CHAPTER ONE: MARGALO'S TRAGIC CHILDHOOD
Margalo was a canary who lived in Connecticut. Her siblings and father had died in a tragic accident involving a terrible spring thundersnow. She and her mother had survived, her father sacrificing himself to save her and his wife from the winds. They had moved to another nest, one in an old abandoned barn. They had built it on the ground level, as the loft had rotted away some years earlier, from what they could figure. Still, it was on top of an old dresser, not directly on the ground, so they had assumed that it would be safe from predators.
"I miss them so much." Margalo said to her mother shortly after the tragedy.
"As do I," her mother said. "But they are with us, in here," she said, pointing at her heart.
"I know."
"And with them inside of you, you can remember the good times and move on with your life."
"What if I don't want to move on?"
"You will, in time. You're strong, Margalo."
"I'm afraid."
"It's ok to be afraid. But you need to face your fears. Or else you'll always be afraid and never happy."
One fateful Christmas Day, as the young Margalo and her mother were going about their day as normal, two predators lurked near the barn. Both of them had been stealthily watching the mother bird and figured that, if the mother kept coming back there repeatedly, that there was a nest there. One of them was a female Angora cat. The other was a male peregrine falcon. Both of them knew that the mother would be the harder to catch, being the better flier. Still, they both knew that the mother would be desperate to save her child, rather than saving herself, and thus could be easily defeated. The two assumed that after they got her, that the child would be a cinch.
The two birds, unaware of their peril, set about decorating a Christmas tree, actually a small pine tree that grew in the barn. They didn't have ornaments so had put pine sliced pine cones, which holes poked through the middle with the talons, and straw used to string these pinecone ornaments onto the tree. Margalo's mother put a jeweled pin on the top of the tree. The pin Margalo's mother had gotten from her mother who had gotten it from her mother. They didn't know how long it had been in the family, but it had certainly been a long time. Margalo's mother had told her that, when she went to get a nest of her own, she would be given the pin. She told her that, wherever she had the pin, it would always be home.
Outside the barn, both the Angora cat and the falcon moved in for the kill. Had the two been working together, neither canary would have left the barn alive. As it was, they were each working for themselves. Thus, as the two spotted Margalo's mother, heading outside to gather food, Falcon sank his talons into the Angora cat, not deep enough to kill or even seriously hurt, as the strike had been meant to fell a bird, not a cat, but enough to give her yet another scar to match those she had obtained from jumping through a glass window. The Angora cat, for her part, angrily swatted the falcon, knocking him into the side of the barn.
Margalo's mother saw the two predators and promptly flew into the barn. "Run Margalo!" she cried. Her daughter couldn't yet fly. She had tried but was not, her mother deemed, ready yet to fly for more than lifting off the ground. Certainly not useful in a situation like this. Better to run on foot than expend valuable energy in a feeble attempt to stay airborne. Margalo ran for it. Her mother followed, planning to seize her daughter and take to the air. Hopefully the two of them could put enough distance between themselves and that falcon and cat. Margalo's mother would have reached her in time, had not the falcon sank his talons into one of her wings. She fell out of the air, crashed into the Christmas tree, knocking the pin from the top, and landed on the ground, injured. The falcon moved to kill her, but he had to make a last second leap out of the way of the Angora cat, who herself lunged toward the bird, and he was sure she, after getting that nasty cut from him, wouldn't care if she killed him in process. Becoming cat food was not befitting of his dignity. He flew off angrily, sure that the cat was going to get both the birds and that he'd have to go find something else to eat.
Margalo paused, staring at Angora cat, who towered over her mother. Foolishly, she ran toward the predator, standing beside her injured mother. "Leave my mother alone, you foul fiend!" she shouted, heedless of her peril.
"Stupid little bird. You made my job too easy, coming to me. I was so looking forward to chasing you after I got your mother."
"Get away from my mother, you big bully!"
"So cute, but so stupid! Two bids in one go. Lucky me. I'd like to tell you this won't hurt much, but that would be lying. I like to play with my food before I eat it." The Angora cat laughed devilishly. She moved to strike Margalo, to yank off one of her wings. However, before the cat could land a strike on her, she recoiled in pain. Margalo had seized the pin that had fallen from the Christmas tree and stabbed her with it.
"Run Margalo!" her mother yelled.
"No, mother, I have to save you!"
"Go! Now!"
Margalo didn't want to run, but she didn't want to be eaten either and her mother had ordered her to leave. And so she ran, as fast as she could, away from the barn, away from certain death. Some distance from the barn Margalo tripped on a stone and tumbled down an embankment toward a river. She was worried she was going to fall in, and she couldn't swim. However, she luckily fell into an abandoned animal burrow.
Inside the barn, the Angora cat had eaten the mother bird and was now looking for the child bird. "Where are you? Come out little one. You know I'm going to find you eventually."
Margalo decided that it was best to stay in her hiding spot. Hopefully, the cat wouldn't find her. She was certain she'd be spotted more easily in the open than where she was now. And, indeed, the cat was having trouble finding her. However, after two hours, much to her dismay, the cat was moving in her direction. "Aha, found you! Hiding in there! Clever! Too bad it didn't work!"
Margalo closed her eyes, certain she was about to die; she didn't want to watch. However, right before the cat could pounce on her, she felt herself being lifted into the air. Had the cat killed her and she was now being moved to heaven? She opened her eyes and saw that she was rising into the sky. The Angora cat looked up at her, enraged.
"Hey, that's mine!" the cat snapped.
"Finders keepers, losers weepers!" Margalo looked up and saw, with shock and alarm, that a large bird, with a pointed beak and very sharp talons, had spoken.
"Who-who-who are you?" she asked trembling.
"My name's P. Falcon, but you can call me Falcon."
"Falcon, you saved my life."
Falcon said nothing for a moment. He had originally intended on eating the bird after he had seized her and taken her out of reach of the cat. However, he now saw that the child was naïve, not knowing that falcons ate little birds like her. She'd be very gullible. Perhaps he could find a better use for her than a mere late afternoon snack. "I couldn't let that cat eat you. Don't worry, you're safe with me."
