02/01/2025
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗸
“Are they in there? Can you see?”
“Careful, I'm trying to look- Whoa!”
“What?”
“The glass, it's like there's four of us!"
"Focus"
"Right...uhh- yup. They’re in there alright, but they aren’t paying attention to us right now. They’re looking out their 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 window.”
“Oh. Well, in that case, you’ll have to knock.”
“No!”
“Oh relax, I'm messing with ya. There’s a sparrow up there, let me call him. Hey man!”
The sparrow buzzed down.
“Hey Finch, Feench. Any grain out?”
“Not yet, but they’re in there though, we’re hoping to get their attention.”
“Oh great! We could…- wait, you guys want 𝘮𝘦 to knock?”
“Well…”
“Oh come on! You guys aren't 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 small, you could knock!”
“Between the two of us, our beaks make up about as much as your toenail, Sparrow. Come on, we can't knock.”
“Yeah, Sparrow, that’d be at least a concussion before they hear anything!”
Sparrow was in thought for a moment.
“Well, I can't knock either, this beak is…dainty-but! But, I could call a Weaver.”
“Really? You know a Weaver?”
“Oh yeah,” Sparrow said, peering into the glass, “We lived in a tree near theirs once. They were extremely loud and horribly mean. But their village was awesome. Always a party getting out of hand just a nest over. Great times.”
Sparrow turned back. “Should I call the Weaver then? They’ll probably take their beak against the glass on a dare or something.”
“Well, absolutely!”
Alright, be right back. Oh look, Sunbird’s here too.”
Sparrow buzzed away just as Sunbird landed on a dangling wire above them.
“Hey fellas!”
“Hey Sunbird! Didn’t know you hung around here.”
“Not usually,” said Sunbird, swinging tactfully on the loose dangling wire, “there’s just the one cactus over there and it takes forever to bloom. The miserable loon. Worth it when I catch it but- tsk, not worth the detour.”
Sunbird slid down the length of the wire until he could see into the room.
“Curiously though, there’s been a wee pool of sugar water here sometimes for the last few days. Initially I wondered how but I saw one of…𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 fill the little jar. Didn’t know why but given how hot it was that day, -didn’t have it in me to question it so I had a drink and went home.”
“Huh, I’ve never wondered why they put grain out,” Feench went, “At first I thought they’d catch us, but Sparrow said he went all the way inside their nest once, but they just opened it and let him out. They don't even eat the Moths he tried leaving them.
Why do you think they leave you the sugar water out, Sunbird?”
Sunbird too was in thought for a moment.
“I don’t know that they leave it out for me,” he finally said after a moment, “but i thought maybe one day I’d find them lost out there the way they travel, and i’ll lead them here because of my superior navigation skills and then we’d be even and i can keep drinking the sugar water guilt-free. But honestly Feench, that's just me.”
“Huh. I think I’m going to adopt that. I’m not entirely certain why they leave the grain out either.
But you know Sunny, if you could knock, they’ll probably refill the jar for you.”
“No way dear, this beak is curved. I heard you and Sparrow earlier. I’ll wait for the demented Weaver.”
“That’s fair. Here they come anyway.”
Sparrow perched on the outer sill and Weaver a few branches above.
“Heard you two were lookin’ for a Weaver! Ha! Whose youse?” Weaver warbled loudly at the pair of finches.
“Um, I’m Finch, this is Feench, my brother we wanted to catch the attention of -”
“O yea those two!” Weaver cried, “Sorry for the yelling, all Weavers are loud so naturally, we only get louder. So, you want me to knock eh?”
“There’ll be grain after,hopefully, and there doesn't seem to be the right beak for the job between us except, well…you.”
“Huh.”
It seemed Weaver too would be in thought for perhaps a moment or two but instead…
“I had a cousin who got himself convinced to knock on a window before. Flew in spirals for a whole week.” he said sharply, Finch held his breath, “But,” Weaver continued, dropping onto the sill to peer into the glass too, “Weaverkind does not back down from mere glass. We are the bold yellow ray of the sky! Plus, that lucky goon got fed treats by the girls for a whole week, -didn't even have to leave the tree.”
He turned to the finches.
“I will knock for you, Little Lads, but, you must let Weaverkind have first claim to the bounty. How about ten minutes?”
“Of course!” Feench cried at Weaver, trying to match his near deafening delivery, “That seems very fair!”
“Very well,” warbled the weaver, turning back to face his reflection in the window. “One must look the 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 Weaver, beak to beak, square them down and quickl-”
The racket of Weaver going head to head against his reflection in an almost manic assault on the glass had the rest of them retreat to the foliage, but not before they say the two in there turned away from their other window to address what sounded like pebbles being pelted against their window.
***
“Oh my God, what’s that?!”
“I think…yeah there’s a bird knocking against the window.”
“The hell? Won’t it die doing that? It’s brain is tiny enough already!”
“Maybe they want more rice?”
“Probably.
Jeesus, you leave some grain out once and before you know it’s like you owe the Weaver Mob money.
Hold on, let me put some out before that little dude knocks himself out.”
𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆
𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗻𝘆𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮 𝗬𝗮𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮.
