Lynsey Wold is originally from Gurnee, Illinois and is double majoring in English and French. She is currently a freshman at St. Norbert College, but will be transferring to SUNY Purchase in New York next year. Lynsey has always had an interest in fairy tales and the fantastical. In her fairy tale she not only portrays a moral regarding birds and rumors, but also incorporates an origin story as to why spring turns into winter.
Caroline Cooper
Caroline Cooper
birds of paradise
By Lynsey Wold
Once upon a time there was a wealthy king. The king loved birds and no matter how many birds he bought, his obsession was never satisfied. Every day he sat in his throne room, staring at all his beautiful birds. One day, he sent some of his guards on the mission to collect every single bird in the world. While they were away, the king had another crew of men to create a huge caged environment out of fences. After a couple years, the king had captured every bird and was finally satisfied, taking daily strolls through his bird garden.
However, all was not well between the birds. There was only one robin in the king’s collection and all the other birds were jealous of his beautiful red stomach. Robin had tons of friends and almost everyone loved him. Robin was so nice and didn’t let his popularity go to his head. However, Robin did have some enemies who let their jealousy get the best of them. Vulture and Crow started it all. They started rumors, making sure other birds heard while they were eating or sitting on a branch.
“Did you hear how Robin stole all of Cardinal’s seed and then pushed her eggs out of her nest?” Crow would whisper to Vulture.
Vulture would act appalled. “Really? Robin?” he would exclaim in feigned disgust. “I can’t believe it!”
Both of them would smirk joyfully when they heard other birds gasp in horror and flutter away to share what they just heard. It didn’t take too long before Vulture and Crow’s simple rumor spread throughout the whole forest. Along with the spreading of the rumor, some birds misunderstood or accidentally retold the story wrong, which led to more incorrect retellings. Pretty soon, there were rumors that Robin had eaten Cardinal’s eggs or had even murdered Cardinal.
Obviously, none of these things were true and Robin had no idea where any of it came from. He was angry that birds started to turn on him and that they would actually believe those rumors. Cardinal was Robin’s best friend and no matter how much she told the others that Robin didn’t do anything wrong and never would, no one believed her. Robin would get sneered and jeered at whenever he would fly around. Soon, birds would start trying to peck at him when he wasn’t paying attention. The birds would even insult Robin’s red stomach that they once loved so much.
“Did you fall in some paint?” they would tease. “Is that the blood of the baby birds you killed?”
Of course this upset Robin and he was starting to get depressed. “No one likes me anymore!” he cried sadly. No matter how much Cardinal tried to reassure him, Robin was certain that everyone really did hate him. Neither of them had any idea that Vulture and Crow started the rumors.
Finally, while fearing for his life, Robin decided to run away. He announced this to Cardinal one day.
“I have to leave. If I don’t, I’m afraid they might kill me! Yesterday Eagle tried to take me right out of the air! What happened to when it was nice and safe here and when everyone liked me? I wish none of this had happened.”
Vulture and Crow just happened to hear this. They shared a proud grin before turning to Robin and pretended to be upset by this news. They pretended to try to convince Robin to stay and pretended to be Robin’s friend. Of course, they were lying through their beaks. When they couldn’t convince Robin to stay, they flew off to spread the news. No one was upset about Robin’s departure except for Cardinal; everyone truly believed Robin was a horrible bird.
Robin said his goodbyes to Cardinal before flying to the edge of the fenced in bird garden. He managed to find a way out of the enclosure, escaping the horrible words and actions of the other birds.
What Vulture and Crow didn’t know was that Robin was a sign of spring and with Robin’s departure, the warm weather also disappeared. Snow soon covered the normally warm kingdom. None of the birds knew what to do since they couldn’t escape the enclosure or the cold. It didn’t take long before bodies of birds and their feathers stiffly coated the snow. Almost all birds froze or starved to death during this bizarre cold, leaving only a fortunate few like Cardinal and Crow.
