Chapter 8

When Hector arrived at the house where Carlos lived, Carlos was inside his cage singing like a human. Hector had never heard a bird that could sing like humans sing. Even the Mockingbirds he had met who were able to mimic the calls of all the birds had never sang like humans. “Why are you doing that?” Hector asked.

“Doing what, Senor Hector?”

“Singing like that, like a human.”

“Oh that,” Carlos replied. “I was just practicing, see?”

“But why?”

“Because, the humans, they like it when I sing like a human. They always give me special treats and candy.”

“What’s candy?”

“You donno what candy is?” Carlos asked.

“No, what is it?”

“It’s human food,” Carlos replied. “It’s very good, but it makes you fat.”

“I just eat bugs and worms and seeds sometimes,” Hector said. “I’ve never ate human food.”

“Well if you fly around the world you may have to eat other things, young Hector.”

“I know,” Hector replied, “like fish and shrimp.”

“But there are the deserts to cross too, young Hector. You will find no fish and no water in the desert. You will have to eat lizards and cactus plants, and snakes too. Sometimes you will have to eat dead things like the buzzards do.”

“I’ll do what I have to do,” Hector proclaimed. “I’m going to fly around the world to prove that you are not a liar.”

“It is a fine thing you do, my friend, but you do not need to take up for an old bird like me. Many a young robin has called me a fool and a liar, but their words do not hurt me anymore.”

“Well when I’m finished they’ll never call you that again,” Hector said.

Hector spent day after day visiting with Carlos. Carlos was wise and taught Hector many things he would have never learned on his own. On days when Carlos was outside of his cage, the two of them would sometimes fly around the village where Carlos lived. Carlos knew all about the people of the village because he spoke their language, but he never let on to the fact that he really understood what the words meant because he was afraid it would scare the people of the village if they thought him too smart.

On the days when Carlos was stuck inside his cage, the two of them would talk about the places Hector would go and the things he would see on his trip. Carlos explained that when he was younger he belonged to a young man who was a sailor, and said that the two of them had traveled the world on ships. Carlos explained that was how he learned the world was round, and that a few birds like the Eagles, Arctic Terns, and Giant Condors agreed that the world was round.

Carlos also taught Hector about many other things. Hector was fascinated with learning and was a great student. He loved learning about the world and Carlos was a good teacher. There wasn’t anything Carlos didn’t know something about, and unlike Hector’s father, Carlos never said something was like it was just because it was. Carlos always seemed to understand and have an answer for every question Hector could think up.

Hector thought Carlos was the smartest bird in the world. Carlos was already much older than robins ever live and he said he expected to live several more years. Hector certainly hoped Carlos would live many more years as there was much Carlos had not yet had time to teach him. Hector also wanted Carlos to live a long time because Carlos was his friend. One morning when Hector came to visit, Carlos said, “It is time for you to go, my friend.”

“Okay,” Hector chirped, “I’ll start my trip today.”

“Not that trip,” Carlos said.

“Well where do you want me to go?” Hector asked.

“I do not want you to go, Hector. I want you to stay, but you cannot stay. It is time for you to migrate north with the other robins.”

“But I don’t want to go north,” Hector said. “I want to go west, around the world, to prove you are right.”

“I’m afraid you cannot go now,” Carlos said. “The weather is all wrong now. The spring rains are much too hard for a bird to fly through, and when the rains stop it will be much too dry here in the south. No, I’m afraid you must go north with your family for now. The trip you want to take will have to wait until later.”

“When will that be?” Hector asked.

“When the time comes, you will know.”

“How will I know?”

“Trust me,” Carlos said, “you will know. Everything I have taught you is nothing compared to that which you already knew.”

“But I didn’t know nothing before you started teaching me.”

“But you did know,” Carlos laughed. “You know everything there is to know. It’s all inside you. All I did was help you to remember.”

“Remember what?” Hector questioned. It was obvious he was very confused.

“Everything,” Carlos replied, “you learned everything in the lives you lived before.”

“I did?”

“Yes, young Hector. You have lived many lives, that is why you are the smartest of all the young robins in your flock. The others have not lived as many lives as you have.”

“But I thought you made me smarter,” Hector commented.

“Oh no,” Carlos answered. “Every creature comes to earth knowing everything they have learned in all their past lives.”

“Even people?”

“Oh yes, even people. Some birds were people in their past lives.”

“They were?” Hector asked, now very shocked at what Carlos was telling him.

“Yes they were,” Carlos replied, “and some people were once robins in their past lives.”

“And parrots?” Hector continued to question, “were some people parrots in their past lives?”

“Oh yes,” Carlos agreed, “all of us could have been anything in our past lives. People could be birds, robins could be crows, and cats might have been young robins. Everyone has lived before and everyone will live again. That is the way of the universe, all is connected and all is one.”

“I’m really confused,” Hector replied.

“Don’t be,” Carlos assured him, “everything you ever wanted to know is inside of you. In time you will remember it all and you will not need to learn anything more for there will be nothing more to know.”