Summer Bird Stories

Family-Friendly Short Stories, Cartoons, and Illustrations

A Birthday Gift

It was Melissa’s fifth birthday in two weeks and her grandpa was going to be out of town.   “But Grandpa,” she said, “Can’t you come back home for my party? Then you can go back to your silly meeting.”

“I’m sorry pumpkin,” he said. “It would be bad manners to leave my meeting for your party.”

“My party will be more fun,” Melissa said.

“Of course it will,” Grandpa said.

“It’s more important,” Melissa said.

“No,” Grandpa said. “You are more important, but I will be seeing you again very soon. A party is just a party.”

Melissa frowned.   “But I want you to come,” she said.

“But I can’t,” Grandpa said. “So tell me what you want as a present from me, and I’ll see if I can get it and leave it with your mom and dad before I go.”

Melissa sat up straighter and smiled. “Oh, that’s easy. I want a parakeet.”

“Really?   What for?” Grandpa asked.

“Well, they sing and fly and they’re really cute.” She counted the reasons off on her fingers.   “I like the blue ones best. I’ll need a cage too, of course.”

“Hmmm.   That’ll be a bit difficult, but I think I can take care of all of that before I leave town. Now tell me all about how you’re doing in ballet class.   I heard that your class will be flowers in your spring performance,” Grandpa said.

“I’m going to be a tulip. My skirt is yellow and I hold my hands up like this and kick to the sides. Watch me, Grandpa! I’m really good at it already.” Melissa began to demonstrate her dance, then paused and turned to look at her grandpa with narrowed eyes. “You aren’t going to miss my dance recital too, are you?”

“Of course not, pumpkin. It’s on my calendar and I have nothing else planned for that day,” Grandpa said.

“Was my birthday not on your calendar?” Melissa asked.

“Of course it was,” Grandpa said. “I just can’t miss this meeting. It only happens once every five years. Last time I went, it was just before you were born. This time, it’s scheduled a few days later.”

“Five years is a long time to wait. I guess it’s okay. Just don’t miss my ballet recital. I’ve been practicing a lot.   Watch me, Grandpa,” Melissa said.   She began to dance once again.

Two weeks later, it was Melissa’s birthday. Her auntie and uncle and three cousins came, and her friends Miranda and Jane came too.   Grandpa’s present was up high on the shelf. Mom said they could open it when the noisy party was over.

When everyone had left and Miranda was sick of cake and couldn’t eat another bite, Mom took the present down from the shelf. It was wrapped in soft cloth that covered a wire dome and was tied around the middle with a big blue ribbon. Melissa could hear soft fluttering sounds coming from inside.

She untied the ribbon and lifted off the cloth. There wasn’t a parakeet inside. Instead there were two blue house keys with big blue butterfly wings.   They were fluttering around inside a little golden cage.

When the cover was off, pretty music stated to play. Melissa leaned closer. It was coming from the keys. It was the song she was dancing to for her recital. She looked up at her mom. “It’s not a parakeet,” she said.

“No, I think it’s a pair of keys,” her mom said.

“That’s silly,” Miranda said. She looked at the keys. They were kind of pretty. “I was going to name my parakeet Sabrina,” she said.

“Well, now you can think of another name too,” her dad said. “And I think you won’t ever have to clean the cage.”

Melissa watched the pretty keys. They were singing another song. Was it from the Nutcracker? She smiled.   “I’ll name the other one Clara,” she said.

Her parents both smiled. “Good choice,” her dad said.

“You’ll have to remember to tell Grandpa thank you,” her mom said.

“I will.   I’ll draw him a picture too.   When does he get back from his wizard meeting anyways?” Melissa asked.

“Soon, I think,” her mom said.

“Okay. I’ll go put my pair of keys in my room now,” Melissa said. She giggled.

Another Strange Case

Dr. Wilkins flipped through the chart. “Hmmm,” he said.

The nurse looked up. “Oh, are you looking at the chart for the next patient? It’s a bit strange. I feel bad for the poor kid.”