Margalo felt afraid of this new bird. But, he had saved her. She'd have been cat food if it hadn't been for him. Still, something about Falcon made her gizzard queasy. "You look so scary!"
"I'm a falcon. I tend to look that way, especially to little birds."
"Where are we going now?"
"To my home."
"Where's that?"
"Enough questions for now."
Margalo cried as she was taken away from her home, where she'd lived all her life and had never left before. She wondered what this new bird was going to do to her. It didn't seem like he was going to hurt her. "I need to get back to that barn. My mother is in trouble."
"It was your mother in that barn?" Falcon asked. Of course, he knew that her mother was a goner, for he had been the one to damage her wing. But he wasn't going to tell Margalo that it had been his doing. Margalo nodded, tears dripping from her eyes onto his talons. Falcon wanted to upchuck the contents of his gizzard. Sentimentality made him sick! Still, he had to continue his act. "I'm afraid she's dead."
"Dead? No, I don't want her to be dead! I've already lost my father and siblings not too long ago!"
"Your mother never left that barn after that cat went into there. Surely she would have come looking for you if she were still alive."
Margalo knew, deep down, that the falcon was telling the truth. Her mother would never abandon her while she was alive. Then that meant... "Then she is dead! I'm an orphan!" she sobbed, bursting into tears and soaking the falcon's feathers as she sobbed.
"Looks like you're all alone in the world."
"I don't want to be alone! I want my mother."
"You can't have her, she's dead."
"I don't want her dead! I want her back!"
"Why did you leave her behind?" Falcon knew that Margalo had done the logical thing in running. Still, he enjoyed messing with her.
"I h-h-had to. That cat would have eaten me."
"So you left your mother to die?"
"I-I-I d-d-didn't w-w-want to!"
"But you did. You left your own mother to die. And now you can't have her back. You're not a very good little bird, are you?"
"My p-p-parents always said that I was good!" Margalo stammered. What Falcon had told her made her feel guilty. Had she been selfish, running away and saving her own skin and leaving her mother to die?
"I never knew my own parents. I just hatched one day and had to make it on my own." This was true. He'd had many days with little to no food as a hatchling, but had thankfully grown up in town where even a young falcon could find food without overly exhausting himself. As he'd gotten older, he'd taught himself how to fly, by observing other birds, and soon could hunt prey on his own. Having been long starved, he snuffed out the lives of many birds and rodents, gorging himself until he was a very large and powerful falcon. "You, on the other hand, just left your mother to die. Now you're all alone."
"But you're with me."
"Maybe I should leave you all alone. After all, you ran out on your mother and left her to die. You might leave me too."
"I p-p-promise I won't leave you!"
"Then I promise to take care of you. What is your name, little bird?"
"Margalo."
"Margalo. What a cute name."
After some time, the sun set. Margalo hated being alone in the dark in a strange place with a strange bird, but she was glad to be with somebody, rather than be all alone. The moon was at its waning crescent stage and barely emitted any light that night. Still, from what little light it gave, she could see the outline of a building up ahead. As she neared it, she saw that it was an abandoned old church, that didn't look like it had been used in a few decades. The place looked very eerie in the pale winter moonlight. "What is this place?"
"It's our home."
"Can't we go someplace else? This place looks scary."
"Perhaps you'd like to be on your own out there in the cold."
"No, I'm just afraid. Please don't let anything hurt me."
"Of course."
The falcon flew through a window, which once had colored glass panes, of which only the dusty and broken remained, and landed on a table. The table was dusty and covered in cobwebs. The canary recoiled in disgust. "Yuck! I hope there aren't any spiders here! I hate spiders!"
"No spiders here. It's winter."
Margalo saw the silhouettes of two dark objects nearby. "What-what are those?" she stammered.
"Falcon, that sounds like a female voice. Are you seeing someone?" came a voice.
"It's a kid, not a woman."
"I thought you said you'd never have kids," came another voice, this one a female.
"It's not my kid, you idiot! It's a little canary. She's a total basket case. Lost her mother to a cat today and I rescued her."
"Basket case, as in picnic basket?" asked the male voice gleefully.
Margalo, not knowing that the voice had been talking about eating her, replied "I like picnics. I'm so hungry. Could I please have some food?" Much to Margalo's shock, at what seemed to her a valid question, the two voices laughed. She didn't think she liked them, whatever they were.
"Not today, Donovan," Falcon said. "We can have a nice picnic soon, Margalo."
"Feeding toddlers now, Falcon?" the female said.
"Why shouldn't I, Cassandra? I figure she could prove very useful to us."
"What could a little helpless bird do?" asked Donovan.
"You fail to see into the future, to plan ahead. And that is why I am in charge of this operation and not you."
Margalo wondered who the falcon was talking to. "Who are you?" she asked what she could only assume were other birds.
The two birds came into her line of sight, revealing two ravens. She had never seen a raven before. "What's your name, girl?" Donovan asked her.
"Margalo," the canary replied timidly.
"Margalo. Cute name. And a cute little bird too. Yes, Falcon, I can see why you wanted her. She could make our work a lot easier. She could prove very useful," said Cassandra.
"I want to be useful," Margalo said happily, hoping that they'd like her. She didn't want them to think she was a bad bird and send her out into the cold all alone.
"Very good. We have a very special task we need your help with tomorrow. Tonight you can rest, and I'll get you Chinese," Falcon said.
"What's Chinese?"
"Great food. The only good thing that's made in China."
"I hope I like it."
"I do too. Because it's pricey, this stuff. And if you don't eat any of it and I waste dough on it, you're not getting anything for dinner!"
"I'll eat it. I promise."
"Good," Falcon said. "Now, Donovan, make yourself useful and go get us a bunch of Chinese. Get extra for little Margalo here as she's really hungry and we really appreciate her." He handed him $50, pulling from a stash that he kept hidden in an old rickety drawer.
"Where'd you get that money from?" Margalo asked.
"None of your business, at least for now!" Falcon snapped.
"Sorry, I was just curious."
"Curiosity killed the cat."
"I don't care. I don't like cats. One ate my mother."
"Sheesh, it's an expression!"
Half an hour later, Donovan returned with large quantities of Chinese food, with extra for Margalo. Margalo had never had so much food before. And it tasted so good. "What's that?" Margalo asked, pointing at one item.
