An adaptation of a story by Lynnae McConaha
The autumn winds began blowing their cool breezes over the harvest fields. Little mice scurried through the stubble, creating their homes for the winter. Before long, snow would blanket the fields and forest, chilling the air, but the little animals would be snug and warm in their nests.
One perfect mid-autumn evening, we heard a strange sound from the forest. It pierced the air in a high, quivery sound. It came again, “Who-o-o-o-o, who-o-o-o!” Walking toward the sound, we looked up into the branches of a white pine tree. We could just barely make out the shape of a small screech owl, no bigger than a six-inch ball. He was mainly gray with streaks of black, and two tufts of feathers on top of his head that looked like ears. He bobbed his head and closed his bright yellow eyes, then let loose with another ear-piercing screech, “Who-o-o-o, who-o-o-!” We learned that the screech owl makes this sound when looking for another of his kind.
One morning as we walked in the woods, we discovered a little pile of what looked like leaves and feathers. As we came closer, we found it was a little owl, lying perfectly still in the middle of the path, with his eyes closed. Was he dead? We approached cautiously and Sam held out a branch near his feet. Instantly, the little owl’s talons closed around the branch and we were relieved to see that he was still alive. After getting a pair of heavy leather gloves, Sam picked the owl up and carried him back to the house. He was studying veterinary medicine at the nearby college, and was able to determine that our little friend had injured his left eye, and would need treatment and time to heal. We decided to name him Mr. Who.
Sam treated Mr. Who’s eye, and Sally and I were in charge of catching mice for his food. After all, he couldn’t see well enough to catch his own, and he really didn’t care for brown rice and vegetables! Many times wild animals are too frightened to eat when people are around, but Mr. Who seemed to know he needed help and he knew we loved him. All winter long, Mr. Who stayed with us. Sam built a tough, oak perch, and Mr. Who sat on top of it in the corner of the living room. It looked like the letter “T” in a strong base.
He hadn’t made a sound the whole winter in our house. One night, when the moon was full, Mr. Who let out his unique call, “Who-o-o-o, who-o-o-o!” Much to our surprise, another screech owl responded from the back yard. He had a friend outside! We wondered what they had said to each other.
In the spring when life was bursting forth from its long winter’s rest, Mr. Who’s eye began to clear up. He was going to be able to see again! He still couldn’t take care of himself, because he needed to see well enough to find food and be able to catch it. He also needed to see from both sides of his head to know if there was any danger close by. But we knew the day was coming when we would release him back to the wild, where he belonged.
On a beautiful spring day, we took Mr. Who outside to say good-bye and let him go. We went to the white pine tree where we had first seen him and Sam carefully set him on the lowest branch. We expected Mr. Who to fly away, but he seemed reluctant to go. Then we realized that over the winter, his wings must have lost their strength, and he would need to build them up again. So we worked with him little by little, tossing him into the air and letting him flutter to the ground. In two weeks, he was able to fly, and we once again said good-bye and left him sitting on the branch in the pine tree. When we returned, he was gone. Mr. Who had flown away to make his own life again in the forest. Although we knew this was where he needed to be, we felt sad and missed him.
At night sometimes, we would hear a familiar sound outside, and knew that Mr. Who was safe. Occasionally we would see him fly through the treetops, and felt happy that we had been able to help him. One night, while Sam was milking the cow in the barn, a little screech owl came flying noiselessly across the room. It was Mr. Who! Our friend had come to say hello to the friends he had learned to love.
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