Rudy's Winter Rescue - A true Story

The winter was fierce that year—snow lay a foot and a half deep, and the cold was biting. I saw an unusually large red bird in the backyard and got my binoculars. It was a parrot, perched high in the tree. He looked so out of place, and I knew he needed help.

I hurried to bring out an old canary cage, replacing the bird feeder on its pole. With a piece of string tied to the cage door and looped back to my stoop about 50 feet away, I set a quiet little trap of kindness. Rudy swooped down, curious and hungry, but the squirrel got there first and chased the parrot away, then the parrot swooped down again and this time hopped inside the cage. One gentle tug of the string, and the door clicked closed—he was safe at last, rescued from the bitter cold. My mom and I could not believe I caught the parrot. He was incredibly beautiful. And the rest of the story can be read in my storybook, The Winter Tale of Rescuing the Red Parrot.