"Eggroll," Casandra replied, munching on one of them.
"Egg? It's not really made of bird eggs, is it?"
"No. Just their gizzards." Margalo spat out her food in alarm. The two ravens laughed hard. "I'm just kidding! It's nothing to do with birds at all."
Margalo felt relieved and ate the rest of her food. When she was done, her gizzard was full and she felt sleepy. Her day had been very hard and, despite her sadness, she felt ready for bed. "I'm tired. Is there anywhere I can sleep?" she asked.
"Of course," Falcon said, leading her to silk blankets.
"Where'd you get those?" she asked.
"Bought them."
"Where do you get all this money?"
"You'll find that out soon enough. Now, enough questions for the night. It's time for little birds to go to bed. Oh, one last thing, I hope you're potty trained. I can't have you messing my blankets."
"I am."
"Good. Now go to sleep. Donovan, Cassandra, and I are going to play some poker."
"Poking each other sounds like a dumb game."
Falcon facepalmed. Why did she have to take everything literally? "it is a boring game that little birds wouldn't like, so off to bed for you," he said, shooing her away with one of his wings.
"Ok. Goodnight, Falcon, Cassandra, and Donovan."
"Goodnight," said Donovan.
"Don't let the bedbugs bite," said Cassandra.
"Don't worry, Falcon said that there are no bugs here in the winter," Margalo said, before closing her eyes and quickly falling asleep.
"Let's play over here, so we don't wake her up," Falcon said to the two ravens.
"I still don't see why we're keeping her and aren't sharing a canary cream pie instead," Donovan said.
"Always thinking with your gizzard, but never your brain," Falcon sighed. "We've had a job as it is not getting busted by the fuzz for breaking and entering and snatch and grabs. A cute thing like her would be a great distraction for us to snatch and grab even more stuff. And, even better, we can train her to join us."
The three went to their loot stash, pulling out their share of the sale of stolen goods and putting the money on the table. After dealing out the cards, Donovan said "You think she's up to it? In case you haven't noticed, she doesn't seem like the thieving type to me." He checked his cards. "Ha, beat you two!" he said, seizing the bets of the other two birds.
"Any bird can be trained," Cassandra said, putting down her cards.
"This one seems too sweet to be a thief," Donovan said. "Ug, you beat me Cassandra!" he moaned, giving his money to his wife.
"That's what we're going for. Let them think she's just a sweet little bird. Then we take them to the cleaners," Falcon said. "And speaking of taking to the cleaners, I'm glad I bet extra this time, as I got Aces." The other two groaned as Falcon took a large chunk of their money.
Margalo awoke the following morning and went looking for her mother. However, she only found Falcon and the two ravens. She began to cry again, as she had hoped that the death of her mother had only been a bad dream. Clearly, it had all been real. "What are you crying about?" Donovan asked, scowling.
"My mommy really is dead, I didn't dream it."
"Yes, she's dead, and she's going to stay dead, so it's time you moved on."
Margalo was angry at his rude remark and went to see Falcon. She saw him gazing down out a broken window at a truck on the street. It was a delivery vehicle for a jewelry store. "Ah, Margalo, just the bird I was looking for. Care to help me with something?"
"Of course. I love to help."
"Good. You see that guy down there by that truck?" he said, pointing at a security guard.
"Yep."
"I've seen him come there every day. He's really lonely as he has no friends. I bet he'd love it if you'd go down there and talk to him."
"I'd love to. But I have a problem."
"What's that?"
"I can't fly. Mom didn't live long enough for me to fully be trained."
"That's ok, I mean, it's bad that your mom died, but I can train you."
"Would you? Oh thank you!"
"Yes, anything for you."
"Since I can't fly, could you please bring me down there? I want to talk to the lonely man."
"Sure thing." Falcon flew the young bird down to the ground, placing her in front of the truck while the guard had his back turned. The back of the truck had been unlocked two minutes earlier. The guard had overslept and so had come to his shift carrying an apple and having eaten no breakfast. However, with the store not opening for another ten minutes, he had nothing else to do but wait till they opened and unloaded the goods. In the meantime, he ate his apple and drank his coffee. The guard had just stepped out of his car and had nearly stepped on Margalo, who cried out "Hey, don't stop on me!"
The guard looked down and saw him. "Hello, what are you doing here?"
"I came to see you. You are lonely."
"I am. This job is pretty lonely. Glad to see a nice face like yours. What's your name?" he asked. He wondered what a cute bird like this was doing on the road all by herself in the winter, when she seemed too young to be out of the nest. "You look like you're lost."
"My name is Margalo. No, I'm not lost, I live just..." Margalo paused, noticing Falcon rapidly shaking his head. Clearly, he didn't want the guy to know where he lived. Margalo thought the falcon may have had a point. She didn't know anything about this guy; he was a stranger. Her mother had always told her about stranger danger. Maybe telling the guy where she lived was a bad idea. "Never mind. You're a stranger. I guess I shouldn't tell you."
"That's ok. You don't have to tell me where you live. Just wondering why you're all alone. Can you fly yet?"
"Not yet."
"Where's your mother?"
"Dead. Cat ate her yesterday."
"Yesterday? On Christmas?"
"Yes." Margalo told him the story of what had happened, hoping that he wouldn't think her a bad bird for leaving her mother to die.
When she was done with his story, he said "That's terrible. How did you get away?"
"Well, before the cat could get me, the-"
The man turned from her, noticing out of the corner of his eye that the back of the truck was open and that all of the wares were gone. "I've been robbed!" he cried.
"Robbed? Somebody stole your stuff?"
"Yes. I'm afraid I'm going to have to go," the man said. He was going to see about getting Margalo a good home, for it wouldn't do to leave her out here. However, he was duty-bound to go to the police after a theft like this. "I'm sorry, Margalo. I'll try and see what I can do for you, after I've seen the police."
"Ok. Nice to talk to you."
"It was nice to talk to you too." the man said, before driving off in the truck.
Falcon landed beside her as soon as the man had left. While she and the man had been talking, he and the two ravens had stealthily flown down to the truck, opened the back, and quickly made off with all the goods. "Falcon, somebody robbed that nice man," she said sadly.
