The night went well with the little guy cuddling up to the cardinal and all appeared well in the morning. The food was gone, so it appeared that he ate. He was up and moving around as 'normal'. He started getting lethargic around noonish and so my wife let him drink from a dropper and ground up some worms for him to snack on. She also added a 'chirping' chick toy to give him some company. It seemed that he had a flea problem so she removed as many as she could. He seemed to be fine and was acting normal again, then a few hours later he became lethargic again and unable to stand. Everyone continued to give him attention and comfort, but to no apparent avail. He would attempt to rise but tire quickly and lay down breathing heavily. A few hours later he returned to the Earth to continue on his journey. He was given a blessing and buried near the old oak tree. The children were upset and we pondered the turn of events, but as we know well the journey of life begins and ends when the skein is cut. We did our best to offer hospitality and kindness to our guest for the length of his stay and were honored to care for him.
It does make us ponder what the reason for his abandonment was. Perhaps his mother was killed, or he got separated from the group, or chased away. Did his mother know what fate awaited him? Was he a runt? Was it the loneliness? We will never find the answers to these questions, but at least our experience is richer for having shared a brief amount of time with this beautiful creature.
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