03/16/2004: "The Great White Bird"

By Carol J. Warren

Once there was an egg sitting in the middle of a meadow. No one knew how it got there or what kind of egg it was. It could have been a lizard or some other reptile or some kind of bird. But one thing any animal that passed by that way knew was, that it didn’t have a chance to survive on its own. But they were wrong.

The strong hot sunlight that glowed down on it kept it warm enough to hatch, and hatch it did. It was a fluffy bird. That much was sure but one simply couldn’t tell what kind of bird it was. All that was evident was that it was a big bird, nothing small like a pigeon or a quail. But how would it survive without a mother? Well it just wouldn’t be able to. Some wild animal would come by and gobble it up.

The little bird felt lost and frightened, where was momma? The little bird chirped and called but momma never came. So the little bird decided to go looking for momma. It ate grass seeds and bugs along the way. Soon it saw a family of ducks going down to the pond for a swim. “Good,” thought the bird, “this must be my momma.” The little bird hurried to catch up and get in line, following the last duckling. Then the mother duck headed into the water and the little ducklings went in after her quacking with delight.

When the little bird got to the waters edge she could sense danger. There seemed to be something inside of her telling her not to get into the water. But momma was in the water, so it must be ok. Carefully she put one foot into the water, it was cold, and then she put her other foot into the water and eased her way deeper. But instantly the little bird began to sink as her feathers soaked in the water. The bird struggled with all of its might to make it back to dry land. She just barely made it. The momma bird quacked loudly at the little bird, “Go along now, you can’t swim. You’re not a duck.”

“Momma?” The little bird called to her. “Oh no, no, no I’m not your momma,” said the duck, “but there are lots of other animals in the barn yard. Why don’t you go look over there? It’s just up over that hill. I bet your mother is over there somewhere.”

So the little bird climbed up over the hill and went in the barnyard. There were lots of animals and even some birds. She saw a mother hen with her chicks. “Momma!” thought the little bird. So the little bird ran to join the rest of the chicks, pecking and scratching for food. When the dog came near and barked at them, the mother hen gathered her chicks under her wings. The little bird ran to get under her wings too but the little bird was too big and didn’t fit.

“Now stop that,” said the mother hen, “you are not a chicken. You don’t fit under my wings. You need to go home.” “Momma?” said the little bird. “Oh dear no.” said the hen. “I am not your mother. I am sorry, are you lost? Well that is terrible but I’m still not your mother. I am sure you will find her soon though. You just run along and look for her.”

The little bird was very sad. Everywhere she looked the animals had a momma, everyone but her. The piglets had momma pig. The calf had momma cow. The puppies had momma dog, even the baby field mice had a momma but there was no momma for the little bird.

Sadly the little bird headed back for the open field. She did not seem to fit into the barnyard, maybe she would find momma in the field. Just about that time a little girl came out of the farmhouse. She had long red pigtails and freckles on her face. She saw the bird wandering off by itself. She walked over and picked the little bird up.

“Oh this feels nice,” thought the little bird, “this must be momma.” The little bird looked up at the girl and said, “Momma!” The little girl could not understand what the bird was saying but from the way it was acting she could tell the bird thought she was its mother. “No,” she said, “I am not your mother. Don’t you have a mother?” She looked all around and could tell the little bird was alone. “Well,” said the little girl, “even though I am not your mother I can take care of you. It wouldn’t be right to leave you all alone.” So she took the little bird home to care for it. But to the bird she was momma.

She asked her dad what kind of bird it might be but he wasn’t sure. He suggested she look it up. All the books they had were about farm animals. She couldn’t find anything that looked like the little bird in there. So whatever kind of bird it was, it was not a farm animal. It must be a wild bird of some kind. The little bird didn’t care what kind of bird it was, it had found momma and now it was happy asleep in her arms.

She fed the bird and kept it with her where ever she went. As it grew some it was able to perch on her arm or her shoulder. That is until it just kept growing and growing and growing. Soon its claws scrapped the little girls arms so that she had to wrap a towel around her arm to let it perch on her arm. But it wasn’t too much longer before the bird was too big and heavy to sit on her shoulder, so it just followed her on the ground.

The farm animals made fun of the bird. “That is not your mother,” they would say, “that is a human girl. Can’t you see that she is not a bird?” But the bird did not care what they said, she knew perfectly well this girl was her mother and nothing else mattered.