"I know. What a terrible world," Falcon said.
"Did you see who did it?"
"No, sadly I didn't," Falcon lied. "Now, let's go back up to the tower. You've done your good deed for the day by talking to the lonely man."
"He seemed like he wanted to see me again."
"Nah, he just said that. He's really busy. He just got robbed after all."
With Margalo's, albeit unwitting, help, the trio of birds had pulled off their best heist yet. And they appreciated Margalo, showring her with all sorts of gifts. Margalo still wondered where they got all the money, and Falcon just told her that, she would soon find out. But as days went by, she hadn't, though she had, unwittingly, helped the criminal bird trio pull off more heists.
While Falcon hadn't kept his word on telling her where he was getting the money, he did keep his word on giving her flying lessons. And he was a great teacher. Not only did he train her in flying off the ground, bu he even trained in fast dives. True, as a canary, Margalo couldn't reach anywhere near the diving speeds of a falcon, which were quite high, but still, she was amazed at how fast she could dive. This didn't come without a few crashes as she was learning, but Falcon took care of her. Margalo was starting to see him as a father figure. However, she noted that he didn't have the kind eyes of her mother or father, but cold, unfeeling eyes. No, his eyes almost reminded her of that of the Angora cat. But how could that be? The Angora cat had tried to kill her and had brutally killed and eaten her mother. Falcon had saved her from the cat, given her a save place to live, and even taught her how to fly.
About a week after she had learned to fly, Falcon took her aside after she had finished her dinner. "I think it's time for your first night mission," he said.
"What could I do at night? People are asleep. Nobody to talk to."
"I don't want you to talk to anyone this time. You know that there are people stealing things all over town."
"Yes, I've heard. Terrible people."
"Well, one of them came here, sometime before I brought you here, and stole something from me."
"Why would they steal from you? You're such a nice bird. And what did they take?"
"An 18 Karat ring."
"They told a ring and 18 carrots? That's bad about the ring though maybe they were just hungry when they took the carrots."
Falcon facepalmed. Again, she was taking things literally. "Never mind about the carrots, I can buy those, but I need that ring back."
"Why can't you or the ravens get it?"
"We're too big. They'd notice us."
"I'll get it for you."
"Good."
Margalo flew through an open window, which was open enough for only Margalo in the group to fit through. She was nervous, hoping that nobody would catch her. What might these mean thieves do to her if they caught her? The house was quiet and everyone was asleep. Falcon had taken her at midnight. She had never been up this late before, but she would do anything for the kind bird that had taken her in after her mother had been killed.
Margalo paused, spotting a photo of a two parents and a child. Her heart ached for her dead family and she paused, gazing at it for a moment. Then, she remembered why she'd come. It seemed odd to her that a family with a child would steal a ring from Falcon. They looked too nice in that photo to be thieves. Still, she didn't see why she should doubt the falcon, and so continued her search for the ring. After some searching, tiptoeing through the master bedroom of the adults, she found it, lying on a dresser. She flew up to it and slowly carried it toward the door of the room. However, she didn't see the cup of tea on a stand beside the door until it was too late. CRASH! The licks turned on. Margalo panicked, flying toward the window.
The man lunged at her, but she escaped him. The woman tried to grab her, and again she dodged. She headed right for the window, he heart beating in her chest. She dove, heading right for the window. The people seemed too far away. Surely she could make it and fly to safety. WHAM! A net caught her, trapping her against a wall.
"Got you, you stinking thief!" the mean snapped.
"I'm not the thief, you are!" Margalo snapped. "You stole this from the falcon and I'm taking it back!"
"No, this is our ring!" the woman said.
"You're a thief and we're going to have the police put you in a bird cage!" the man said,
Margalo was in a full panic now. Had the falcon lied to her? Was she going to go to jail? What would happen to her?
Outside the house, the three birds watched. "Well, she's failed. Let's get out of here," Donovan said.
"Yep, I agree. Margalo's failed. Better cut our losses and get out of here before they catch us," Cassandra said.
"No, I'm not giving up on her. Besides, now she really has no place else to go but with us," Falcon said.
He broke through the a window and barged into the room. The woman screamed, dropping the net that held Margalo. The canary flew toward the falcon, who grabbed her with his talons and took off. As the two flew back toward the tower, they heard police sirens in the distance. "They said that that ring was theirs. You lied to me!" Margalo snapped. She didn't believe they would have lied about the ring. And if they hadn't stolen it, that would make her the real thief. Also, as her mind raced, she began to put two and two together on the other heists as well. You were sending me to those other people so you could steal stuff. You've been using me!"
"That's right, you're such a sucker! And don't say you want a sucker, because you're not getting one!" Donovan laughed.
"You guys are thieves. You steal stuff from people!" Margalo snapped.
"Yes, and you just helped us do it. That makes you a thief too," Falcon reminded her. "You're a mother-deserting, thieving little bird. You think anyone else will take you in now?" Falcon said.
"I won't take anything for you ever again! I won't do it!" Margalo shouted.
"Oh really?" Falcon asked, smirking at her. He took her to the tower, opened a drawer, put her inside, and shut her in, leaving her in the dark. "I think a nice day-long stay in here without light, food, or water will give you a nice attitude adjustment!" Falcon said.
"Let me go! Let me go! You can't do this to me!"
"'You can't do this to me! You can't do this to me!'" he said mockingly, trying to mimic her voice. "Well, I believe I just did."
"Let me out of here!"
"Goodnight, Margalo," Falcon chuckled.
"Falcon, come back!"
Falcon ignored her and left the room, heading off to play poker with the two ravens, leaving her all alone in the dark.
The following morning, Falcon was flying around, looking for another target to loot, when he noticed a newspaper on a front step. Falcon he had taught himself to read. What had caught his eye was a headline Young canary believed to be prime suspect in string of robberies. "What's this?" he said. He read "Last night, a young canary tried to steal a valuable ring from a home at around midnight. Her attempt was foiled by the homeowners, who captured her. However, before the police could take her into custody, she escaped, aided by a falcon. After the police asked for information on the canary, they discovered that the canary, going by the name of Margalo, had been present around the time of all of the string of robberies over the past few weeks. Margalo and her falcon assistant remain at large." Falcon scowled. "Stinking bird just ruined our operation here!" He stole the newspaper from the front step and brought it back to the tower. He showed it to the ravens, who also could read. "I need you two to sell off our stuff as quickly and quietly as you can. Don't draw attention to our location. As soon as we can, we need to relocate. It's not safe to operate here anymore."
