There once was a wealthy bird that had more seeds than any other bird in the forest. Even though he was rich, he would never spare a single seed to the sick or poor. His name was Sparrow and almost no bird liked him. He was grouchy all year but his least favorite time of year was spring time. In the spring everyone was happy all the time and would never stop singing. Everywhere he went he would always hear tweeting or chirping and he completely despised it. Sparrow hated this joyful time, and this spring didn’t start off any different.

“Be quiet! I don’t want to hear your high pitched singing for another second!” Sparrow yelled out the window. “They can at least wait until spring is actually here,” Sparrow grumbled to himself. “I’m trying to enjoy my last day before spring begins.”

Sparrow snatched a seed out of a huge stack and began munching on it. Grouchily he climbed into bed. Dozing off, he could still hear the merry tweeting of birds outside.

In the middle of the night Sparrow woke with a start to the sound of footsteps. “Who’s there?” Sparrow tweeted angrily.

No one answered.

“Who’s there?” he repeated a bit more cautiously.

“Spaaarrrrrrooowww” moaned an unfamiliar voice.

“Who are you? Come out so I can see you,” Sparrow said trying to sound stern while pulling his leaf comforter up a little higher.

Out from the shadows flew a huge owl. Losing a feather or two on the way, Sparrow fluttered behind a stack of seeds, trying to hide from the large bird. “Sparrow,” hooted the owl once more.

“Who are you?” Sparrow now said more confidently realizing that the bird wasn’t going to hurt him.

“I have come to warn you,” replied the owl.

“What is there to warn me about?” Sparrow asked quizzically, his usual scowl back on his face.

“There will be three birds that will visit you tonight. You will have to change unless you want what the third bird will show you to come true. I must leave now, but I hope you will learn to give and be merry.” The owl then flew away swiftly.

Once the owl was out of sight, Sparrow scoffed, “Give? Be merry? Who does he think he’s talking to? I’m going to bed,” he said climbing back into his warm bed with a scowl on his beak.
“Sparrow,” tweeted a sweet sing-song voice.

“Not again,” grumbled Sparrow while getting out of his bed.

Right in front of Sparrow stood a medium height blue jay. “I’m the bird who will show the past you will see both the first and last time you sang,” explained the blue jay.

“I…” Sparrow began, but they had already started traveling back in time, to Sparrow’s very first spring. They were in his old nest. Three small eggs were huddled together and beginning to crack. Baby Sparrow poked out his head and immediately started chirping and singing, soon joined by his other siblings.

“We were all so happy together,” Sparrow chirped wistfully.

“I don’t think you had seed’s either,” Blue Jay replied.

“Which is why the whole thing is so ridiculous!” Sparrow snapped back.

Blue Jay looked down at Sparrow and smiled a knowing smile as they flashed to a different time. Sparrow was older now but was still in the nest. It was once again spring and the whole sparrow family was singing in the nest. Out of the blue a hawk swooped down, and since they were poor they couldn’t afford a roof, the hawk killed all of his family but one of his sisters.

“I never sang after that happened. I realized that no matter how cheerful you are, if you aren’t rich then you can’t be happy,” Sparrow reflected.

“But is that true? You were very happy with your family, and you weren’t rich.”

“And look where that has gotten them. Now may I go back to my bed?” Sparrow mumbled. Blue Jay sighed and Sparrow found himself back in his bed.

He wasn’t asleep long when the second bird appeared. It was a large robin. Sparrow, now used to the process said, “Show me the present spring and get it over with.”

The large robin flashed both himself and Sparrow into spring present. There were many little birds giving gifts and singing, even some of the poorest birds were singing along and acting merry. Soon, Sparrow’s attention was drawn to a small bird with a limp. It was hopping up to Sparrow’s nest and laid a seed right on Sparrow’s door step. Sparrow could tell that that was most of what the little bird owned. He had never seen the small bird before but he was toched by the bird’s thoughtfulness.

“This is what’s happening right outside your nest. You could be a part of it too, if you wanted.” This is the last he heard the robin say before he was zipped back to his nest. Sparrow lay down with this thought in his head. While contemplating this, a black and dark raven swooped down. He didn’t speak, he just motioned for sparrow to approach him.

Sparrow saw the future, his future. In the future, he was flying through the sky, cold and alone. He saw a person beneath him in the person’s hands was a gun. Sparrow tried to save his future self but couldn’t interfere with the future. The man pulled the trigger and there was a loud BANG! Future Sparrow fell from the sky.

They then flashed forward even farther and they were at Sparrow’s grave site. No one was there and no one was sad. Finally the trip was over and sparrow was happily lying in his bed. Right away he jumped up flew outside and joined in with all the singing. He gave everyone seeds and gave heaps full of seeds to the little bird that gave him the one seed. That spring no one gave as much as Sparrow.