Something Doesn't Belong

A small barn owl found a new home in an old, abandoned barn out in the English countryside. There were many places to choose from, but this place felt like home to her and her mate. With every day that passed it was getting colder, and frost began to form on the grassy hills. They felt safe and warm and were surrounded by forest for them to hunt during the night.

The mother owl had been busy laying her eggs every other day and was pleased with her batch of eggs. Patiently sitting on them for 30 days the little hatchlings soon started to appear one by one. There was one egg left and on the fifth day the little hatchling finally made his appearance, only he looked a little different from the others. At first the mother was concerned that maybe something was wrong with her baby, but still she loved him just the same.

Before long there were four tiny squawking mouths in the nest. Every night her partner was very busy hunting and bringing in food for the babies. They would perk up whenever they heard screeching in the distance, knowing that dinner was on its way. They would all compete for who would get the biggest piece of food even if it meant the others would go without. Unfortunately, all the owlets except one were thriving and eager to be the top dog. The runt was constantly being trampled on and picked on by its siblings. The mother knew that was a valuable learning lesson for them to grow up into strong healthy adults, but she couldn’t help but feel sorry for the little guy. He was just different and was showing unusual coloring to the rest of her babies, she was worried about his future.

At about 10 weeks old, the owlets started to venture out and hop around the barn clumsily. They were awkward and stumbling while trying to walk, but it was time to fledge and there’s only one way to do it, jump! As they sit on the edge of the barn window mustering up the courage, one of the bigger owlets pushed the baby off the ledge! His parents look on with horror wondering if he will survive the fall. Much to their amazement the runt took off flying into the night. He seemed so natural, and he was so fast, even faster than his parents. They couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

Each day the runt flew faster and grew stronger and became an excellent hunter, bringing back the best food for his siblings. He always shared whatever he had caught, even though his siblings never shared with him growing up. His mother was proud that he turned out to be kind and generous despite his tough experience growing up.

The mother owl still couldn’t figure out how her special baby was so fast; he was running circles around his siblings. Until one day she was out perched in a tree and saw another bird sitting high up in the tree next to her. It looked just like her little runt, so she flew up to get a closer look. The other bird had the same markings as her baby, but it looked old and tired. The following few weeks she would see the same bird high up the same tree watching her and her babies hunting. She never moved or got much closer and was always gone by the next morning. It was as if she was keeping an eye on them, making sure they were all safe. One night, the mother decided she would bring some of the extra food to share with their distant friend, but they were nowhere to be found. Maybe they were out hunting or perched in a nearby tree. The owl searched and searched but never found her new companion.

Little did she know that other bird had laid her only egg in the wrong nest all those weeks ago. She knew that she was too frail to hunt and raise her only baby, so she decided to give him up knowing that he would have a better chance at life. Sometimes life creates difficult decisions that must be made for the right reasons. Even though the journey may seem tough, it will all work out in the end.