As the bird grew the bird’s appearance changed. Her claws grew long and sharp, her beak grew tough and strong. Her claws were sharp enough to shred dad’s easy chair. But the bird was beginning to learn what was off limits. When the bird went through a molting stage its feathers grew back pure shiny white. It no longer fit in the little girl’s room but had to sleep in the tree outside her window. Its wingspan was well over 25 feet. No one had ever seen a bird like that. They had no idea what kind of bird it was. But one thing is for sure, it was big and beautiful and totally devoted to the girl.

She took the bird up to a tall cliff and had it open its wings at the edge of the cliff. A strong gust of wind hit the giant wings and began to lift the bird off the ground. The bird got excited. This felt so right. This was cool. When the next big gust of wind came along the girl gave the bird a little push and much to the bird’s surprise it did not fall but it hovered like a kite. Then as instinct took over it began to sail up and down and circle around on the wind. With a few pushes of her mighty wings she was soaring far above the little girl. Though she was up so high in the sky she could see things clearly on the ground. Even the smallest movement caught her eye.

Suddenly she noticed a small rabbit sitting in the field below. She had seen the little girl with a baby rabbit at the farm store in town. She told the store’s owner that she would love to have one. Swift and sure the large white bird swooped down and with out missing a beat of her wings picked the rabbit up in her strong claws. She flew to where the little girl was and presented her with her present. It had a few claw marks from her strong sharp claws but other than that and being terrified, it was fine.

The little girl was so impressed. She took the rabbit home and put it in a cage. She gave the white bird a very special treat that night. Still the bird grew bigger and stronger. One day the little girl took the bird for a walk up in the mountains. She loved to watch the bird soaring over her as she walked. When she got to the little creek that splashed along, she sat down to rest. The bird enjoyed taking the moment to fly around. She notice some odd looking dogs that seemed to be tracking something. But soon their trail led them away from where the girl was so the bird relaxed. She did not know these were not dogs but wolves.

Then she got the feeling there was danger near by. She looked around the area and saw what looked to her like a mean giant house cat. It was a mountain lion. Its eyes glowed yellow in the shadows of the mountain. It too was stalking something. It did not take long for the bird to realize it was stalking the little girl. She swooped over the little girl screeching in warning. The little girl looked around and saw the mountain lion. She began to run down the mountain as fast as she could.

The mountain lion was not pleased that his prey had been warned but he was still in control of the situation. The mountain lion began to chase the little girl and it did not take long to see that he could run much faster than she could. The bird watched the situation with mounting tension. The feathers on the back of her neck bristled as the mountain lion drew closer the girl.
The little girl tripped on a long stick and tumbled along the ground. The mountain lion paused ready to pounce on the little girl. But much to the mountain lions surprise the bird dove straight at him and stuck its long claws into the mountain lion’s back ripping a long gash. The mountain lion screamed in pain. Why was this bird interfering, was the bird stalking the girl too? The mountain lion couldn’t figure it out. The mountain lion looked from the girl to where the bird had been and back to the girl. The mountain lion was confused and unsure of what to do next but he still wanted that girl.

Again the bird did a nosedive into the mountain lions back burying her beak like a bullet into the lions back and swooping off without stopping. The mountain lion clawed at the bird but just managed to touch the edge of her feathers and no damage was done. The mountain lion was hurt and confused. Why was this bird interfering? But the lion was wounded and there would be another day. He looked at the bird and screamed, “This means war. You can’t always be there for this helpless creature.” But the bird just smiled because she knew she would always be there for her mother.

The wolves in the meadow above had been tracking game until they heard the fight. They watched it all and noted that the great white bird protects the little girl. But there were more of them; if the day ever came, they would be ready for a fight.

The little girl went home and told her dad how the great white bird had protected her against the mountain lion. Her dad looked at the bird differently from then on. Instead of just a nuisance that shredded his easy chair, this crazy giant bird that thought his daughter was her mother had actually protected her against a mountain lion. The great white bird had a new respect.