“He’s thirteen?   It looks like he’s otherwise healthy,” the doctor said. “I don’t think he’ll suffer from any complications.”

“Well,” the nurse said, standing up and pushing in her chair. “It’s just that he’s already rather short.”

“His parents are below average in height, so statistically speaking, that’s to be expected,” Dr. Wilkins said.

“I guess so,” the nurse said.

The doctor closed the chart with a snap. “It’s an unusual condition, but it seems fairly straightforward.”

He followed the nurse down the hall to the exam room. He knocked on the door. “Come in,” someone said. The voice cracked on the second word. Dr. Wilkins assumed it was his patient speaking.

Dr. Wilkins opened the door and managed not to blink in surprise. The young man was quite short for thirteen years old. This was definitely a growth spurt gone wrong.   He smiled. “Jeremy?” he asked. “Jeremy Hart?”

“Yeah, that’s me,” Jeremy said. His voice cracked again.

Dr. Wilkins turned to the woman trying to feed crackers to a preschooler. “Are you Jeremy’s mother?”

“Yes,” the woman said. The preschooler used the moment of inattention to pour the crackers out of the bag. She started to stomp on them.

The doctor crouched down in front of the preschooler. “And who are you?”

“Mandy,” the child said. Her hand darted towards his stethoscope.

Dr. Wilkins leaned back and stood up. “That’s my stethoscope.” He held it up. “I’m going to use it to check on Jeremy. Shall we see if we can make him feel better?”

“No,” Mandy said.   “I want it.”

“Amanda Francis,” Mrs. Hart said.

“I want it,” Mandy said.

“Do you need a time out?” Mrs. Hart asked.

“Can I have a cookie?” Mandy asked.

“If you’re good,” Mrs. Hart said.

“Okay. But I want a sprinkle cookie,” Mandy said.   She went back to stomping on the cracker crumbs.

Dr. Wilkins turned back to Jeremy. “So, when did you first notice that you were shorter?”

“Three days ago,” Jeremy said. His voice was steady. “When I woke up and stood up, things looked different. Mom measured me and said I was five inches shorter. So, she called for an appointment.” He stretched the hem of his shirt between his hands.

“Well done,” Dr. Wilkins said. “Let’s just look at your throat.” He picked up a tongue depressor. “Say aah.”   He checked Jeremy’s throat, and then his heart and lungs. Everything looked normal.

“Me next,” Mandy said.

Dr. Wilkins checked Mandy’s throat with a tongue depressor. When he finished, Mandy held out her hand. “Mine,” she said. He handed her the tongue depressor. She turned her back on him and used it to stir the cracker crumbs.

“Do you know what’s wrong with him?” Mrs. Hart asked.

“It looks like his growth spurt went a little wrong.” Dr. Wilkins smiled. “It’s unusual, but it does happen. According to the measurements the nurse took, he’s four and a half inches shorter than the last time he came in.”

“Is it reversible?” Mrs. Hart asked.

“Well, it’s a lot of height to lose, but it can be reversed and he can even continue with his original growth arc. Unfortunately, this will only happen if Jeremy is diligent with his treatment plan.”

“Of course I will,” Jeremy said. His voice squeaked.

“You will need to walk around on your hands for at least a month. Two would be better,” Dr. Wilkins said.

Jeremy frowned.   “I can’t stand on my head without falling over. How will I walk on my hands?”

Dr. Wilkins smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll prescribe a set of reverse crutches for you.   It will take some practice, and your arms will certainly be sore, but you can do it.”

Mandy whirled around and stomped her foot. “I want verser crutches too.”

“I’m sorry, Mandy,” the doctor said. “These are just for Jeremy, to help him get better.”

Mandy screeched and broke the tongue depressor in half and threw the pieces at him. Mrs. Hart looked horrified. “I am so sorry, Dr. Wilkins,” she said.

“It’s quite all right,” he said. He wrote out the prescription and held it out. “Here you go,” he said. “We’ll see you again in two months. Make an appointment at the front desk.”

“Thank you doctor,” Mrs. Hart said. She stood up and began to gather her things. Mandy was still screeching and kicking cracker crumbs around the room.

