Ascension : Tales from Green Mountain
Submitted by The Islander (Nathan Prince) 18.05.2006 (Article Archived on 01.06.2006)

Morris the Mynah Bird (Part One) - Morris the Mynah Bird lived at Two Boats Village. He was four weeks old and lived with his parents in their garden.

Two Boats Village.  He was four weeks old and lived with his parents in their garden.  He was a happy little bird and his parents thought that he was very handsome.  He had a shiny black head, bright yellow legs and a bright yellow beak.  His parents fed him several times a day with seeds, fruit, insects and worms and he grew very quickly.

Morris didn’t really care about his appearance.  He didn’t really know what he looked like.  He just knew that he lived, in a nest, in a hole, in a tree, with his parents and that he liked eating.  He liked seeds, fruit and insects but he particularly liked worms!  Worms were slimy, squelchy, succulent snacks and he could eat lots and lots of them.

One morning, Morris woke up and felt very hungry.  His parents had left the nest to get him some food.  Morris really wanted a big worm for his breakfast and eagerly waited for them to return.  He looked out of the hole in the tree and could see his mother gathering seeds.  He hoped that his father would return with a big, wriggly worm but he didn’t and all Morris had to eat that day were seeds!  He was very disappointed.

That night, Morris dreamt that he left his nest, flew around Two Boats and found himself the biggest worm that he had ever seen!  When he awoke the next morning, he decided that was just what he was going to do.  Again, he was very hungry!

When his parents left the nest, he followed them to the hole in the tree.  He looked across the garden to the wooden fence and decided that was where he would like to land.  Then, he looked down!  The ground looked so far away and for a moment he panicked and was too scared to fly.  Morris had never attempted to fly before but he was determined to find his worm.

Shrieking at the top of his voice, he flapped his wings and leapt from his tree.  He stared at the fence and flapped and flapped.  The wind caught him and he hit the wooden planks beak first!  Ouch!!  A little dazed, he fluttered and flapped to the ground.

When he had recovered, he decided to try again.  He flapped his wings, lifted himself into the air and finally landed on the fence.  His landing was a bit wobbly but he gripped the wood tight with his bright yellow feet.  He shrieked a shriek of delight and took off again landing on the roof of the house with a loud clatter!

Morris rather liked the noise and hopped along the roof clattering loudly: clatter, clatter, clatter!  He hopped all the way back and slid down the roof to the guttering.  He decided that he liked flying and set off to find his worm in Two Boats Village.