Birds around us

Told in English, Telugu.

Early one morning, in a little village near the Godavari, Chinni woke up to happy sounds. Tweet, tweet! Caw, caw! Koo, koo!

"Ammamma, who is singing outside?" asked Chinni.

Ammamma smiled. "Come, kanna. Let us go and see. The birds are saying good morning."

They sat together on the front steps. Ammamma began a little song. Can you sing it with me?

Look up, look up, what do I see? A little bird says hello to me!

First came the crow. He was black and shiny, and he sat on the wall. "Caw, caw!" he called. Ammamma put out a small ball of rice. The crow hopped down and picked it up. Then he called again, and two more crows came. "See, Chinni," said Ammamma. "When the crow finds food, he calls his friends. He shares."

Look up, look up, what do I see? A little bird says hello to me!

Next came the little sparrows. They were small and brown, and they went hop, hop, hop on the ground. They pecked at tiny grains near the door. Chinni wanted to run to them.

"Gently, Chinni," said Ammamma. "If we run, they will get scared and fly away. If we sit still, they will stay."

So Chinni sat very, very still. And the sparrows stayed!

Look up, look up, what do I see? A little bird says hello to me!

Then, from the mango tree, came a flash of green. A parrot! Her feathers were green like a leaf, and her beak was red like a chilli. She nibbled a ripe guava. "Kee, kee!" she said.

Chinni laughed. "She is eating fruit, just like me!"

Look up, look up, what do I see? A little bird says hello to me!

Then a sweet sound came from high up in the neem tree. Koo, koo! Koo, koo!

"That is the koel," said Ammamma. "She sings the most when the mangoes come, around Ugadi. She likes to hide in the leaves, but her song is the sweetest of all."

Can you sing like the koel? Koo, koo! Koo, koo!

Look up, look up, what do I see? A little bird says hello to me!

Soon the sun grew hot. Chinni saw a little sparrow sitting with its beak open. "Ammamma, I think the birds are thirsty," she said.

Ammamma gave her a small clay bowl. Chinni filled it with cool water and put it in the shade under the tree. Then she sat still and waited.

One sparrow came and took a sip. A crow came and dipped his beak. A myna came and had a bath. Splish, splash, splish, splash! Water flew everywhere, and Chinni clapped softly.

"Because you gave them water, they came to drink," said Ammamma. "Now they will come back every day."

In the evening, the sky turned orange and pink. One by one, the birds flew home to their nests in the trees.

Chinni waved. "Goodnight, crow. Goodnight, sparrows. Goodnight, parrot. Goodnight, koel."

Ammamma held her close. "Birds are our neighbours, kanna. They sing for us in the morning, and we keep water for them in the day."

And she sang the song one last time, very softly.

Close your eyes, now sleep like me. The birds are sleeping in the tree.

Goodnight, little one.