"Katy, come look at this bird". Dad called for me from across the stream where I was digging for Katniss roots. I waded through the water over to where he was standing as quietly as I could. I looked at the bird he pointed out; it was sitting on a thin branch way up in one of the pine trees.
"Do you know what it is?" Dad asked me. I took a good look at the bird; it had a thin shape, with a long orange beak. It was mostly black, the tip of the wings, tail, and the top of its head were all pure white. I couldn't say I ever saw a bird like it before.
"No", I said simply. Dad chuckled then answered "It's a mockingjay. These are very special birds."
"Why are they so special Dad?" I asked. Most birds are basically the same aren't they? What could be so special about this bird? Can it talk? Can't it fly? Well, it most likely can fly, being up in a tree and all…
My dad sang a simple four note tune of some song I never heard. The bird was staring at him, and then, to my surprise, it whistled the same tune back. I must have looked very surprised because when Dad looked at me, he chuckled some more.
"How do they do that?" I asked him, clearly in awe. It didn't seem possible to me that a bird could repeat what Dad had sung. Suddenly, more mockingjays came, and were flying around singing my dad's tune.
"They are half Jabber Jay, which was a bird that could repeat human speech, and part mockingbird; which is simply a songbird." Dad told me. Something didn't seem right, how could a bird repeat human speech? I've never seen or heard any bird like that.
"You try, Katy" Dad said to me. I then sang a small part of the song Dad would sing to me and Prim. They all stopped singing Dad's song, and took up mine! It was absolutely amazing! The mockingjays listened to me and took up my song! "Wow Dad!" I said, "This is amazing!" and once again, Dad chuckled.
It was quiet today; I was working in the bakery. No one was here; no one seemed to want any bread at all. My mother was out shopping for extra flour, I was here with my brothers and my Dad, who seemed to be the only person keeping busy and occupied.
My brothers and I were in the back, kneading dough and making sure the bread in the oven didn't burn. (We didn't want them to burn again after the first time did we?) Dad was the only one out front, usually, this was Mother's job, but because she was out, Dad took over the counter. He didn't have to do much though; he just sat there reading a book, occasionally looking out the window to the back door.
Sometime later, while I was bored and was putting the mini pretzels we made in the oven, Dad got up and walked over to the back door, someone was there; I could hear him talking to my Dad. They came into the back entry way. The man who was at the door I recognized as Mr. Everdeen, "You know who's" father. He only ever came around here if he was trading something with Dad. Maybe his favourite, squirrels.
Mr. Everdeen took out a bag that seemed to be filled with different things like turkeys, rabbits, berries, and some plant roots. They were all spilling out of the bag. I was correct, Mr. Everdeen pulled out two fat squirrels. My father observed the squirrels while talking quietly to Mr. Everdeen, and then he headed into the kitchen where my brothers and I were.
Dad opened the oven, pulled out two loaves of bread and the pretzels I made earlier. He would only trade the pretzels if he wanted strawberries to turn into jam. My brothers saw what he was doing too, and by the looks on their faces, they were looking forward to that jam. Dad then headed back out to the back entrance.
I walked outside through the front door when there was nothing left for me to do in the kitchen. When I reached the back of the bakery, Dad and Mr. Everdeen were coming out of the door, possibly still talking about the trade or just saying goodbye. As Mr. Everdeen walked away, he was whistling a short tune that I'd never heard before, but instantly, I stopped and listened.
Dad once told me something about Mr. Everdeen. He said that when he sings even the birds stop to listen. But the birds did so much more. They were quiet at first, then one of the birds started a chain reaction, it sang the same little song back to Mr. Everdeen, then others joined in. The birds were flying around in happy movements, whistling back and forth to each other.
I was completely amazed. It was true; everything my Dad told me was true. Mr. Everdeen had a special gift. He could communicate with the birds, and they would respond like they were his friends. Mr. Everdeen caught my eye on his way towards the square, and seeing my amazed expression, he chuckled.