Two Feathers

By Tracie L. Davidson

There was no chance for summer boredom for siblings, Taylor and Ricky, when a special owl flew into their backyard. They were mesmerized by his presence. Nothing could possibly top the sight of this magnificent fellow. Until they heard a sing-song rhythmic voice who invited them to sit. Was it real? Or their imagination? Surely, it's not possible that this owl was speaking to them! Then, Finnegus the owl offered each of them a feather from his own body. These feathers were not souvenirs but their instrument to magically help them enter the bird world; a bird of their own choosing. But the two children must take heed to follow the wizard owl's chant while holding their individual feather. Only one of them may choose to become a bird at a time. Taylor and Ricky's feathered adventures as real-life birds, from that point on, were beyond their expectations. Fly with them as a hummingbird, an eagle, a pelican, and more. Feel the magic with Taylor and Ricky and transform to explore a few birds in their adventure among the feathered world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Newman Springs Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 24, 2023
• ISBN: 9781684989720

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Preface

Chapter 1: Finnegus

Chapter 2: Goose Feathers

Chapter 3: Humming Country

Chapter 4: Eagle Air

Chapter 5: Toucan Taylor

Chapter 6: Pelican Peace

Chapter 7: Thankful Turkey

Chapter 8: Ordinary Owl

About the Author

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Two Feathers

Tracie L. Davidson

Copyright © 2023 Tracie L. Davidson

All rights reserved

First Edition

NEWMAN SPRINGS PUBLISHING

320 Broad Street

Red Bank, NJ 07701

First originally published by Newman Springs Publishing 2023

ISBN 978-1-68498-971-3 (Paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88763-579-8 (Hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-68498-972-0 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

To my dear husband who waited patiently all these years for me to complete this book; to Taylor and Richard who were the only intended audience back when they were children; and to my father-in-law, Pop Pop, whose owl wisdom and teasing turkey feather fun while the kids grew up was ultimately the greatest inspiration of all behind this book. I love you.

To Pop and my incredibly patient family.

Preface

On Thanksgiving Day 2008, the family was making the regular hour-long drive to my kids' paternal grandparents' house. We had just gotten on to Route 66 in Virginia. On a whim, I asked my daughter if she had a notepad and pencil that I could borrow. I was in a mood to write. From that moment, this book was born. I thought it would be fun to create a story with my children as the primary characters. I also asked them when I began writing in that car, that if they could choose to be any three birds, what would they be? I was pleasantly surprised over their choices. It was great fun to write with my children in mind.

However, the snag that prevented me from finishing the book back then was a little thing called the floppy disk. Chapters 1 through 6 were completed, saved as separate files, and all but chapter 6 had been printed for my own reference. Unfortunately, something occurred that caused the disk to corrupt chapter 6. This destroyed my motivation to continue as I did not know how to rewrite that chapter as well as I felt it was written the first time. Thus, time elapsed until 2022 when my daughter started to do writing of her own. This rekindled my fire to finish. I owed it to both my kids and my husband to complete what I started. It is a book I am proud of and hope its magic sparks the imagination of today's young readers.

Chapter 1

Finnegus

The lawn lay target to the swinging leg antics of a young boy who wanted nothing but to destroy the delicate dandelions. The long stretch of the backyard was full of them. It needed mowing, but the boy's father probably wouldn't get to it until tomorrow. He didn't care. They were there, hundreds of them. And all for his foot's pleasure. He looked over at his sister who he thought was watching him. She sat on the edge of the back porch next to the gritty parking area.

Ricky, the younger of the two, was tall and slender, with a blond flattop that never wanted to stand properly. The hairs on his head were more like short, stiff bristles of a paintbrush. And he was always full of smiles with a gleaming mischievousness that constantly sparkled in his eyes. Conversely, his older sister, Taylor, was ten and considered her little brother nothing more than an immature annoyance. Silly boy, she thought. She watched Ricky as he suddenly started to zigzag in the backyard, his fingers grasping his ears and flapping them as though they were wings.