One day the little girl took the bird fishing. The bird circled overhead and watched as the girl went through, what seemed to the bird like a long drawn out process to catch a fish. “So momma wants a fish.” Thought the bird. She began to eye the stream for movement, no that one was too small. She must get momma a big fish. Soon she saw it under the water. With a swift gliding motion she skimmed over the waters and caught the fish in her strong claws. She circled over the little girl. The girl laughed and held open her fish basket. The big bird swooped down and dropped the fish in. “That’s cheating.” Laughed the little girl. But the bird could tell she was pleased.

Then about a foot away from the little girl the bird detected motion. It was a poisonous snake. She swooped down and picked up the snake in her strong claws. The snake twisted wildly trying to get loose but the bird’s grip was like steel. Then the bird dropped the snake in the middle of the water down stream. The girl was startled at first. Then she was proud of her bird. “There is not another bird like you in the whole world.” She said, petting her feathers. The bird wondered about that too. Were there other birds like her? Surely there must be.
One day as her dad was loading sacks of grain onto the wagon, the bird watched. She twisted her head this way and then that way, watching him labor and toil. It seemed to be very hard for him to carry these objects. She couldn’t figure out why he would bother but it seemed to be important to the man. She took of into the sky and circled down low. She grabbed one of the 100-pound sacks in her talons and pumped her wings hard as she lifted it higher. She circled once and then neatly dropped the sack on the wagon. She helped him until all the grain was loaded. “Now that’s one talented bird.” Said the dad smiling. “Me and my aching back are proud she’s here.”

In the spring during rainy season they had a problem with flooding. All the barnyard animals had to be evacuated to the hilltop. The great white bird helped herd them when she understood what the people were trying to do. Then they started putting sacks of sand around the creek to keep the water from flooding their farm. But they just weren’t getting the job done fast enough. The little girl had a whistle she used to call the bird to come now. She blew the whistle and soon the bird was there.

Swiftly she came and saw what they were doing. The little girl pointed to the sacks and to what the men were doing. The bird swooped low and grabbed a sack in her talons pumping her wings in the driving rain she lifted it high and dropped it where the little girl pointed. They did this again and again until all the sand bags were in place and the danger was over. Even the newspaper took a picture of the great white bird and put it in the paper as the bird that saved the day.

Humm thought the little girl, “She can lift large sacks of grain and sand. Why those sacks weigh more than I do.” Soon she had a plan. She wanted to fly like the great white bird. The bird herself was often puzzled why her mother couldn’t fly but she just figured that is the way it is sometimes.

The little girl rigged a leather harness around her chest and waist, coming out from the harness at her back was a stiff leather loop for the bird to hold on to. She took off running to give the bird some help with lifting her. She whistled for the bird. The bird circled once and then quickly dove down and grabbed the loop. Her great giant wings pumped harder and harder as she lifted her mother from the ground.

The girl’s dad saw his daughter flying and panicked. “I’m ok,” the little girl called, “I asked her to do this.” Her dad just scratched his head. He reasoned that bird wasn’t going to do anything to hurt his girl. But he sure would feel better when she had her feet planted firmly back on the ground.

Up and up they went. There was a very special place the bird had wanted to show the girl for a long time but since there was no way to walk there, she could not. But now she could. She took her to the top of a tall cliff. The top of the cliff was so high it was in the clouds. It was like a giant chimney going straight up. She set her down on the top and perched next to her. Together they sat silent looking at the beauty of what the Lord had made. It was too awesome for words. She never spoke of it to anyone. It was their special spot.

One day the bird heard a large banging sound. She had never heard this sound before. The man was by the barn. He was pointing a strange stick at some mean dogs. She did not understand that they were wolves. At times the strange stick would explode and one time it hit one of the wolves and killed it. The wolves were trying to attack a baby calf. The bird swooped low over the wolves to warn them to leave. The wolves growled a warning, “Do not interfere pretty bird or you will die. There are more of us than you can fight. We saw you fight the mountain lion but you cannot win against all of us.”

The bird did not waver or hesitate; she dove in smooth and easy and pecked the leader on the back of the head sailing off before he could turn to fight. The leader was bleeding. The wolves began to make a tight circle pointing outward so they could see the bird coming from any direction. The bird dove again but one of the wolves bit the edge of her wing. It was torn but nothing that wouldn’t heal.

If she was going to stop these animals she must use her head. She swooped down and picked up a large fallen tree trunk in her talons. Then she swooped over the wolves and dropped it on them. She heard a few yelps of pain as they again scattered to where she could swoop in behind them as they ran away and peck them. Soon they were gone. The great white bird called after them, “Do not return angry dogs or I will pick you up and toss you from the skies and we will see who dies.”