“I hope that you are much taller when I see you next, Jeremy,” Dr. Wilkins said.

“Me too,” Jeremy said.

Dr. Wilkins shook hands with Jeremy and Mrs. Hart. Mandy was scowling at him, so he just smiled and waved at her. After they left, he had a few minutes to update the chart. The nurse threw away the pieces of tongue depressor and looked at the scattered crumbs. “I’ll go get a broom,” she said.

 

Ice Fishing

Walter was back from his week-long trip up north. His coworkers were pleased to have him back and happy to welcome him with a very full inbox. It kept him quite busy catching up. He didn’t leave his desk until lunch.

Kevin sat by him in the break room. “Hey Walter,” he said. “How was your trip? Where did you go?”

Walter smiled and put down his sandwich. “Oh there’s this lovely lake I visit every year. I get a cabin right on the shore. It’s not at all expensive this time of year. It’s so pretty. The sky is blue, and the air is crisp. It’s all so quiet.” He picked up his sandwich again.

“Hmmm,” Kevin said. “It does sound nice. What do you do? Snow shoeing? Cross-country skiing? Writing a novel?” He bit into an apple.

Walter finished chewing. “Oh, I do read a bit. I like to roast marshmallows in the fireplace too. Mostly, I go ice fishing.”

“Ice fishing, wow,” Kevin said. “I’ve never been. It sounds pretty neat though.   Rather cold, I imagine.”

“Well, it is ice,” Walter said.

“Yeah,” Kevin said. “I don’t like to get cold.   I don’t think it’s for me. That just means more for you, I guess.”

“I guess so,” Walter said. Both men ate their lunches in silence for a few minutes.

“I do like to read though,” Kevin said. “What do you like to read?”

“Oh, you know, the classics. The dictionary, the phone book…”

Kevin looked up from his lunch. “What?”

Walter laughed.   “Just kidding. I’ve heard that once you’ve read the dictionary, everything else is just a remix. But, I haven’t read it. I was reading one of those World War Two spy novels.”

Kevin laughed.   “You got me. I believed you for a moment there. That was a good one.” He laughed again. “I like spy novels too, but I prefer the cold war era. You know, the James Bond type. Not the ones that are romance novels in disguise, of course.”

“Of course.   I wouldn’t mind the more modern spy novels as much if the language wasn’t so bad,” Walter said. He pointed at Kevin with his sandwich. “Are you one of those that never even notices?”

Kevin shook his head. “No, I think it’s a bit over the top, too. Tell you what. Sometime I’ll go through my favorite one with a black pen and scribble out the bad words. Then I’ll lend it to you.”

“If you did that, I’d read it,” Walter said. He smiled and held out a hand. “It’s a deal.” Kevin laughed and they shook hands.

“So are you going to lend me your favorite spy novel in return?” Kevin asked. He started to put his lunch things away.

“Of course I will,” Walter said. “It’s only fair. I look forward to hearing what you think.” He tossed his paper towel in the trash and pulled two homemade cookies out of his lunch bag. “Want one?”

“Of course I do,” Kevin said. “What kind are they?”

“Oatmeal raisin,” Walter said. “I love oatmeal raisin.”

“Me, too,” Kevin said. He bit into the cookie.   “Mmmm. These are good.” He ate another bite. “So, ice fishing, huh?”

“Yeah, I’ll have to show you pictures,” Walter said. “I’ve got a few on my desk.”

“I’ll follow you out,” Kevin said, picking up his lunch bag.

Walter packed up the last of his things. “Sounds great. Just give me a second.”

“So, what was the biggest fish you caught?” Kevin asked.

“Fish? I hate fish,” Walter said. “Why would I catch fish?”

“Huh?” Kevin paused and looked back. “What do you mean? I thought you were ice fishing.”

“Yeah, of course I was,” Walter said. “So I caught ice. Lots and lots of ice.   It’s all catch and release of course.   It just doesn’t travel well.”

“What? Really?” Kevin asked.

