Blathers stood in his usual place in the museum, furrowing the feathers above his eyes. While he didn't like to admit he was sleeping on the job—and certainly wasn't fessing up now, mind you—he couldn't explain how exactly the box had wound up right in front of him. He hadn't heard a thing, but here it was, white box, red ribbon, and all.
Well, no use trying to figure out its origins now. The owl took the ends of the ribbon between his wings and pulled. He removed the top with a little unpracticed clumsiness and found stacks of compressed fossils beneath the cover. He gaped at them. There were at least twenty, all of them in perfect condition. He flapped to the exhibit carrying a fossil and checked it against the list of donations.
"This one's already been donated," he said, a puzzled smile on his face. He tried another one. "This one too!" He rifled through the stacks. If he wasn't mistaken, all of the fossils were already on display in the museum, which must mean…
"You're not going to tell him about this." It was more a command than a question, and the mayor smirked. She made a few faces at the pigeon and got a scuff on the head in return. But she gave him one real smile.
"Of course I won't. You wanted to be anonymous, right?" The bird nodded stiffly, the feathers at the end of his wings twisted from all his fidgeting. The pair watched the owl flutter around the exhibits, growing more and more excited as he realized the donations were meant for his own collection.
"But I'll bet you something," the mayor said quietly. "He probably already knows it was you." Brewster failed to comment, but he shuffled his talons and hid a small smile behind his wing. The mayor nodded to herself. She wasn't the best at her job. Sometimes she forgot to water the flowers or greet the newest villager…but she knew she had accomplished something today.