With a whisking brush of her hand to remove the errant strands of dishwater blonde hair from her face, she pretended to ignore the stupidity of his game. What did he think he could really do? Boys. How is it he could think up such kid games? She stared off in the yard. The soft breeze of the hot day lightly touched the blades of grass as though grooming them into orderliness. The leaves off the bows of the surrounding trees seemed to nod in approval. She enjoyed the sky's breath upon her face. She smiled softly as her eyes scanned the area for any rabbits or groundhogs that might be searching for a meal. She had seen them before and loved their twitching noses and innocent, simplistic lives. Or the red Cardinals or hawks that shared the winds' current, their lives seemed so much more interesting than hers.

C'mon, Taylor! yelled Ricky. Let's find a tree to climb!

Taylor felt stirred from her dreamy trance. Huh? she began. I don't want to, she replied as she spontaneously picked up a stick to scratch into the dirt. Her mind continued to wander. School was nearly over, and Taylor wondered who her fifth-grade teacher would be for next year.

A baseball dropped onto her toes.

Ow! What? What do you want, Magnus?

The well-dressed tuxedo coat of the nearly all black but white chested Great Dane's muzzle panted happily on Taylor's face. His tail wagged as he looked at her, then at the ball.

Oh, bother. Go away, Magnus! I don't want to play. Go! She waved her hand dismissively, hoping to make him play elsewhere. The towering dog just stood there, his long panting tongue frothing with drool. The day was grueling hot on a black-coated dog, even with the slight breeze that floated through them.

Oh, fine! she said with pure aggravation in her voice. I'll give you your ball. Ewwwwww! Gross, Magnus! Here! Taylor picked it up and threw it toward her brother. Go bug Ricky, you goofy dog!

In one tremendous bound, his large paws were already catching up to the grass and saliva-covered ball.

Secretly, she hoped Magnus would knock her brother down. Of course, he didn't. She shrugged her shoulders and returned her attention to the dirt. As she was about to fix the dirt scratches Magnus had ruined, her eyes spied a most unusual occurrence. She blinked a couple of times to be sure she wasn't imagining things. In an instant, she was on her feet dashing after it, her gaze constant at this amazing sight. An owl! An owl gliding within their yard during the pre-evening hours!

Ricky! Rick! Look! A huge owl! See it? Oh-my-gosh, do you see him? He's gorgeous! C'mon! Let's follow it! She sprinted hard. She didn't want to lose sight of her backyard find.

What? called out Ricky. Wait! He began running to catch up with his sister. Hey, wait, Taylor! Where ya going? Ricky saw Taylor's intense gaze at something. She seemed to be staring at something in the distance in front of her. And then he saw it too.

Coooooool! he muttered, and his casual jog instantly changed to a hard run.

The two reached the far part of the backyard just entering the wood line. They could hear Magnus barking from the end of his lead line back at the house. He wanted to come too, but as often happened, he was left to stretch the thirty-foot lead line into nothing more than a tight grip on his neck. The bird soon landed with a quiet whoosh on a low tree branch. It fluttered its wings a bit as if to settle into a comfortable rest. His head turned in a slow purposeful pivot as if he knew there were spies upon him.

When Taylor saw him land on the branch, she stopped abruptly too. Or nearly so. She was approximately ten feet from the owl. He's such a magnificent fellow, she muttered. As quietly as possible, she carefully stepped on the crunchy dead leaves underfoot, peering from behind this tree and that. Ricky caught up with his sister and already figured out what she was up to.

Are you going to try and pet him? he whispered.

Shhhhhh! She crouched into a squat and looked for the next closest tree to the owl. She chose the one nearest to the left and made the dash in a hunched position. Ricky followed close behind.

Isn't he beautiful! Taylor exclaimed.

Yeah, look at his round eyes, returned Ricky, and those sharp claws! I bet he could grab a fat rat!

I like his feathers, said Taylor. I bet they're soft and silky, she continued in whispered tones. How I'd love to have one. I sometimes wish I could fly like a bird. You know, be small like a hummingbird and flap my wings so fast that I'd hover in the air or zip from flower to flower.

Well, I'd rather be an eagle! exclaimed Ricky as he stretched his arms and began raising them up and down as though they were broad and full of strength, not thinking that his motion may scare the owl away. And I'd see fish from way up high and then swoop down and catch one with my sharp talons.

"Yeah, or a macaw and beautiful red,