“Just kidding,” Walter said. “I love fish. I caught some really big ones this year. Just wait until you see the pictures.”

Kevin groaned. “I can’t believe you got me again.” Walter laughed.

Spring Storms

“The roof is leaking again,” Mom said.

Jeff rushed into the kitchen to see. A steady drip drip drip was falling from the edge of the ceiling. Mom sighed and went out to the garage. While she was gone, Dad came in and looked up.

“Hmmm.   That’s strange,” he said.

Mom came back in and plopped a bucket under the drip. It sounded a lot louder and echoey as it continued to drip. “I thought this was fixed two weeks ago,” she said.

“So did I,” Dad said. “They replaced this part of the roof.”

“Well, you’d better call them to come and fix it again,” Mom said. “And they’d better not charge us any more. It cost a lot of money last time and the problem still isn’t fixed.”

“Well, they won’t come while it’s still raining,” Dad said. “Maybe I should go up and see if I see anything.”

That sounded like fun. “Can I climb on the roof too?” Jeff asked. “I’ll wear my jacket with the hood.”

“Of course not,” Mom said. “And Dad’s not going either. The last thing we need is to have someone fall off the roof.”

They all looked at the water drip in the bucket. It was making a splashing sound now. Rain blew against the window, and then the power went out. The room was dark.   Light came in through the window faintly. The dripping sounded even louder.

“I’ll get the matches and candles,” Mom said. “I think we’ll have tuna sandwiches for dinner tonight.”

“With chips?” Dad asked.

“I think I might have a bag up in the cupboard,” Mom said. She climbed on a chair and took the candles and matches from a high cupboard. “I bought some chips to top a casserole, but I didn’t end up making it.” She handed the candles and matches down to Dad and opened another cupboard.

“I love chips and tuna fish,” Dad said. “The only thing better is if we had peas too.” He lit the candles and put them on the table.

“Sorry,” Mom said.   She found the chips and stepped down off the chair. “We only have frozen peas, and the power is out. So, we can’t cook them.”

“That’s okay,” Dad said.

Jeff helped make the tuna filling for the sandwiches. Dad showed him how to add chips to his sandwich to make it extra crunchy. When the power came on halfway through dinner, he was a little disappointed.

The storm was ending, but the water kept dripping. Mom looked in the bucket. It was halfway full. “Do you think that there’s a lot of water damage in the attic now?” Mom asked.   “It looked fine a week ago, but this is a lot of water.”

“I’ll go check,” Dad said. “Don’t worry, there’s safer footing in the attic. I’ll be fine.”

“Haha,” Mom said.   Dad laughed.

“If it’s safe, can I come too?” Jeff asked.

“All right,” Mom said. “You’ll both need flashlights.”

“I have them in the garage,” Dad said. “Let’s go, Jeff.”

They took the flashlights and pulled down the secret steps to the attic. Jeff would finally get to see what was up there.   Dad went up the stairs first.   “Hmmm,” he said. “That’s a little unusual.”

“What is it?” Jeff asked. “Can I see?”

“Why don’t you go get your mom first,” Dad said.

Jeff rushed into the kitchen. Mom was loading the dishwasher. “What is it Jeff? Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Dad said to come see, but I don’t know what it is,” Jeff said. “Come on, I have to go get you before I can go up and see.”

Mom followed as Jeff raced back to the ladder and finally got to climb up into the attic.   Dad was standing by the ladder, watching a small black cloud that was pressed against the opposite wall and raining.

“What is that?” Mom asked from behind Jeff.

“It looks like a stray rain cloud got trapped in here recently. It’s been living in our attic,” Dad said.

“Well, let’s open the window and shoo it out,” Mom said.

“All right,” Dad said. The cloud rumbled a bit as Dad came closer. Dad opened the window quickly and backed up again. They worked together to herd the cloud towards the window. It grumbled and crackled a little, but finally it drifted right in front of the window.

They slowly walked forward. Mom was making shooing motions with her hands. Dad kept saying, “Go on, go on, go on, go out the window little guy.”