That night, Falcon released Margalo from her prison. "You're a big bully!" she shouted. Her voice was hoarse from crying and shouting all night to let her go. "I'm leaving here and never coming back!"
"Oh really," Falcon said bemusedly. "And where would you go, besides jail?" He showed her the newspaper article. He had taught Margalo how to read. Reading was a skill one would need to steal items and sell them on the black market for a decent price, which was the only reason he had taught her. She read it and began to cry.
"You tricked me! You got me to help you steal all those things for you!"
"I don't think they'll see it that way. Either you can come with us when we leave town, or you can spend years in a nice little birdcage!"
Margalo hated how Falcon had manipulated her to steal for him and now was manipulating her to stay with him. Still, she felt that the falcon was right. She was still too young to make it on her own and she didn't think anyone would take her in now. Who would want a mother-deserter and a thief? "Ok," she sighed. "I'll help you." It tore her up inside to do something she knew was wrong, but she felt so trapped.
"Good, good." Falcon said. He brought her some food, which she hungrily ate. It wasn't as good as he had been giving her, but she still ate it anyway. Her only gave her snow to drink. "Perhaps if you're nicer, I can give you nicer things."
After the ravens sold all of the loot, the group left in the middle of the night. They traveled only at night for the next few days, wanting to get as far away from the police as they could. They only stopped for the day in places. It was in one of these places, a town called Ames, where Margalo learned another terrible truth about Falcon.
Falcon hadn't been eating as well as he normally did. They were too tired from flying all night to really order any food. All of them were hungry. Falcon spotted movement near an old tree stump. "Mice!' he cried.
"What about them?" Margalo asked. Falcon ignored her and made a speedy dive at the tree stump, hitting it with some speed and breaking open the wood, which was partially rotten. The three mice inside gazed at the falcon in horror. Margalo and the two ravens landed beside Falcon, as he advanced toward them. "Falcon, what are you doing?" she asked.
"Run Harriet!" the mouse parents cried to their daughter. The mouse moved a few feet back, then paused. Falcon zoomed forward, impaling the two adult mice with his talons.
Margalo stood there, horrified. She was reliving an old nightmare: the day her mother died. Only now, Falcon was the Angora cat. "Don't worry, this won't hurt, too much," Falcon said to Harriet.
Margalo had known that Falcon was evil for a few days, but now she saw him in a whole new light: a parent killer. He was the Angora cat all over again! The Angora cat! She had defeated the cat with the pin, which she still had! Harriet turned to run, but the Falcon would get her in the end. He would be too fast. She couldn't let that happen! "No, I won't let you!" the canary bellowed, sticking him with the pin. This action of hers allowed the mouse, who kept running without looking back, to get to safety. However, it would also cost her very dearly.
The Falcon removed the pin, which had a trickle of blood on it, and tossed it aside. He loomed over the canary, who slowly backed away in alarm. "Was that your best shot?" he sneered. "Now let me show you mine!" WHOOSH! Margalo couldn't react as his sharp talons pierced her wing, injuring it and drawing lots of blood. "You lost me my meal! I was going to get three mice! Never, ever, attack me! Next time, I'll slice you and leave you to die!" he bellowed. "Cassandra! Donovan! Take this little diva away while I have my dinner! She's not getting food for the next four days for this outrage!"
As the two ravens carried her off, none too gently, she saw the Falcon moving over the dead mice to eat them. When she was returned to their hideout, they let her bandage her wing, but then locked her up in an old jar. Falcon sneered at her as she stared at him. "Well, I got some food for the night. Too bad you don't get any."
"I hate you!" she shouted.
"So I'm a carnivore. Is that a crime?" he snapped.
"You existing is a crime!" she shouted back at him.
"Oh boo hoo, cry me a river!"
The group continued to move from place to place, heading further south. Falcon was now looking for a good place for a new hideout. None of these places around here were good enough for his standards. Margalo soon learned that Falcon not only ate mice, but birds as well. She learned this when she saw him maul a robin to death. "Yes, I eat birds. Be thankful you're not one of them."
Margalo wasn't so sure about that. She had come to regret having escaped the Angora cat. She could have died and gone to Heaven with her family. Now, after all the things she had done, she wasn't sure she would even be let in. At last, one night, she and the group came to a tall building in a very large town. It was the Pishkin Building in New York City. "Perfect," Falcon said.
"I like this place. A lot of good places to eat," Donovan said.
"And a lot of things to steal," Cassandra said.
"Yes, and, unlike those small towns, the cops will be too busy to worry about four thieving birds," Falcon said.
"Four?" Margalo asked.
"Yes, it's time you helped out in earnest. I'm going to teach you how to con others. And I expect you'll go along with it. You wouldn't want to defy me, would you?" Falcon asked.
Margalo had seen Falcon kill those mice and that bird. She was afraid of him. "No, I'll do what you want," she sighed in resignation.
And so, over the next several years, she helped the Falcon and the ravens do their dirty work, conning unsuspecting people out of their valuables. A few times, she'd narrowly escaped capture, but she was never caught yet. One day, Falcon had spotted a school building. What stood out to him was that the mouse had a car that he was driving. "Where did he get that from? Perhaps he has some decent goods," Falcon said to himself. "Margalo," he said to the now 12-year old canary.
"Yes, Falcon," she sighed.
"Follow that mouse home. I think he has some things I'd like to have."
"And how should I go about this?"
"Pretend to have broken your wing. I'll come along and you can say I did it."
"Alright," she sighed.
And, as told in Stuart Little 2, the mouse, Stuart Little, took her to his house. He and the family befriended her and took her places such as baseball games. She had been with people before, but had only played them to get their items, feeling that they could never like her. But this family was different, especially the mouse Stuart Little. She was certain she had a crush on him. Even the cat, Snowbell, seemed ok. She had been tense when he had warned Stuart that she might be a vagrant or a thief. She wondered if he suspected her true intentions of coming. However, it didn't seem so. She found him unlike any cat she knew. He had tried to hiss at her to intimidate her, but she thought it more pathetic than intimidating. Clearly, he was just a harmless house cat, she thought. She had no idea, of course, that he was the boyfriend of the Angora cat that had killed her mother.
