There once was a seagull who was smitten with an owl. Every day he came to visit her, bringing her bits of fish and other fine things to nibble on, and every day she refused him. The more she refused him, the more he came to visit. Sometimes he would sing songs to her in his strange gull language, which was full of wails and cries and eerie sounds, as gulls are wont to do. She never acknowledged his songs with so much as a “who who.” Other times he would perform daring feats of flight above her, now dashing downward or slicing upward through the sky in an attempt to impress her. But she snubbed him every time, ignoring his advances and remaining as rigid as stone. The gull was at last heartbroken, but still he came to visit her daily, facing in the opposite direction so as not to upset her.
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| The owl and the seagull share a visit. |
One afternoon an old farmer came walking toward the
dock. Upon seeing the gull, he shook his
fist and yelled and screamed to chase the gull away. He did not like gulls on his dock at all
because they are not known to be the cleanest of birds. The gull flew off to the next dock and
watched from a safe distance. The farmer
went up to the owl and picked her up and tucked her under his arm. Then he walked a distance on the dock and set
her down again. The owl never said a
word or made a movement. “Now you chase
those gulls away, girl,” the old farmer said, “or I’ll bring you back to where
I got you!” Then he walked away up the
dock, grumbling under his breath, “Lousiest decoy I ever had . . .”
As soon as he left, the seagull swooped back onto the dock
and got very close to the owl. “Oh, my
darling,” he said, “I had no idea how much of yourself you had sacrificed just
to let me stay here. Truly, I will love
you forever! Now I understand, my love,
and you needn’t ever say a word.” And
with that, the seagull sat down very close to the owl, and she sat very close
to him. Neither said a word, but there
was an understanding between them. To
this day, I am told, the visits continue.