Jeff mostly hid behind Dad, just in case the cloud decided to shock somebody. Finally, the cloud backed up and squeezed itself out the window. They watched it drift up, up, and away. Jeff waved goodbye.

“We’re going to have to get the kitchen ceiling fixed now,” Mom said. “And the attic floor.”

“Let’s storm-proof the attic first,” Dad said. “So we don’t have this problem again.

“Good plan,” Mom said.

 

Charlie’s Room: Lucky Socks

Aunt Doris broke her hip and Marianne flew out to help her recover. So, it was just Isaac and Charlie at home. And here it was, Monday morning, and Isaac’s alarm hadn’t gone off. They weren’t late yet, but he had ten minutes to get Charlie to school. It was going to be a bit of a rush.

Charlie was eating dry cereal out of a baggie as Isaac drove around the last corner. “It looks like you’re going to be on time,” Isaac said. “We did it. I think we’re going to have a good day after all.”

“Yeah, I guess.   It’s Monday after all,” Charlie said.   “Oh no! I just remembered I have a history test today.” He frowned.

“You’ve been keeping up on your reading,” Isaac said, pulling up to the school. “You’ll be fine.”

“You don’t understand,” Charlie said. “I’m not wearing my lucky socks. Please go get them. I really, really need my lucky socks. Please, Dad?”

“I’m already late for work, Charlie. I’m sure you’ll do fine.” Isaac looked in his rear view mirror. The line of cars behind his was getting longer. “Hop out, Charlie. We’re holding up the line.”

Charlie’s eyes teared up. “Please, Dad,” he said.   “Mom would get them for me. I need them. Please?”

Isaac sighed.   What was ten more minutes? “What do they look like?” he asked.

“Thank you, Dad!   They’re light blue with green spots, and they’re at the top of my sock drawer. Thank you. Bye!”   Charlie beamed and hopped out of the car.

Isaac sighed again and battled his way against the flow of traffic. He got home, checking the time on the car’s clock. He needed to be at work in five minutes or he’d be late for the meeting. It was impossible. He got out of the car. He was here, so he might as well find the socks.

He opened a few drawers before he found Charlie’s sock drawer. The socks were right on top. Isaac smiled, picked them up, and closed the drawer. His phone rang.

“Hello, this is Isaac,” he said.

“Isaac, I’m glad I got a hold of you,” the office manager said. “I’m sorry this is such late notice, but go back to your car and go home for the morning. The building is being fumigated, so come back after lunch. The meeting’s been rescheduled to one. I’m really sorry I didn’t find out sooner.”

“That’s all right,” Isaac said. “Thanks for letting me know.”

“No problem,” the office manager said. “Well, I have to go. More phone calls to make. See you later. Bye.”

“Bye,” Isaac said.   He looked at the socks. It had to be a coincidence. Well, it sure made the morning easier. Now he needed to take the socks to Charlie.

He strode down the hall and opened the front door. There was a package there. It hadn’t been there a moment ago. He looked up and down the street. No one was there. He put the socks in his pocket, brought the package inside, and opened it.

It was the book he’d preordered, but it wasn’t supposed to be out for another day. He flipped it open. The author had signed it. He checked the name on the package to be certain they hadn’t mixed him up with someone else.

He set the book on his desk and went out to the car. There was more gas left in the tank than he’d remembered. Every light was green on the way back to the school. The office worker smiled at him when he came in to drop off the socks. She offered him a mint, and it was his favorite kind.

He held out the socks. “Charlie needs these for class today,” he said.

“I’ll make sure he gets them right away,” she said. She took the socks and reached for a pen. “Oh!” she said. “There’s my earring. I’ve been looking all over for it.”

Isaac smiled.   “I’m glad you found it. Thank you for your help,” he said. He headed out to the car. Was it fair to give Charlie an advantage on his test like socks that lucky? He’d have to talk to Charlie about the socks when he got home.

The Witch Returns

The wedding party went home. They had to deal with whatever legalities are necessary when a group of people are enchanted into chess pieces by a relative and then go missing for several months. “I don’t envy them the paperwork,” Melinda’s mom said.

