Chapter 33

Australia had become the biggest test the flock had faced thus far. The elements, the predators, and their sheer numbers were taking their toll on the members of the flock and some were very unhappy with Hector for leading them there. While Hector remembered that he had been the one bird who had not expressed an interest in going o Australia, he knew it would accomplish nothing to remind them of such. By the time they met Randy and the others at a place known as Nullarbor on the southern coast of the continent, many were ready to just give up. “Hey Dude,” Randy crowed as he flew up to greet his friend, “am I glad to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too,” Hector replied as he looked around for all the rest of the ‘First Nine’. “Where’s Sidney, Jeff, and Geronimo? Has something happened to them?”

“Sidney and Jeff started nesting, Dude,” Randy said, “so I sent Geronimo and some others to look after them.”

“You mean Sidney was laying?” Desiree asked.

“That’s right,” Victor said.

“Where are they?” Octavo asked.

“They went back to the meeting place in the north of the continent,” Randy replied. “They said the chicks would be able to fly with us by the time we get back there.”

“Sparrows grow up fast,” Hector said, “but we’ve still got big problems.”

“What kind of problems?” Dorothy asked.

“We don’t have time to make it all the way around before the season is over with,” Randy answered for him.

“Is that true?” Desiree asked. “Is it that much farther?”

“It’s true,” Hector said.

“Then what are we going to do?” Larry asked. “I don’t want to stay here.”

“We go up through the middle,” Hector said, “straight up the middle the shortest route.”

“Yeah,” Randy agreed, “as the crow flies, Dude.”

“Do you know the way?” Octavo asked.

“We’ll have to ask for help,” Hector said.

Meanwhile, Geronimo had his beak full trying to look after a nest full of English Sparrow chicks. While Sidney and Jeff obviously spent all of their time feeding and caring for the chicks, Geronimo felt a responsibility as their Godfather to look out for them as well, and the job wasn’t easy. They were always chirping when they should be sleeping, and jumping around when they should be sitting still. One morning when Geronimo happened to be watching from a tree about fifty feet away, he noticed a big snake making its way out on the limb where the chicks were nesting. “Oh no,” Geronimo whispered to himself, “this will never do.”

Geronimo waited and watched as the snake slowly slithered its way along the branch, its tongue tasting the air in front of it for the scent of baby birds. Geronimo knew this snake wasn’t there on a social call, perhaps planning to welcome the new family to the neighborhood. No, this snake was planning on having sparrow chicks for breakfast.

Geronimo waited, not making a sound, as the snake made its way out the limb. Geronimo had dealt with snakes before. He knew exactly what to do. He planned on making sure that snake never bothered them again. Just as the snake was about to strike, Geronimo took to flight, swept down over the snake, and grabbed it with both talons lifting it high into the air!

While the snake squirmed to get away, Geronimo’s grip was firm. He flew several miles to the ocean and flew high in the sky where he dropped the snake to the crashing waves below. Just as the snake fell to the sea, a hawk swooped down from above him, and grabbed the snake in midair! “No sense in letting a fresh meal go to waste, Mate,” the hawk laughed as he soared back into the heights. “Thanks for the breakfast.”

“No problem” Geronimo laughed.

“So what’s the deal with you and those other birds. Mate?” the hawk asked. “I thought eagles like to keep to themselves.”

“We’re flying around the world,” Geronimo said.

“What for?” the hawk questioned.

“To prove it’s round,” Geronimo replied.

“All you have to do is fly high enough in the sky and you can see it mate,” the hawk said.

“I know,” Geronimo said.

“They why are you doing it, Mate?”

“I guess because no one else has ever done it before.”

“I wonder why that is?” the hawk asked.

“I guess no one ever thought of it before,” Geronimo answered.

Nullarbor was a semi-arid region of cliffs, caves, and little water available to most of the birds. There were strange animals in the caves called wombats, and there were people living there called aborigines. They had darker skin than the red men that Hector and the others remembered from America and Canada, but other than the fact that they lived in very different places, they lived in much the same way, depending on the hunting of game to support themselves. Rather than take any chances, Hector decided it best if the flock stayed away from these people.

There were also lots of bats in Nullarbor, and this was a problem as Dorothy was really scared of bats. It didn’t seem to matter what kind of bats either. Dorothy was scared of all of them. “But Hector,” Dorothy said, “We can’t go that way.”

“Why not?” Hector asked.

“Because there’s bats there,” Dorothy said.

“So,” Hector replied, “we’ve all seen bats before.”

“But bats scare me,” Dorothy squeaked.

“Know that a snake is a snake,” Octavo replied, “and a snake will do what it must do just as all animals do, but remember to see each animal, even snakes, bats, and foxes, for themselves as well. Know that not all is bad even if all you see is bad. Lastly, don’t let the bad you see in them stop you from doing as you must do.”

“Wow, Dude!” Randy crowed. “When did you get it too?”

“All will hear the voice of the Creator,” Desiree said. “All will fly as the Creator flies and know all he knows. In his own time, the Creator will reveal everything that is known, and unknown, to all who seek his knowledge. All one must do to know as the Creator knows is to ask, then listen. The Creator will always answer any call with his own.”

“Oh, this is too weird,” Larry squawked. “Pretty soon we’ll all be doing it just like Hector does it.”

“Larry,” Randy crowed, “I guess you’re next, Dude.”

“Larry,” Larry mocked, “I guess you’re next, Dude. Give me a break!”

Yes, there were times when the members of the flock got on each other’s nerves-- especially Randy and Larry-- but that didn’t mean they weren’t still friends. As a matter of fact, Larry and Randy had become the best of friends even though neither would ever admit it.