The little girl put medicine on the bird’s wounds. The medicine hurt more than the wounds but the bird knew that momma was doing what was best for her, so she let her. The man was so proud of the bird that he went on all night about what a fighter she was and how safe the farm would be now with her there. But the bird was not proud; she did not like hurting anything. She only did what she had to do to protect the little girl.

As time went by the little girl became a young lady and was often busy with young men and doing all the things young ladies like to do. Even so she always had time for the great white bird. She told the bird everything. If she had a heartache the bird was the first place she went. The bird seeing she was not needed as much would wander further and further and stay gone for longer periods of time. But she always came when the girl blew the whistle. She would never leave her for long.

Once when she had gone the furthest she had ever gone, she encountered some other birds that looked just like her. They were perched high on the tall cliffs where no man has ever gone. She enjoyed being with them. They explained that to her that an evil bird had tried to steal her as an egg. Her mother had followed and fought the big evil bird and had died in the battle. Everyone had assumed the egg was lost but now that the great white bird had returned to her own kind, they were glad. She would stay with them now, where she belonged.

They were very surprised when the great white bird told them that she could not stay with them. The young lady needed her. “But we have explained to you that she is not your mother.” They said confused. “She is a human. They would kill us if they could.” The great white bird thought of the time a man had tried to shoot her with the stick that explodes, like the girl’s dad had used against the wolves. She knew it could kill. When she saw that the man was trying to shoot her she mounted high above the clouds and to the man’s confusion came swooping in behind him and grabbed his gun in her claws and cast it into the lake. She swooped down on the man chasing him and scaring him, she was not trying to hurt him, though she could have if she had wanted to. She just scared him so that he would not come back.

But it didn’t matter if humans kill things. It didn’t matter that this little girl was not her real mother. This little girl was still her momma as far as she was concerned and always would be. She was never going to leave her. She is too frail and small; she needs someone big and strong to look out for her. With that she turned and flew away. She would visit them from time to time but she would never stay.

One day the young lady had an arrogant young man come courting. The bird smelled something strange about him. It was alcohol. He brought her flowers and candy. He was full of beautiful talk about how pretty she was and the poetry that flowed from his lips made the girl heady. But the bird did not like him. When she looked at him she had the same feeling she felt when the lion was stalking the girl. But the lady calmed the great bird down, though she did take note of the fact that the bird did not like the man. It made her more cautious.

They sat in the back on a porch swing. The man did not realize that the great bird had quietly walked in behind them and was watching the man. The great bird stood there ready to attack at the slightest warning signal from the lady. The bird sensed danger. Suddenly the man got fresh, the lady startled jumped, the bird attacked the man’s offending hand with a sharp beak. The bird would have done more but the lady stopped her.

The man’s hand was bleeding. He was outraged. “That bird is a menace and should be put to sleep.” He said angrily. The girl still holding the bird at bay spoke in a tone the bird had never heard her use before. Her eyes flashed and her tongue was sharp. “The great white bird protects me. You are lucky that was all that got hurt.”

“Is that the way you treat all your courtiers?” The man retorted.
“Only the ones that think a lying tongue gives them a right to forget their manners. You are no longer welcomed here. If you do not leave quickly I will release the bird on you.” She said calmly now. The man muttered and cussed under his breath but he left. Then the girl and her dad, who had been watching from the window, broke out laughing. The bird couldn’t see what was so funny. The bird had sensed real danger.

“Well I feel better now,” the dad said still chuckling. “You’ve got a chaperone for life.” And with that they both broke out laughing again. But there was also a tone of relief in the young lady’s laugh, she was glad the bird had been there. Otherwise things could have gotten scary.

Soon the young lady began to see someone that she fell in love with. They married and moved into a little cottage. The bird did not like it as much because it was small but if the young woman was happy there, she would live there too. The man did not like the bird and the bird did not like the man. They both tolerated each other for the young ladies sake. The bird stayed gone more than before but always returned, especially when the lady called with the whistle.

