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A little blue bird sped high across the countryside. It's destination was unknown, but it seemed to be flying with a definite purpose. As the bird flew lower to avoid a bit of wind turbulence, something suddenly flew up from below and struck it hard on its side sending the poor thing crashing to the ground.
The little bird's now broken body prevented it from even trying to stand. As it lie there on the ground a little boy with a slingshot in his hand came running over to see what had happened. The boy never meant to hurt the poor little bird. He was just shooting rocks into the air. He never even saw the bird until it was too late.
As he knelt down to check on the poor little blue bird, the boy heard his mother call from inside the little farmhouse behind him, "Davey, time to come back in and get ready!" The boy gently scooped up the little bird and ran for the door of his house.
When he got inside the house, his mother was standing there with her back to him, working at something very important. "It's time to get ready. Your sisters are going to take you to the fair in a few minutes," she said. Just as Davey was about to tell his mother about the bird, his mother turned around and saw it. "Davey, get that dirty thing out of the house," she exclaimed.
Not wanting to get into any more trouble, Davey quickly ducked back out of the house with the little bird. Outside, he wondered what he should do now. The bird wasn't doing very well, and Davey thought its only chance was that he take care of it. He decided to hide the little bird in his jacket and he went back into the house.
As soon as he got back inside the house he darted past his mother and went into his room to get ready for the fair. He put on some clean clothes and then ran to the bathroom to get washed up a little bit. As soon as he was ready, he went back through the house towards the front door. On his way out, Davey told his mom that he'd wait outside for his sisters.
After what seemed like forever, Davey's sisters came out and asked him if he was ready. They were both much older than Davey, so he always did what they told him. His sisters were always nice to him, and he thought he could get away with almost any mischief when they were watching him. He still figured that he probably shouldn't ever test that theory.
Davey then thought of the bird hidden in his jacket. He didn't know what his mother might do about it if she knew he still had it. He knew the bird was hurt badly, and he just couldn't leave it alone to die. He'd just have to take it with him and hope he could protect it. Just hours before, he thought he was going to have the time of his life. Now he knew his time at the fair was going to be miserable.
It didn't take too long before they were walking on their way down the dirt road that led to town, where the fair was. Davey liked walking to town. He got to see the other farms along the way, and the animals that everybody else had. He liked animals. He knew it wouldn't be long before they reached town.
After about an hour of walking they found themselves on the edge of town, and they could already hear the noises of the fair from here. One of his sisters told Davey not to run off because the fair wasn't always safe for a little boy by himself. There were some very strange people that he really didn't want to meet.
As they got to the fair, they saw many strange things. A man who breathed fire and constantly kept sticking out his tongue. A man with buck teeth singing to a small crowd that surrounded him. He saw a man playing a strange box-shaped instrument with a little monkey begging for coins. The monkey didn't really seem very happy to be there.
They were looking at everything as they passed by, wondering where they should stop first. It wasn't long before they approached a tent that said in big fancy letters, "Marvo The Magician". A strange thought came to Davey's mind, and he begged his sisters to take him inside. They both laughingly agreed, telling him it was a wonderful idea.
As they stepped into the tent, they saw rows of benches surrounding a small stage. The benches were only half filled with people so far, and the magician wasn't out yet. They paid their money and quickly found three seats right up front.
It wasn't long before Marvo the Magician stepped out and announced himself in a deep booming voice. He continued on quickly to a few unimpressive magic tricks in that same voice. He did all of the standard things. He pulled a rabbit out of a hat. He stuck a pair of rings together. He did several other things in small puffs of smoke.
He then moved on to something slightly peculiar. He asked people to make requests on what tricks he might do for them. A man stood up and asked him to read his mind, which Marvo did with amazing accuracy. A woman in the back asked Marvo to disappear, to a ton of laughter. Marvo skillfully sidestepped this slight insult by asking her to come down to the stage so he could make her disappear in a cabinet that he just happened to have at the side of the stage. It was all actually becoming quite entertaining.
Things went on this way for quite some time before Marvo finally said, "Before we move on to my grand finale I would like to say..."
"I have something," Davey loudly interrupted in a desperate tone. As the magician turned toward him, Davey pulled the crippled bird out of his jacket.
"What do we have here, young man," asked Marvo.
Not able to hold it in any longer, Davey burst into tears. "I found him... I mean, I didn't mean to hurt him! He was flying by when I was playing with my slingshot. I don't know what to do for him because he's not getting any better. Can you use your magic on him," the boy pleaded.
Just then Davey's older sister told him in her most sympathetic voice, "Davey, that's not the kind of thing a magician can do."
Marvo, now standing directly in front of them, interrupted the exchange, "That may be true for most ordinary magicians," Marvo said in his grand tone. Then a little quieter, "It also may be true for me, but at least I can take a look."
Then with a magnificent flourish of his cape, Marvo the Magnificent raised his arms dramatically and gently tapped the dying little bird with his wand. And to the amazement of everyone in attendance, most of all Davey, the beautiful little creature vibrantly sprang to life! In an instant, Davey raised his arms above his head and gave the little blue bird a nudge into the air. Then the bird triumphantly flew above the audience in a wide circle around the tent while Davey stood below with a wide grin on his face. The bird then quickly turned toward the open tent flap and swooped out into the afternoon sky.
Higher and higher the little blue bird flew. Past the crowds of people. Past the many attractions of the fair. It flew past the edge of the odd city, and out into the countryside. The bird seemed to be back on the same mysterious mission it had been on when Davey first encountered it. As it flew higher and farther away, the little blue bird became a speck on the horizon, and soon it was completely out of sight.