She had grown closer to Stuart, even going to a drive thru movie (really just a movie screen in the Little's back yard) in Stuart's car. She wondered if she would be allowed to fall in love and live a happy life. Then, of course, Falcon had come and ruined it all. He came upon her alone, when she was bathing in a bird bath. He told he knew about her and Stuart, that she was foolish to have a friend that he could eat, and that if she didn't go through with the scheme to steal a ring from the Littles, that he would eat Stuart for his lunch.
And so Margalo, with a very heavy heart, had stolen the ring from Mrs. Little when she had set it aside to wash dishes. Once she had the ring, she flew out the window. Strangely, the Littles didn't suspect her, as she feared they might, when a stranger stays at ones house for some days and then an item goes missing. Instead, they thought that it had fallen down the drain. She was thinking of leaving, when she noticed that Stuart had gone the drain after it and that the thing he had been lowered on had snapped. She left the ring outside and flew in and rescued him. The family was grateful that Stuart had been rescued. She overheard Mrs. Little stating that she would be very devastated if anything happened to Stuart. And Margalo, thus, knew that she had to act. Falcon would certainly kill Stuart the following day if she didn't. And so, that night, with the family all asleep, she went to Stuart's bedroom and put the jeweled pin of her late mother's beside him. This house had felt more like home than anywhere she'd been since her barn home in Connecticut. She wanted to leave it for him to remember her by. Besides, she figured, it was meant by her mother to be an heirloom, but that, if her mother were alive now, she wouldn't want her mother-deserting, lying, thief daughter to have it. Best to let the kind mouse have it. And so, she left, her heart heavier than it had been since the day her mother had died.
"Well done Margalo," Falcon said as she gave him the ring.
Margalo said nothing. She was trying to hold back tears. "What's the matter with her?" Cassandra asked.
"She had a boyfriend that I could eat. So I made her break up with him and take a ring. Hardly romantic, don't you think Cassandra? Usually the guy gives the girl the ring and she gets the guy, but here, the girl took the ring and left the guy," Falcon laughed.
"Relationship totally over!" Donovan chortled.
"Margalo is mine! Now and forever! She doesn't need anyone else," Falcon declared.
Margalo wanted to argue. But she was too beaten down. Too afraid.
The two ravens were loading up items to carry to sell on the black market. "Oh, take this ring too, before Margalo has second thoughts and tries to return it," Falcon said, extending the ring out with a talon. Margalo wanted to grab it, but she was too afraid. The last time she'd defied Falcon like that, he'd slashed open her wing.
"Sorry, talons too full," Donovan said.
"Don't worry, we'll come back and deal with it on the next round," Cassandra said. They typically sold items once every two days.
"Good, and Margalo can go with you to sell it," Falcon said.
Margalo sometimes had gone with them before when selling items to the black market. She hated it every time. Those the birds associated with were very shady, and it made her gizzard queasy being around them. She knew why Falcon was going to make her go in two nights. It was so that he could force her to personally get rid of her ties to Stuart. By selling off the family ring, she would be giving Stuart the biggest backstab ever in return for his friendship. She wanted to shout "No!" and refuse to go, but she knew all that would result in would be her getting locked away for a few days and the two ravens selling the ring anyway.
About ten minutes after the ravens had departed, the two heard someone enter the tower. To her dismay, she saw that it was Stuart. "It's your boyfriend," Falcon jeered. "He was most unwise to come here. I guess I'll have to go welcome him."
Margalo's gizzard was really in knots now. Falcon did not take kindly to creatures trespassing in his lair. Those who were foolish enough to enter it often left it as falcon poop. Get out of here Stuart! she thought.
"Margalo? Margalo? You up here? Is anybody here?" Stuart called.
Falcon landed near him. " I'm here."
Stuart aimed his bow and arrow at Falcon. "I came for my friend Margalo. If you've hurt her, I'll..."
"You'll what?"
"You better tell me right now. Is she alright?"
"Why don't you ask her yourself, Whiskers? Margalo?"
Margalo felt that she needed to come clean and walked behind Stuart.
"Margalo. Margalo, run! Fly away while I've got him covered. What are you waiting for?!"
Margalo sad nothing and only gave him a sad look. How she wanted to do just that.
Falcon sneered at Stuart. "Oh, this kid's priceless. Tell me, Cheese-face, does any of this sound familiar? 'Oh, my wing. I don't think I can fly.'"
Margalo felt horrid. She knew Falcon was revealing the truth to destroy their relationship and to hurt the two of them mentally as much as he could.
"What are you talking about?"
"I can't drill through the wood. She scammed you, okay? She played you like a harp."
Stuart was heartbroken. She knew that he had to be hoping Falcon was lying. "Margalo, what does he mean?"
"Okay, now it's getting sad. Maybe this will clear things up." He held up the ring in his talons.
Stuart was shocked. "My mom's ring."
"I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you." Margalo felt so full of guilt.
"But, Margalo, why?"
"Don't be upset, mouse boy. She has conned smarter than you. Or did you think you were special? A real friend?"
Margalo hated his mocking tone. "I didn't lie about that, Stuart. You are my friend." She expected him to lash out at her, to call her a liar, to say that he hoped the falcon ate her. What he said instead shocked both her and Falcon.
"Then come with me."
Falcon had enough of this! No way was he going to let a stupid rodent take his slave from him. He snatched up Staurt with his talons. "She's not going anywhere!"
Stuart was furious. "Oh, yes, she is!" He fired at arrow, hoping to hit him in one of his eyes. However, he misjudged his shot and it instead harmlessly bounced off of his beak.
"Was that your best shot? Now, let me show you mine!" He carried Stuart out of his lair and outside the building.
Margalo was horrified. "Don't hurt him, Falcon!"
"I won't hurt him. The Sidewalk will!"
