Once upon a time there was a bird girl called Daisy.
Daisy was very sad because her feathers were completely white. All other budgies had beautiful colorful feathers – green, blue or yellow. She was the only one who was not colorful at all. There were no color pigments in her feathers, so she was an albino.
The other budgies, however, did not know what an albino is. So they could not understand why Daisy is so white. They did not want to play with Daisy because she looked different, so Daisy was always alone.
Daisy could not help it. She had tried everything to make friends with the other budgerigars.
She had bathed in a paint box to look as colorful as the other budgies. Because the colors from the inkwell stuck to their feathers, their feathers were even more colorful then those of the others. But when it started to rain, the raindrops washed the paint off again and Daisy was even whiter than before. The other budgies laughed at her.
Daisy knew that color on the feathers was useless. The paint had to get into their feathers so the rain would not wash them off. So Daisy hopped back into the color box and wanted to drink the paint. But after the first sip she got sick. She had a terrible stomach ache and it took a long time to finally recover. But she was still as white as before. The other budgies laughed a lot more about them now.
Daisy knew that she was very stupid to drink the paint so the others liked her. Her pain had been so bad that she no longer wanted to please the other. She wanted to stay an albino and preferred to play alone.
One day Daisy hopped from one branch to the other. Suddenly she saw another bird. He was just as white as she was.
Daisy was happy about it. She wanted to have the other bird as a friend because she could understand her. So she fluttered to him.
“Hello!” cackled Daisy the other bird.
The bird did not answer.
“Why do not you answer me?” asked Daisy. “Do not you understand me?”
The other bird still did not answer.
“You can not cack at all?” said Daisy. Then she hopped closer to the bird to peck it with her beak. But the bird did not move.
Then Daisy realized that the other one was not a real bird at all, but one made of plastic. Angry, she pecked on the plastic bird, so that this overturned and then fluttered away disappointed. Again she had found no friend and had to play alone.
When she got bored, she sat down on a branch. There she saw a little bell hanging in front of her. She pecked it with her beak and the bell rang. Daisy was very happy about that because she liked music. So she kept ringing the bell and cackled to it.
Suddenly she paused and had to look at the bell in amazement. It was attached to a glass window and out of that window another white budgerigar looked at her.
“Hello!” cackled Daisy the other budgerigar.
The budgerigar moved his crooked beak just as she did.
“Why are you kidding me?” asked Daisy.
The other budgerigar did exactly the same as her.
Just like me, you like music, come out and play with me! ” Daisy said, gripping the window with her claw to help the other budgerigar get out.
But the other one did not come out, he just imitated Daisy.
Daisy was angry.
“If you do not want to come out to me, then I’ll just come in to you!” she scolded and wanted to jump to the other budgerigar in the window. But how did she get in there? She picked the glass but found no entrance.
She fluttered around the whole window, banging on the bell and searching, but she found no opening.
Then she realized that the window was a mirror. The other budgerigar that was imitating her was not real. That was her own reflection!
Sadly, Daisy fluttered away. Again she had not found a friend.
Suddenly she heard a beautiful song. Daisy turned her head to see who could sing so beautifully. Then she saw another white bird and flew towards him.
The other white bird was sitting on a branch, its head raised and its beak wide open. He could sing the most beautiful melodies.
Daisy listened for a while, so much did she like the songs this bird sang. But he was so engrossed in his singing that he did not notice Daisy at first.
Only when his eyes fell on her did he stop singing.
“Hello!” cackled Daisy. “Sing on, that’s sooooo beautiful!”
“Hello!” the other white bird peeped. “I’m glad you like my song, who are you?”
“My name is Daisy and I’m a budgerigar.” replied Daisy.
“Are you a budgie?” the other bird was amazed. “But I thought budgerigars were colorful, but you’re all white!”
“Yes that’s true.” Daisy said sadly. “That’s because I’m an albino budgie.
The other bird introduced itself. “My name is Nicki the opera singer and I’m a canary.”
“But canaries are yellow, orange or red.” wondered Daisy. “But you are as white as I am!”
“Yes that’s true.” said Nicki the opera singer. “That’s because I’m an albino canary, so we have something in common.”
Daisy was happy. “Then you are just the same as me, do you want to be my friend?”
Nicki the opera singer fluttered with joy with his wings. “Yes, I want to be your friend! Then we can sing together!”
“But I can not sing as nicely as you.” Daisy said. “I can only cackle.”
“That’s not bad.” Nicki comforted her. “If I sing the melodies and you cackle the rhythm, that sounds very nice!”
“Then let’s try it!” Daisy was happy. Now she had finally found a friend who understood her.
And then Nicki started singing to the opera singer and Daisy cackled in time. That sounded so nice that they did not want to stop.
April 26, 2024