Once there was a little bird that had a cheerful attitude.  When it first raised it's head above the nest edge, and looked out, it proclaimed "Oh, what a beautiful world!"  And life was good for this little bird.  When mother came, it chirped louder than its sisters and brother, and it got lots of food.  What a beautiful mother it had, too.  Blue and grey, which made a striking contrast. Siblings were a duller version of blue and grey, drab almost.  Little bird was brown!  At first, this didn't bother little bird, for everything was going its way.

Little bird felt bad that it got more food than the others; so it chirped less loud, hoping to help its siblings.  This worked, but still little bird grew faster.

Then one day it was time to fly.  Only little bird was ready to fly, for it was bigger than its sisters, and even its brother.  Mother bird tried to help, but it seemed to have a slightly different way of flying.  On its own, then, little bird learned how to fly.  And, one bright sunny day, it flew off - never to return.

While sitting on a branch, wondering what life was all about, little bird noticed a big brown bird light upon a nearby branch and stare Little Bird's way.  "What do you want?" Little Bird finally chirped.  "I'm your mother" the other bird answered.  "But you're not blue and grey, you're brown - like me."  "That's right, I'm your mother."  And thus began a conversation that was most disturbing to Little Bird.

For the brown mother said that it did not mean to abandon it to another bird's nest; rather, this is what all brown birds did.  This was a good tradition because it allowed brown birds to raise more brown birds.  The blue and grey birds were dumb, and fed babies not their own.  But it was their fault, for being so stupid.

Little Bird didn't like this explanation.  It liked blue and grey mother, and it even liked its blue and grey siblings.  They grew up together, and Little Bird liked being good to the others.  When brown mother learned of these feelings, it became upset!  "No, don't think like that!  Those blue and grey birds are dumb, and they're only good for hatching your eggs and raising your young."

Little Bird flew away, and wanted to be alone.  But brown mother followed.  Brown mother had a friend, who came and sat next to her, and they both looked at Little Bird.  The friend began to lecture: "You must do as we do!  It is normal!  All brown birds lay eggs in the other kind of bird's nests.  It is our proud trademark.  We are known throughout the world for doing what we do.  We have a name, and it is Cuckoo Birds.  If you can't do as Cuckoo Birds do, then you are not normal, and we shall have to change you!"

Poor Little Bird!  It didn't want to change.  Why can't brown birds and blue and grey birds like each other?  Why was Little Bird different?  Little Bird didn't want to treat blue and grey birds badly, but Little Bird also didn't want to be different.

The brown mother's friend could see that Little Bird was different.  And she shamed Little Bird, repeating over and over that it was good to be normal.  Little Bird wanted to be normal, and it wanted to please brown mother, so it pretended to agree with brown mother's friend, who merely wanted Little Bird to be normal.  After some more badgering, Little Bird finally convinced brown mother and the friend that it agreed that it was bad to make a nest, and good to lay eggs in nests the dumb birds had already made.  The brown birds flew off, with brown mother barely saying "goodbye."

Secretly, Little Bird wanted to see blue and grey mother bird.  But that was wrong; it wasn't normal.  So poor Little Bird flew off, feeling uncertain about its future, and also feeling uncertain about being "normal."

Little Bird flew far away.  It kept growing, and when it was ready, it felt like making a nest.  And it made that nest.  And layed eggs in the nest.  And it stayed at the nest, and when baby birds hatched, Little Bird went out and fed them - just like blue and grey mother bird had done.  Little Bird felt good about what it was doing.  In spite of the fact that it wasn't normal!
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This site opened:  October 30, 1998.   Last Update: October 30, 1998