"Can't we talk this over?" The mouse pleaded. However, Falcon released Stuart, sending him falling towards the streets below while screaming
Margalo's heart beat in her chest. She raced toward the mouse. "No, Stuart!" However, Falcon seized ahold of her with her talons and flew with her back toward the building. "Let me go! No, Falcon! NO!"
Falcon callously dropped her into a paint can, sealing it shut. "A few days in here should provide you with an attitude adjustment."
He left her. And she now felt more alone than ever. Stuart had died, just like those mice in Aimes. And it was all her fault! She was responsible for the death of Stuart Little! She sobbed. "Oh Stuart, what have I done?" She hated that falcon! He was an Angora cat with wings! She wished she had her pin with her so that she could plunge it through her heart and end the pain.
A few minutes later, as she was still lamenting, she heard what sounded like Snowbell the cat. "Snowbell, is that really you?" she asked.
"Margalo, where are you?"
"In the can."
"Oh, ok, I'll wait."
Margalo facepalmed with both of her wings. "No, in the paint can!"
"Oh. Why are you in there? Is this some kind of trick?"
"Just get me out!"
"Is Stuart in there too?"
This only made Margalo cry all the more. "No, Snowbell, he's dead."
"What? Stuart is dead?" the cat gasped in grief.
"Falcon killed him."
"No, it can't be! I, I was supposed to protect him! I wish it was me who had been killed!"
It's all my fault! Margalo thought miserably. Don't blame yourself, Snowbell. "Really?"
"No, but I am very unhappy."
"Snowbell, it's my fault, not yours."
"What are you talking about?"
"I came to your house to steal. You were right, I was a thief."
"You were? Why you rotten, little...!"
"Falcon told me to do it."
"And you do whatever he asks all the time?"
"You don't know what it's like living with Falcon for years! He's a scary guy."
"For years? My pal Monty is afraid of being by him for even a second, and he's an street cat!"
"Yes, I've always been so afraid of him. He once ripped open my wing with his talons."
"Eeek! I can see why you're terrified of him. Let's get out of here before he comes back."
"No, I can't leave. I've gone too far. And Stuart's dead. I can't go back to the Littles now."
"Why not? At least if you say it's your fault, then they won't think I ate him. Then at least there'd be a silver lining for one of us."
Margalo rolled her eyes. Still, she had to hand it to him. Snowbell could come up with a witty remark even in the most tragic of circumstances.
"That miserable Falcon!" Snowbell snapped, trying to pry open the can and free Margalo. "From this day forward, I vow revenge. If that falcon were here right now, I'd rip his throat out, scratch his face off! I'd..." He pulled the lid off and, due to the law of equal and opposite reactions, went flying away as Margalo broke free.
Margalo was free of the can, at least. But she was still too afraid to break free of Falcon's control. And speaking of Falcon, the two heard an ominous "EEEEEEEK!" cry. "Snowbell, that's him!" she cried.
"Don't hurt me! Kill the bird!" Snowbell cried, losing his courage as fast as a career politician when asked by the people to go against special interest donors. He dove into the paint can that he'd just freed Margalo from. "I'm gonna be falcon poop!"
Well, I can see why he's single! Margalo thought.
Falcon flew into the room. "Well, well, well. The canary is out of her cage. And how nice! She's brought a friend for dinner!"
He eats cat now?! Margalo thought in disgust.
"Too bad I don't like canned food!" he said, whacking the can with his talons and causing it to roll down stairs.
"Snowbell, get out!" Margalo cried.
Snowbell couldn't escape and rolled down the steps, outside the tower, and to the very edge of the building. Falcon flew out to the can, placing his talons against it, preparing to push.
Margalo watched in horror. Her mind raced. He was going to kill Snowbell, just like he'd killed those mice in Aimes, like he'd killed Stuart Little. The Littles had already lost Stuart and now they were about to lose Snowbell. She couldn't just watch another death. But she was so afraid of Falcon. She remembered all too well what happened the last time she defied Falcon and what he vowed to do to her if she did it again. It was at that moment that a conversation between her and her mother so long ago came to her mind.
I'm afraid.
It's ok to be afraid. But you need to face your fears. Or else you'll always be afraid and never happy.
Falcon! You've done enough! No more! she thought. She flew down to confront him. "Don't do it Falcon, or else!"
"Do what? What's he doing?" came Snowbell's panicked voice from inside the can.
Falcon turned to face Margalo. "Or what?" Margalo, don't do this! I can make you pay like last time! he thought angrily.
"Or else you lose this," she said, pulling out Mrs. Little's ring.
"Put that down, Margalo!" Falcon fumed, advancing toward her.
"I've through doing what you tell me to do! I'm leaving you, Falcon, forever!"
Falcon snarled. "Oh, and what do you think you'll be without me?"
"Free!" She then took off with the ring.
"Big mistake!" Falcon thought. You're going to die, just like your mother! he thought. He turned to the paint can. "I'll be back for you furball!"
"Don't hurry!" Snowbell replied.
Falcon flew after Margalo, quickly gaining on her. "EEEEEEK!" He let out an attack cry. He stretched out his talons.
Margalo knew that she couldn't outfly a falcon. Still, she figured she might as well die now here free than live the rest of her life as Falcon's slave. She thought of her mother, figuring she'd be seeing her in person any moment now. She thought she heard what sounded like a lawn mower. In the air? What?! she thought.
Right before Falcon could impale her, a plane came by and she quickly got into it. Much to her delight, she found that it was being driven by Stuart Little.
And, as was told in Stuart Little 2, a chase ensued throughout the city. Eventually, they thought that they'd gotten away.
"I think we lost him!" Stuart said.
At that moment, bird talons sank into the plane. "Going up!" Falcon said. He carried the plane upward. "A mouse needs to know his limitations!" He pulled off the top wings of the plane.
The plane began to plummet. "Stuart, pull up!" Margalo cried.
"I can't, it's stuck!"
"Well try harder!"
"Margalo, get out! Save yourself!"
No, she wouldn't abandon him! He was the one who had shown the most care for her since her mother had died. "No, Stuart! If we go, we go together!"
At the last moment, Stuart pulled up and the plane pulled back up. Falcon looked down on them in disgust. "You should have stayed in your little hole, mouse boy!" he said. "EEEEEK!"
