@readsalot Said 
A True Love Story
by Jilly Cooper
In the local woods, among the blue speckled eggs of a jackdaw's nest, Timmy Bates spotted Henry, yelling his head off. Tim was lonely; he carried the fledgeling back to his boarding school in a paper bag and, using a fountain pen filler, fed him milk round the clock.
Progressing to beaten egg and slugs, Henry developed into a cocky, handsome bird with shiny eyes and a purple sheen. He fluttered round Tim's study, riding on his shoulder, prattling: ky-wak, ky-wak. Once painfully shy, Tim now found himself making friends with boys amused at Henry's exploits.
As June 1952 moved into July, Henry went on increasingly long flights, but he always returned to Tim's shoulder. He was the best friend Tim had ever had.
Alas, the inseparable companion of true love is anxiety. Tim dreaded the end of term: how would Henry cope in the wild?
On the last Tuesday, he carried a caged, outraged Henry deep into the woods. Releasing him, Tim fled - to wait in dread and longing for the imperious tap of a beak on his window. But none came.
The last Saturday of term was celebrated by six cricket matches - 132 boys spread over six pitches. Fielding on the boundary of Pitch Six, Tim suddenly froze - for high in the cloudless blue, like a speckle on a jackdaw's egg, a black dot was floating. Moving closer, it sprouted wings and, fluttering round Pitch One, carefully examined each identically white-clad player.
Slowly, the dot checked every pitch until it reached Pitch Six and Tim could hear a cheerful volley of ky-waks. He tried to call out but the words stuck in his throat. Surely Henry could hear the crashing of his heart?
Henry was busy checking batsmen and wicketkeeper, hovering over point and cover. Then squawking joyously, swifter than a driven four, he reached the boundary, crash landing on Tim's shoulder, chattering in delight and complacency: aren't I clever to find you?
As jackdaw stopped play, Tim's team-mates cheered a hero's return. Plumage even glossier, clearly thriving in the wild, Henry had returned to bid his young master Godspeed.
?Oh Henry, you are super,? sighed Tim. ?Ky-wak,? agreed Henry.
Sep 03, 2009 @ 03:45:53
