The Day I would have been dyed, Had it not been for the Saw Man

By Mr. Yellow Finch
Translated by Akin Phoenix

One cold winter day, when the snow and ice had freshly hit the ground, I was out at my favorite eating spot with all my friends. In the middle of this nice field there is a tube full of small sunflower seeds. They aren’t my preferred food, but they are mighty tasty when you’re short on bugs in the middle of winter. I grabbed a beak full of seeds and flew over to one of my favorite trees. Then I had this bright idea! I would take a short cut to another tree through a route I had never taken before. Wheee….I go flying off and BAM!

I must have hit some kind of force field, or something. There I was knocked out the cold icy ground, with blood dripping from my beak. I lost a lot of blood. You can see it in the snow.





I was wondering what the heck just happened, and why I couldn’t fly away. I was drifting off to sleep, when out of nowhere a giant scooped me up in a box, and moved me into this really warm and cozy place. I wasn’t feeling well at all, so I didn’t protest much. The giant was talking to me, and I just stayed still. I really wasn’t feeling well, and wasn’t in a talking mood. Oddly enough, the giant had a scent that I have smelled on the food I get from the tube. I was hoping that was a good sign, as a fell off to sleep again.

When I woke up again, the giant was placing all these funny looking items around me. I don’t know what they were, but they had a strange energy emanating from them, that felt really good. The giant had what my Mommy described as fire, and a noisy thing that rattled with the picture of what my Mommy called a snake! Oh my gosh…I didn’t know what to do, but that familiar scent assured me all was well, besides, it was nice and warm in this place. I tried to get some sleep, but that giant kept making noise. It blew into this big tree branch that made a sound like a bird, and it was mumbling giant talk, and shaking that snake thing. Couldn’t it see a birdy was tired? I left my body a couple of times, and felt a lot better, but the giant could see me, and spoke directly to mind, telling me to get back down here. How did he do that? He isn’t a bird! Then it pulled me back into my body.




After it was finished making all that noise, and making me do stuff I didn’t want to do, it went and fetched me some water, and left. All of a sudden I was feeling much better. I perched up on the little water bowl, and for the first time since being in the warm place, I lifted my beak and took a look around.




The giant came back and started talking giant talk again, and flicked the piece of food off my beak that was glued on with blood. I was nice and warm at this point, and feeling a lot better! I was starting to wonder how I was going to make my escape, when the giant was in my mind again! It asked if I was ready to go, and I replied with a big “YES”! It started removing all the good feeling items that it put in the box with me. I kind of wanted to keep some of those, but it said it needed them for others that flew into force fields in life, and needed a helping hand.

The giant lifted the whole box that I was in, and took me back to where the light was. I dared not fly at that moment. I didn’t want to hit another force field. It was a good thing too. The giant opened another force field, and I felt the familiar cold of the season hit my feathers. It lifted the box in the air, and I hopped up on the edge. I looked back at the giant, and he was in my mind again, telling me to farewell! I flew into the air, on my way to Grandfather tree, and all my friends to tell them about what just happened to me. Grandfather tree said I would have died, had it not been for the shaman. I asked the Grandfather what color was I going to be dyed (I like my yellow feathers) and is a saw man what they call the giant, but he smiled and told me to go get more food, before it was all gone.