A couple of years went by and the young lady had a baby girl with red hair and freckles. The bird loved her dearly, but the man did not want the bird around the baby. “The bird will hurt the baby,” said the man. “Nonsense,” said the young lady, “she will protect the baby.” So they would argue. The bird would get upset when the man raised his voice at the young lady. But the lady would calm her down. Now that there was a baby the bird stayed closer and longer at home. The man didn’t like it but the bird knew the baby needed to be taken care of. When the baby was small and just crawling the bird had swooped down and picked her up by her diaper. The man was furious until he saw the snake the baby had been heading for. Gently she set the baby on the ground near her mother. Her mother laughed and laughed. “What a wonderful bird you are,” she said.

When the baby was two she loved to climb things. The young woman had to watch her very closely or she was on top of the cabinets or climbing the bookshelf. One day the lady could not find the baby. She had just turned her back for a moment it seemed. She and her husband began to call and search. The lady blew the whistle for the bird to come help. “We don’t need that bird to help.” Said the man grumbling. “Well I think we do.” Said the lady.

The bird swooped down and when she didn’t see the baby with the lady she instantly knew what she was supposed to do. She circled the farm looking at every movement. Then she spotted the little girl on the roof of the barn. She had climbed up a ladder that was leaning against the barn just like she saw her daddy do. But now she was standing on the edge of the slanted roof teetering dangerously. The bird screeched to alert the lady.

The lady came around the corner of the barn and saw her little girl on the roof. She screamed, then she tried to calm down and talk to her little girl but it was too late. She fell sliding down the side of the roof and off the edge but she never hit the ground. The great white bird swooped down and caught her by her shirt. She flew around and gently laid her on the ground by the lady. The tears of gratitude in the ladies eyes were thanks enough, even the man was thankful. The great white bird was glad she had been there. There are too many dangers for such a small human. She must stay closer now.

Then one day the lady blew the whistle. She was not outside but the door was open, so the bird carefully walked inside. It wasn’t the lady that had blown the whistle but the man. He was standing by her bedside and the young lady was dying. The bird knew it instantly. She had seen many things die. She could smell it. She saw the shadow of death coming near the bed. The lady saw it too. She reached out for the great white bird. The bird came close to the bed where she could stroke her feathers. The bird felt so helpless. She had always been able to protect her but this was not a mountain lion or a snake. She wished it were. There was nothing she could do but let her know that she loved her. “I must go now my friend,” said the lady, “will you take care of my little girl for me? She is going to need a momma just like you did once.” The bird nodded its head up and down as she had seen humans do. She knew what the lady wanted. The baby was to be her child now.

With that the shadow, as though waiting for her to finish, crossed her face and she died. The man did not try to tell the bird to leave; for once he needed the bird to be there. The little girl began to cry, but the man didn’t move. The bird softly walked over and gently spread her great wings about the child. The little girl felt safe snuggled in the soft peace of the white feathers. After a little while she went to sleep but the bird did not move. She knew the little girl needed her. She was her mother now. She would never leave her. It didn’t matter that she was a giant white bird and this little one was a human. Even the father understood that now. She was her mother. She would never let anything hurt her and she would love her more than her own life.

The bird soared in the heavens, and the humans walked on the earth but still there was great love there. It is the same with us. We walk the earth and often feel all alone against the devils and demons and evils of this world. They are like the wolves, mountain lions and snakes. But when we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our savior He comes to live in our heart. Then like the little bird He begins to grow in our lives as we let Him.

Soon the Lord becomes our protector, our father and our mother, our best friend. The Lord catches us up into heavenly places that we couldn’t go with out Him. We can feel safe in knowing He will never leave us of forsake us. There is nothing He can’t protect us against, even ourselves and to His love there is no end.

He forsook all to love us, even His own kind. He loves us more than His own life. And I know my children are safe with Him. The Lord wants to be your great white bird that protects you and loves you. All you have to do is ask Him and He will be there for you. You may not always see Him but when you call He will be right there and He is bigger than any situation you can face or enemy you can name. But most of all He loves you. He will never hurt you. If it hurts it is not from Him. He loves you.

Some of you are great white birds for the Lord. There was a time that you needed someone and as a new Christian, you were all alone. The Lord took care of you and taught you how to fly. But now there are baby Christians and they have no momma. They will need a great white bird to survive the wolves and wild animals of this world. They will need someone like you to protect them and teach them but most of all to love them and never leave them. Spread your wings and hear your high calling, to be momma to baby Christians. Then you too can truly be a great white bird.