Miss Sparrow - A Story of Survival and Kindness
Her ancestors could have saved fifty million human lives had they not been the prey of the insensitive ruler.
Story : S A Spencer
She was looking around without responding. This corner of the park is bushy and close to the river. Almost deserted. Sparrow spoke again, “Hello! Oh, dog friend! I’m here. On this branch.”
“No name.” She said without even lifting her head.
“You don’t know your name? Strange! I’ve seen many doggies, people call them by their names and also play with them! Okay, I will call you doggie until you find who you are.”
The doggie sat on feet of the tree, her eyes tired and staring into space. “Ever noticed those leashes around their necks? Leashes mean they have owners. They get tinned food every day. I’m not that lucky.” Tears dazzled in her eyes. “I stay hiding behind the bushes here. People come to visit the park, have picnics and dispose of uneaten foods. I get the smell. But never dare to come out openly, even if I am hungry. But in the evening when everybody leaves, I sneak inside and find something to eat. That pulls me up to the next evening. Why are you sitting on that branch? You sound like a good friend. Please sit near me on this grass.”
Sparrow narrowed her eyes, “But you said you don’t get proper meals. Does that mean you are hungry mostly?”
“Yes, Miss Sparrow. You’re right.”
Sparrow sniggered. “Doesn’t that mean I should be at a safe distance? I would love to remain your friend and talk to you in my spare time. But never become your dinner. My mum has taught me, always keep a safe distance even from friends, if they are not from our species.”
Doggie cast another look and let out a mild chuckle. “You are right. Lucky guy, you have a mummy. You’re so lucky. My mother left me and my siblings and ran away with a male dog. I can never find her after that. But tell me one thing, Miss Sparrow, I’ve seen hundreds of types of birds in my life spanning the past four years, but never a sparrow. Are you a tourist from another country? I mean, a foreigner?”
Sparrow giggled. “No, my friend. In fact, our numbers are so little, we often go unnoticed. For generations, our ancestors are trying to save themselves by hiding in the forests.”
“You are also afraid of humans? Like me?”
Doggie cast a cautious glance around. Miss Sparrow followed her line of sight to the crowd. Men and women were sitting at a distance and drinking something from cups. Children are still playing. Some people started packing up and leave the park.
She stared at the sky, “You need to wait for your dinner, doggie. Sun will take another hour to go down. But if you are so hungry, just wait. I will make a flying scan and tell you where exactly the leftover foods are.”
Doggie let out a dreadful bark. “Don’t, my friend. Don’t waste your time. If I go there looking for food, I may…”, a sob began in her throat, “I may end up being their dinner instead. All my relatives and sisters died at some stage. They were all stray dogs. I am the sole survivor of my family. Are you also like me? Why were your ancestors hiding in forests?”
Sparrow rose in the air and did a flying inspection of the park- families getting together and having fun, children playing even outside play areas. Within minutes, she came back. “I was making sure there is nobody here who has come armed with for killing the birds. Do you really want to listen to that horrible tale?”
Doggie took a long breath. “Yes, Miss Sparrow. My family is gone forever. Maybe your story will bring some desire in me to survive in this unkind world.”
Sparrow fluttered her wings and began, “It was in 1958. I heard that story from my great grandfather, who had got this again from his great grandpa.”
“Oh, that was almost six or seven dog generations before.”
“Yes, almost twenty-one sparrow generations are over. We people don’t enjoy a long twelve years' life like you dogs. Three years at the most. I am six months old now, almost a teen. That year the president of this large country came to know that sparrows eat away almost three kilos of grains from farm lands. Food shortage was an issue then for humans of this country. The president Mao Zedong ordered that all the sparrows of the country be killed. And, infamous ‘smash sparrow’ campaign began.”
The dog stood up, eyes pooled. “Sis, this is terrible. Why did he do that? I can understand he could kill two or three of you to cook and eat. But an entire community?”
Tears streaked from sparrow’s eyes. “Friend, only animals kill someone when they need food. But humans? They can murder other living beings for even no reason. People of this country almost eradicated our species. Around six hundred million of our community lost their lives.”
Doggie’s jaws dropped. “Oh, that is a terrible figure. Then?”
“Few of them survived hiding in bushes. Never came miles near the firm lands, in case farmers would notice and kill.”
Doggie inhaled a long breath. “So, how did they survive without grains?”
Sparrow chuckled. “That was not a problem. Like you dogs, our sparrow community is both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. We also eat pests like grasshoppers and locusts. But know what? God punished the entire country who butchered our brethren.”
“God? How?” The dog had questions in her eyes.
“Even sparrows didn’t realise eating pests like crickets and grasshoppers were saving the crops. Sis, when you are hungry, why don’t you feast on these insects? They are plenty on this side of the park?”
Doggie glanced around a little. “Don’t worry about my food. I don’t like grasshopper meat, anyway. Please Miss Sparrow. I am losing patience. What happened after that?”
“Sparrows’ eradication increased the numbers of grasshoppers and locusts. Within a year, thousands of millions of locusts, who would have never seen the light of the day, attacked the crops and destroyed them. And then came the unprecedented famine.”
Doggie stared at her with wide eyes. “Fam… famine means?”
“Means, no food to eat.”
“Like my case? I also have no food to eat.”
The Sparrow gave a mild chuckle. “No, you stupid. Now the food is there, but you have no access to it as you don’t have a leash around your neck. Famine is different. Crops in those years were so little that fifty million people died of starvation.”
Doggie’s eyes pooled. “I see.”
“Are you unhappy that so many humans died? Keep in mind, those were the people who had culled six hundred million from our community. They should have understood we didn’t destroy their crops. The three kilos of grains per bird our ancestors consumed were like taking wages to save their harvests from the locusts.”
“Still, revenge is not the way to live in this world. You see, I’m afraid of humans as in this country people eat dogs. But I never curse them.”
Miss Sparrow let out a sad smile. “You are right, sister. I also don’t hate them. But hope, one day they will love the nature and try to live with it the way we live. This world will become a heaven.”
“That’s like godly spirit, sister.” Doggie stretched her legs and stood. “Now that the sun has already set, I can look for food safely. See you again.”
S A Spencer- I will bring more stories for your entertainment. Please follow me on Facebook and Twitter so that you know when a new story comes.
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Very nice little story.
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