Robin came back months later, deciding that he missed Cardinal too much and that he could try to rekindle all his other friendships. With him came the warmth and all the snow melted once again. He was shocked to see the chaos he returned to and when Cardinal told him the cold came when he left, Robin felt guilty.
Crow was devastated by Vulture’s death and when Robin returned, he took that opportunity to confess his guilt. Robin forgave him, but still decided Crow needed some sort of punishment. Every year at the same time, Robin decided he would leave the garden to remind Crow of the wrongs he did.
However, all was not well between the birds. There was only one robin in the king’s collection and all the other birds were jealous of his beautiful red stomach. Robin had tons of friends and almost everyone loved him. Robin was so nice and didn’t let his popularity go to his head. However, Robin did have some enemies who let their jealousy get the best of them. Vulture and Crow started it all. They started rumors, making sure other birds heard while they were eating or sitting on a branch.
“Did you hear how Robin stole all of Cardinal’s seed and then pushed her eggs out of her nest?” Crow would whisper to Vulture.
Vulture would act appalled. “Really? Robin?” he would exclaim in feigned disgust. “I can’t believe it!”
Both of them would smirk joyfully when they heard other birds gasp in horror and flutter away to share what they just heard. It didn’t take too long before Vulture and Crow’s simple rumor spread throughout the whole forest. Along with the spreading of the rumor, some birds misunderstood or accidentally retold the story wrong, which led to more incorrect retellings. Pretty soon, there were rumors that Robin had eaten Cardinal’s eggs or had even murdered Cardinal.
Obviously, none of these things were true and Robin had no idea where any of it came from. He was angry that birds started to turn on him and that they would actually believe those rumors. Cardinal was Robin’s best friend and no matter how much she told the others that Robin didn’t do anything wrong and never would, no one believed her. Robin would get sneered and jeered at whenever he would fly around. Soon, birds would start trying to peck at him when he wasn’t paying attention. The birds would even insult Robin’s red stomach that they once loved so much.
“Did you fall in some paint?” they would tease. “Is that the blood of the baby birds you killed?”
Of course this upset Robin and he was starting to get depressed. “No one likes me anymore!” he cried sadly. No matter how much Cardinal tried to reassure him, Robin was certain that everyone really did hate him. Neither of them had any idea that Vulture and Crow started the rumors.
Finally, while fearing for his life, Robin decided to run away. He announced this to Cardinal one day.
“I have to leave. If I don’t, I’m afraid they might kill me! Yesterday Eagle tried to take me right out of the air! What happened to when it was nice and safe here and when everyone liked me? I wish none of this had happened.”
Vulture and Crow just happened to hear this. They shared a proud grin before turning to Robin and pretended to be upset by this news. They pretended to try to convince Robin to stay and pretended to be Robin’s friend. Of course, they were lying through their beaks. When they couldn’t convince Robin to stay, they flew off to spread the news. No one was upset about Robin’s departure except for Cardinal; everyone truly believed Robin was a horrible bird.
Robin said his goodbyes to Cardinal before flying to the edge of the fenced in bird garden. He managed to find a way out of the enclosure, escaping the horrible words and actions of the other birds.
What Vulture and Crow didn’t know was that Robin was a sign of spring and with Robin’s departure, the warm weather also disappeared. Snow soon covered the normally warm kingdom. None of the birds knew what to do since they couldn’t escape the enclosure or the cold. It didn’t take long before bodies of birds and their feathers stiffly coated the snow. Almost all birds froze or starved to death during this bizarre cold, leaving only a fortunate few like Cardinal and Crow.
Robin came back months later, deciding that he missed Cardinal too much and that he could try to rekindle all his other friendships. With him came the warmth and all the snow melted once again. He was shocked to see the chaos he returned to and when Cardinal told him the cold came when he left, Robin felt guilty.
Crow was devastated by Vulture’s death and when Robin returned, he took that opportunity to confess his guilt. Robin forgave him, but still decided Crow needed some sort of punishment. Every year at the same time, Robin decided he would leave the garden to remind Crow of the wrongs he did.