Fly Away by Tom Castaldi (english novels for beginners .txt) 📕

I added about a pint of water and mixed it with the blade of the screwdriver. The water turned a yellowish color and the pill was completely dissolved. My next step was the biggest of all my challenges.

I took the bag of feed and just like Joe said, the smaller seed went to the bottom. I had placed about fifty seeds in a small cup. They consisted of whole corn and peas. I filled the eyedropper with the antibiotic solution and laid it aside.

I removed the bird from the cage and held it just as Joe had shown me. I picked up a pea and with two fingers pried the bird’s beak open. I dropped the pea into the bird’s mouth and let it close. The bird swallowed it immediately. It was a slow tedious process but I knew it had to be done.

Once I managed to get about twenty or so assorted pieces of feed into the bird, I felt the Crop and just like Joe had said, it felt like a beanbag. I then took the dropper and squeezed the solution down the bird’s throat. The bird swallowed the water solution immediately. I continued placing the remaining seed down the bird’s throat. It was getting so much easier the task went much faster. Before long I had emptied the cup of food into the Bird. Its crop was full and I could actually see the bulge beneath its neck. I topped this off with two full dropper fulls of antibiotic water.

I placed the bird into the cage and with the ashtray in place and poured the remaining medicine solution into it. I closed the overhead light and went upstairs. Hopefully the treatment would work and the bird would get better soon.

The next day, Sunday I headed to the basement. It was a relief to see the bird made it through the night. He was looking much better than when I had found him.
He was even pruning himself, which was a good sign.

I knew I had to go through the agonizing process of hand feeding him. I figured before he and I went through the process, I would give it a shot and see if he would eat on his own.

I reached to the bottom of the bag and grabbed a handful of the smaller seed.
There were many large pieces of corn and peas in the mixture also. I opened the cage and put a pile of seeds right in front of him and backed away.

To my surprise he started pecking at the seed and I could see he was managing just fine. I really believe he knew what was coming if he didn’t eat on his own. Before I knew it, the pile was reduced to nothing but newspaper print. I figured this was a good time to fix more antibiotic water solution.

I removed the ashtray and washed it out making ready for a clean supply of water. I noticed right away there was not much of the first solution I made so; he must be drinking on his own. This was another big relief to me. I changed the newspapers in the cage and set up his water bowl with a fresh supply of liquid.

I took an old can and punched two holes near the rim and placed a piece of wire through it. I placed the can in the cage and fastened the wire around some bars of the cage to hold it in place. When this task was completed, I filled it with a mixed assortment of feed. I sat back and watched for a while. The bird went over to the medicated water. He stuck his beak in and chugged down at least five big gulps of water. He was indeed eating and drinking on his own. I really felt he was out of the woods. I figured within a week or so, he would be strong enough to make it back to his home.


Monday morning rolled around and when I woke, I went right down to the basement. There was no feed left in the food cup. Quite a lot was on the basement floor. I had to clean it up for my mother told me if it creates a mess it has to go. The water cup had very little water in it. I was so angry I had to go to school. I felt like faking I was sick so I could stay home. I was so excited to see the bird, I whizzed right past my mother shouting good morning. She knew I wasn’t sick and something inside of me said, “Don’t try.” I did manage to sweep the floor and replace the feed and water. I figured I could change the paper on the bottom of the cage when I returned home.

It was the longest day of school. I was reminded by the teacher to pay attention twice. That was nothing new for me. I loved to daydream. Now I really had something to distract me.
It was real tough sitting in class that day. I started plotting tomorrows sick day. I knew I had to make it good. My mother knew me well, I had to be convincing. I needed to be cunning to fool my mother. With an ingenious plan it could be accomplished.

When I returned home I went right down to the cellar. I flipped on the light and the bird just stared at me. The food was mostly gone and there was a mess on the floor again. This is going to turn into work.

I spent a good 2 hours just watching the bird. This was after I replaced the newspaper; made a solution; and fed him. He seemed to be much more comfortable around me. I could tell he was improving just by the way his feathers were groomed. He had an iraidesant color on his neck. I never noticed that before. He was also so much more alert now. I said to myself, he’s definitely not the bird I caught. It was time for dinner and my homework still had to be taken care of too. Then I thought if I managed to stay home the next day, I could do it then. After more thinking, I better not plan on staying home. My Cousin was in my class and he would bring my homework home to me. Then I may have to do two homework’s in a row. Bad thought so, it looks like the next day I will get to stay home from school would have to be Saturday.


Time was flying by and it’s been a week I had the bird. I replaced antibiotic water solution every day since I found him. The next day I figured I’d head to Joe’s pet shop and let him know what was happening.

As I arrived at Joes, he greeted me immediately with a smile. He asked me how the bird is doing. I told him about all the progress he has made. I assured him everything was fine and he was pleased. He asked, what I was going to do with the bird now. I told him about my plan to keep him for another week and will release him. He thought that was a great idea. As I left, I reminded him that I would return the cage to him next week. As I walked past the shop I looked through the glass window. I noticed he was still smiling and shaking his head. I could tell he liked me and I thought to myself; wow… what a great feeling it was.


Once at home I headed down to the basement. I noticed the bird was putting his head in his water and trying to clean himself. He wanted to bathe himself that in its self was a good thing. I cut the bottom out of an old plastic Spackle bucket. I left it about four inches high. I slid the bottom of the cage out and inserted the make shift bath into the cage and slid the bottom tray under it. It just barely fit but it worked. I took warm water and filled it about three inches deep. The bird went over to it and took a drink. He then hopped into the bath and started splashing around. He eventually layed down on one side in it. He must have stayed in it for a good five minutes. He then hoped out and went to a corner of the cage and was pruning himself. I removed the bath from the cage to give him more room. I set up a droplight close to the cage so the bulb would keep him warm. He moved to where it was the warmest and started to straighten his feathers out. It was really relaxing to watch him. He was feeling very comfortable with me now.

I went upstairs and watched some television. After a couple hours I went back down to check on him and turn out the lights. He was almost completely dry and well groomed. It didn’t look like the same bird I found at all. I made another antibiotic solution and filled his water bowl. I turned out the lights and returned upstairs. I felt really good knowing he was almost back to a healthy state.

Sunday morning was a sunny warm day. I thought I’d move the bird outside so he could see some sunlight. I set up two cinder blocks and placed the cage on top. I filled his water bowl up and also gave him a full cup of seeds. He immediately started eating. In the sunlight I could see how well he looked.
At this rate he would be more that able to get home. I started planning his release. I made a date for Saturday morning. That would give him five more days to rest up.

It was getting dark and I decided to move the bird to the basement. I changed the newspaper and filled his water bowl and also his feed dish. I was sure he really enjoyed his day outside. If he only knew he would be flying home on Saturday.

The week went by slow. Seems that’s what happens when we look forward to doing something special. I made sure he got his daily supply of antibiotics and feed. By mid week he was transformed into a beautiful bird. No telling how long he went without a decent meal before I found him. One thing for sure he would be ready for his flight on Saturday. There was no doubt in my mind he was able to make it home. It was a good feeling knowing I rescued this bird from the jaws of a cat, starvation or even sickness. He had a new lease on life and I was glad to have had such a big part of it.

Friday I sat in school daydreaming of what my plan would be for the next day. I figured the best thing to do was something natural for a homing pigeon. I decided to write a note and tie it to the bird’s band. If all went well, I would know if he made it or not.

It finally came the day of the release. Part of me wants to keep the bird but I feel he would be much happier in his home coop. It was a lot of work taking care of the bird. I am ready for a break at this point in time.

I went to the basement and fed and watered the bird. I