Melinda had managed to avoid Miss Ganon since then. Hopefully, she’d be able to keep it up for the rest of her life. She didn’t like the idea of sitting in that dark living room gathering dust and waiting for someone to come sneeze on her.

So, when her mom sent her out to play, Melinda went to the park on the far side of the neighborhood. She met up with her friend Mabel, who was already playing explorers with Lenny and John and David and Susan. “Lenny thinks there’s a clearing in the middle of the bushes over there. We can set up camp there,” Mabel said.

“Hey! I’m the leader,” John said. “I get to decide what we do next. You’re just the navigator.”

“Then I say the map says to go that way,” Mabel said. “What do you think?”

“I think we need to decide on a job for Melinda,” John said. “Any ideas, Lenny? You’re my vice-president.”

“I thought I was First Mate,” Lenny said.

“No, you’re the First Lieutenant,” Susan said.

“What was my job again?” David asked.

Just then, there was a rustling sound in the bushes. Everyone turned to look just as Miss Ganon stepped out. Melinda stepped behind John and hoped Miss Ganon would just go away. Instead, Miss Ganon looked at all the children and nodded. “You’ll do, she said. “Lions, I think.”

She pointed to each of them and muttered. Then she snapped her fingers. Melinda felt hot and cold and sick. Everything looked blue for a moment. She tried to yell for help, but all she could hear was a roaring sound.

She looked around.   She could see five other lions.   Miss Ganon smiled a not very nice smile and clapped her hands together. The world went blue again and everything around them blurred.

When the dizzy feeling faded, Melinda realized that they were now in a large white tent. There were also zebras and elephants and two bears. Miss Ganon looked around. “Hmmm,” she said. “It’s a good start.   Listen up now, children. You have just run away and joined the circus.”   She cackled.

The animals all began to roar and bellow. Miss Ganon frowned. “Silence,” she said. “Or I will turn you all into bacteria.” The animals quieted at once. “Very good,” she said. “I recently found this tent abandoned after a wedding I attended. I have decided to sell it along with a circus to go with it.   It will have the added bonus of making the neighborhood much quieter.” She cackled again.

She began to stalk around and mutter to herself as she examined the animals. Most of them backed up as she approached. This always made her laugh. She stopped in front of the lions. “Six lions? What was I thinking? I’ll make half of them tigers,” she said. She held up a finger.

One of the lions turned and ran. Melinda watched him go and tried to decide if there was another way out of this.   Was there a way to make yourself sneeze? It worked with the enchanted chess pieces. But would it still work to end the spell if you were the one enchanted? Would the witch just turn her into something that couldn’t sneeze?

Miss Ganon clapped and the lion was back in place. “No you don’t,” she said. She looked around and smiled her not very nice smile again. “I expect all of you to obey me. If you don’t, there will be consequences.”

She pointed a finger at a zebra and muttered. She snapped, and its stripes all turned red. She pointed to the circus tent and muttered.   She snapped, and it turned yellow. She pointed to the lion that ran. He shivered as she muttered. She snapped and it was as small as a kitten.

Miss Ganon laughed. “None of you can stop me,” she said. She pointed to another lion and muttered. He stood tall. She snapped and he grew and grew. His head brushed the top of the tent and he had to crouch. The other animals moved out of the way.

The witch pointed at him again and began to mutter. Before she could finish, the giant lion ate her in one bite. A few seconds later, all the children turned back. In the place of the giant lion, Lenny lay on the ground clutching his stomach.

“I don’t feel so good,” Lenny said.

Melinda and John helped him up. “I’ll help you get home,” John said. “After all, you’re my vice-president. Or First Mate or something.”

“You probably shouldn’t eat anything for lunch,” Melinda said. “Just in case.”

The children left the tent, which had been set up in Miss Ganon’s backyard. “It looks bigger on the inside,” Mabel said.

“I hope that’s the last we ever see Miss Ganon,” Melinda said. “That was awful.”

“She’s eaten up, isn’t she?” David said. “I don’t think you come back from that.”

“I hope not,” Melinda said.