It was six in the morning, and happily hopping along the fencing. I might not have wings like a bird (mostly friends), but with a leap, I can fly from one branch of a tree to another, viewing the ground below and feeling wind on my face. When landing, I always feel like flying again, my tail fluttering in excitement.
I’m now looking for my breakfast, which I hid in the ground yesterday. Tasty acorns; my favourite. I’m sure I buried them somewhere close by; must have forgotten where. When humans see me trying to find my nuts, there is laughter. ‘He’s lost his nuts, ha, ha!’ They don’t know I understand what they are saying!
Time to hunt for some more. I’m hungry. Running up and around trees is always good fun, but it demands energy. Acorns are providing it.
Humans must like seeing me winding up tree trunks, as they stop and watch. They point fingers at me, so I climb around the other side of the tree, peeping at them. They would not notice my smiling at them!
I have overheard the human phrase ‘one for sorrow, two for joy’. Describing magpies’ manner and posture. But for my personal experience, ‘joy’ has an opposite meaning. Their ‘joy’ of chasing me in the hope of enjoying lunch. I thought they only ate eggs stolen from our more gentler feathered friends.
I often sit quite close to my feathered friends, and being bilingual can happily engage with them.
And now a scary tail (tale!). Suddenly, two large magpies, both full of ‘their joy’ in potentially winning a lunch, were attacking me. One in front and one behind. They were vicious gangsters. I am certainly not used to fighting, let alone to save my life.
I hopped around, facing one of these beasts and then spinning around to face the other. Much squawking; really vicious. They were really out to get me. Their wings flapping wildly was horrible, sometimes sending me into a dark, unimaginable space.
These two were bigger than I. They must have been very hungry. Perhaps they were after my nuts. This conflagration lasted for what felt like an hour. I’m not used to fighting, and having two attackers there was really scary. My family was not nearby; otherwise, I am sure my brothers would have joined me in battle.
I had no choice. I had to go where no magpie would go, especially to fight. I ran into a nearby tree with tight branches that I knew how to deal with such predators. Here I was, a king. Magpies need space to attack. Stealing birds’ eggs was a different challenge. I could swirl around the branches, causing confusion and frustration.
They gave up in the end and flew away.
Since then, I have described my experience to my family and my friendly birds many times, especially robins. They were in awe.
And there ends my tale. And I still have my tail…and found my nuts after all.
