from their crooked tree, swooping down past the sparrow’s little bush inviting her to follow. The crows’ big black wings stroked powerfully through the air and the little sparrow had to work her little wings furiously just to keep up, but she never complained. The crows did not make it easy for her either. They wanted to teach her a lesson. The trip from Wire Dog’s backyard to the farmland outside of town was long and tiring even for the crows and they were happy to rest on a fence post when they finally arrived.
But the cheerful little sparrow was so excited to see the farm that she didn’t rest at all, but rather went flitting about to see what she could find. She found that the farmer’s fields and roadsides were rich with grain and grass and weeds that were loaded with seeds as large and more fresh than the ones she was used to eating in Wire Dog’s naborhood. She also found that the barnyards were teaming with bugs, worms, and flies that were more tasty than any she had eaten in her life. She met new friends and was introduced to some country cousins that she had never known before.
That evening the little sparrow sang a song as cheerful as any she had ever sung in her life; and after a few days she told the crows she liked the farm just as well as her old naborhood and thought she might just stay here for the rest of her days.
That really bothered the old crows, so one of them said, “Of course you like it here on a farm. Ther are no bird feeders here, but ther is plenty to eat. You would probably change your tune if you had to live in the heart of a big city wher ther are no birdfeeders, no barnyards full of bugs, and no fields full of plump seeds.”
But the cheerful little sparrow chirped right back, I’d like to see the city you are talking about. If you lead the way we’ll go have a look.”
So off they flew again, the crows leading the way with their broad strokes and the little sparrow flapping her wings as quickly as she could to keep up. This trip took longer than the last and even the crows said they needed to stop for a rest several times along the way. At each stop the little sparrow was able to find little things here and ther that wer good enuff to eat, which puzzled the crows and made them mad that she could find food in places wher they saw nothing.
Eventually they could see the tall buildings of the city rising up on the horizon. “Ther it is, cawed one of the crows. Now we will see how you like the hard life in the concrete jungle of a big city.”
The little sparrow didn’t reply this time to the crows, but inside she felt her heart beat a little faster. She was a little fearful, but mostly excited to see the city. She had heard about cities from other birds, but had never seen one for herself.
When they reached the edge of the city the crows stopped in a large tree to rest and to talk to the sparrow. “We don’t like to spend much time in the city,” said the largest of the two crows. “And after you have been in ther for a while you’ll see why, and you will probably feel the same way. We’ll just wait around here outside the city for a couple of days. Soon you will see how hard it is for a country bird to live in a city and you will beg us to take you back to the fields or to your naborhood where it’s easy to be so happy.”
So the little sparrow flew off into the city and the crows sat together on the branch of a gnarly tree. “This should be fun to see,” said one crow to the other. In a couple of days she won’t be singing her usual happy songs, but she will be crying and asking us to take her back to the fields or her old Wire Dog naborhood.”
But after two days the little sparrow did not return. On the third day there was still no sparrow. By the fourth day the crows began to worry. They thot she mite hav bumped into the side of a tall building or been hit by a bus. She mite have starved from hunger or was hopelessly lost in the maze of streets and buildings. On the fifth day, just when the crows were about to give up, they heard the little sparrow’s cheerful song and saw her flying merrily toward the old tree where they were perched.
“I am very sorry if I kept you waiting,” said the little sparrow, just as happy as could be. “I hope you were not expecting me sooner. There was so much to see and do in the city that I lost track of the time and nearly forgot all about you. I met even more cousins ther than on the farm and I was even introduced to some from overseas! I found the city food quite different than what I am used to, but most of it is actually quite tasty. Why, in the last few days I’ve eaten popcorn, bits of a hotdog, candy, apple cores, potato chips, ice cream cones, peanuts, and French fries. Some people in the city even put food in bird feeders in their yards filled with all sorts of exotic seeds that would take forever to find on your own in the wild. There are plenty of the ordinary things too, like worms, flies, and bugs, but who wants to eat them when there are so many other new things to try?”
The two crows looked at each other and then looked back at the cheerful little sparrow and asked, “You mean you like life in the city?”
“I certainly do,” she said with a smile. In fact, I like it so much I have decided to stay.”
“What?” said both crows at the same time. “You mean you don’t want to return to the farmyard or Wire Dog’s naborhood with the neat little bush, the bird feeders and the water fountain?”
“Well,” said the little bird, I was very happy on the farm and could have stayed ther forever. I was also happy in my old naborhood and I liked Wire Dog very much. But, I think we can be happy almost anywhere if we always looked on the brite side and keep the right attitude. But ther is one thing I found here that I didn’t find anywhere else.”
“What was that?” asked the puzzled crows.
“Well,” answered the sparrow, as she shyly blinked her little eyes. “I met him in the park and we have decided to start a little nest together back in the city.”
The two crows looked at each other in shock. Neither of them could find the words to express their bewilderment. So the cheerful little sparrow thanked them for showing her all the new places. She wished them all the best on their return trip. Then she whistled a happy little tune to show her appreciation and flew quickly and happily back into the city.
The end of this little story, but the beginning of a new life for the cheerful little sparrow.
Wire Dog Stories 