by lee king
White Robin peered over at Falcon Eddie, as if to make a mental note of him.
“I’m Cindy Cinnamon, and I adore Savanna. We became kindred spirits. My momma died before I had feathers. That must be the famous Lola Robin! She’s a wonderful bird for taking you under her wing. The Great Spirit must be very proud of her!” Cindy realized she was babbling on without even taking a breath.
Lola hopped over to Cindy and placed her wing on Cindy’s head. “Catch your breath, little bird. You can rest easy now. Your mission is accomplished. The Great Spirit is smiling down on all of us.”
“I truly hope so,” Cindy stammered. “I truly hope so.”
Chapter 26
No one noticed when Drew drove down the side street past his cabin and turned up Rick’s driveway. He parked his truck close to Rick’s trailer, and Rick got out of the passenger side carrying a cardboard shoebox. He looked into the box.
“You’re home now buddy. You’re home.”
******
A strange pall fell over the kingdom. Granny Gray went to the door of her winter home and peered out. Standing there on the pavement in the middle of the side street, were two huge and imposing crows.
“I’ve been expecting you boys.”
“We came as soon as we got word.”
“You boys look trail worn. You must’ve traveled a great distance. I’ll show you the place. It’s close by; we can walk over to it.”
Granny climbed down from the silver maple tree and led Dark Raven and his brother Tar Raven across the side street, past the mulberry tree where the jaybirds lived, past the woodpile, and on across the lawn. The small procession advanced slowly, solemnly, in single file with their heads hung low. A short moment later Granny stopped and pointed out the place on Drew’s lawn.
There. There is the place where our leader, the Mighty Levi Raven, left us…to go be with the Great Spirit.”
Granny wiped her eyes and backed away to let Dark Raven and Tar Raven perform their ritual. They stood there looking at the place for a long moment, and then they began chanting low and muffled sounds.
They crow-hopped around the place in a circle while flapping their wings.
Right then Jayleen Jaybird and her brothers came sailing up to the mulberry tree, yak, yak, yakking wildly, “The pigeons are coming home, Momma! The pigeons are coming home!”
White Robin was leading the formation with Cindy by his side. Lola had broken rank earlier and was heading down to Rock Creek to find Rock Robin.
The scouts circled the hay bales where the barn used to be, several times. Falcon Eddie, Pebo, Swifty, and Dodger landed on the hay bales, while White Robin landed in the apple tree at the very place where Levi had plucked the feather from his head. Cindy Cinnamon landed by his side.
Granny Gray Squirrel scurried up the apple tree and sat next to White Robin. She peered over at Cindy, and then to Falcon Eddie and the scouts with her wise and knowing eyes.
White Robin looked to the lawn beside Drew’s cabin and studied Dark Raven and Tar Raven performing the ancient crow ritual for the dearly departed. He turned to Rick’s trailer, thinking of Levi.
“Why did He choose me, Granny?”
She glanced at Dark Raven and Tar Raven, then to Rick’s trailer.
“No one knows how or why the Great Spirit chooses his leaders, little bird. But one thing is certain for sure; we are all blessed to have them.”
******
Inside Rick’s trailer, at a large bay window, Rick placed a bed pillow on the sill. He reached into the shoebox next to it and tenderly removed its contents and laid them on the pillow.
Levi raised his head weakly. He was wrapped head to toe in bandages. He looked out the window to the apple grove and saw White Robin, Granny Gray Squirrel, and Cindy Cinnamon in the apple tree, and then he saw Falcon Eddie and the scouts milling around on the hay bales.
He looked over to the place where Dark Raven and Tar Raven were performing their dance, and then he gazed down at his leg. The shiny leg-band had been removed.
Levi lowered his head to the pillow and lolled off to sleep. A bright dream came to him. He was flying leisurely and uninhibited around his kingdom with his famous cousins, the Mighty Dark Raven and his brother the Mighty Tar Raven.
*** The End ***
Lee King lives with a little dog named Rudy, in North West Arkansas, near the XNA regional airport. The setting for White Robin’s kingdom is the view from the front porch of their little cabin house, across the side-street from Lola’s apple tree. The cover picture was taken by Lee King from a section of White Robin’s Kingdom.