"Stuart, we can't outrun him!" Margalo said.
"Then we'll just have to face him!"
"It's too dangerous! I won't let you do it!"
"But I have to try! I'll be back for you later!"
"What do you mean?" Her question was answered a second later as he flipped the plane around, causing her to fall out. She hovered in the air as he began to turn the plane around. "Stuart, don't do it!" Nobody had ever stood up to P. Falcon like this and lived.
"The party's over, fur face!" Falcon said, as he swooped toward the mouse.
Margalo watched Stuart go nearer and nearer to Falcon. Suddenly, he raised Mrs. Little's ring, reflecting sunlight into Falcon's eyes. The bird couldn't react in time as Stuart sent the plane at him, jumping out with a parachute at the last second. Falcon was hit by the plane, which broke apart when it hit him, shaving off a bunch of his wings and causing him to plummet. She saw the falcon fall toward a garbage can, with a cat below lurking nearby. She figured that Falcon would die now, a befitting end for him. But she couldn't focus on Falcon anymore as she saw the plane's wings sever Stuart's parachute. However, as he fell, she caught the ring, which he held, and flew away with him, taking him to safety. The two landed on the ground.
"Stuart! Are you ok?" Mr. Little, asked, running toward them.
"Margalo saved me!"
"We saved each other!" Margalo said. More than he knows. she thought. She watched the family talk to each other. Maybe someday she could have a family like that. "Mrs. Little, this belongs to you," she said, pulling out the ring.
"My ring."
"Yeah. I took it."
"And now, she's giving it back," Stuart said.
Margalo figured the Littles would be mad at her now, now that they knew the truth. However, what Mrs. Little said shocked her. "I'm just happy to have all of you back!"
All included her! And so, very happy, she went home with the Littles.
Mrs. Little phoned the police when they got back. Margalo gave witness to the crimes of Falcon, Donovan, and Cassandra. The police did talonprint her, though they didn't arrest her. They said that it was to ensure, that, if she was involved in any more crimes, that they'd be able to use the talonprints to trace them to her. She, of course, vowed that she'd never do crime again, now that she was free.
An hour later, after the sun had set, Donovan and Cassandra returned to the Pishkin Building. They looked around. Something didn't feel right.
"Falcon?" Cassandra called.
"Margalo?" Donovan called.
"Freeze!" The two turned to see several NYPD officers. "Cassandra and Donovan, you are under arrest for the crime of grand theft! Put your wings in the air, now!" one of the cops said.
"How'd you find us?" Donovan asked.
"A little birdie told us," one of the cops said.
"Margalo!" the two ravens cried.
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say..." another officer began.
"I don't think so!" Cassandra said.
"We're flying the coop! Bye bye!" Donovan said.
The two flew toward the exit of the building. The cops fired, but, unfortunately, all of the shots missed. Donovan pooped one of the cop's heads he passed by. This cop happened to be the leader of the unit.
One of his underlings turned to him and said "I told you that we should have brought in the helicopter!"
Donovan, meanwhile, said to his wife "So, do you think they got Falcon?"
"Possibly. But if they did, I thought for sure he'd make bail."
"Maybe they considered him a flight risk." The two chuckled at the joke as they flew off.
The following day, Margalo and Stuart watched birds flying in the air. "I guess they're flying south for the winter, huh?" Stuart said.
"I guess," she sighed.
"You've always dreamed of going, haven't you? But Falcon never let you."
"Every year, I'd just watch all the other birds go, the ones who were free."
"You're free."
"Stuart, we'd be so far apart."
"It wouldn't change a thing," he said, putting his arm around her.
And Margalo had left, promising to come back in the spring and that she cared for them all. She was as free as a bird, with a life full of silver linings.
However, alas for her, with all of those silver linings came one dark cloud: Falcon was not dead.
He had encountered Monty the Mouth, who had knocked over the trash can to try and get at him. Any other bird. including Donovan and Cassandra, would not have survived the encounter in his position. But as Monty had stared at the cat, the bird said "Hello there, kitty!"
"Falcon?" Monty gasped. He backed away instinctively in alarm.
Falcon had used the opportunity to run for it. Monty had taken a snap at him, but missed. Falcon had jumped onto a tax, landing on the bumping and speeding away as he had cried "So long kitty!"
Monty had at first felt stupid for being unable to kill the Falcon. However, as he had thought if "At least I met the Falcon and lived to tell the tale."
Falcon set up shop in the countryside, getting by until his wings had regrown. Eventually, lacking Donovan and Cassandra, he had found crow minions, with whom he hoped to set up his new crime syndicate out here. However, as told in Little Bit of Country, he encountered Stuart, as well as Snowbell and Monty. He had tried to kill all three, only to end up stuck in a chicken pen. He had stayed in there, half starved, for days until finally rescued by animal control and released in Pennsylvania. He again nursed himself back to health, this time setting up shop in East Greenville, Pennsylvania.
A year after his last encounter with Stuart, he encountered Donovan and Cassandra again. "Hey Falcon, what happened to you?" Donovan asked.
He explained. When he finished, Cassandra said "Glad you're still alive."
"Yes, I am, no thanks to that rat and Margalo!"
"We tried to find her, but she apparently left the Littles," Donovan said.
"Yes, otherwise we'd have ripped out her gizzard!" Cassandra said.
"Let's set up shop here," Falcon said.
"What about the mouse and the squealing pigeon?"
"Forget Stuart. As long as he stays in New York, I'm not going to go after him. But Margalo. If I ever see her again, I'll kill her!" he vowed.
Author's Note: This chapter was intended to showcase the two main villains: Falcon, who we already know from Stuart Little 2, and Menika, the Angora Cat. It was my intention to reveal the true villainous nature of Menika here, something not shown in the previous chapter. As for Falcon's treatment of Margalo, it had to be brutal in order to showcase that the Margalo from Stuart Little 2 was not merely a bird with questionable morals, but very like the Margalo from the book. Her criminal behavior was due to her being used to doing whatever would make Falcon happy for so long that she had nearly lost the willpower to resist him. She was a victim of Stockholm Syndrome Plus, as far as she knew, Falcon couldn't be all evil, as he saved her life and raised. That he had come to the barn intending to kill her was something she didn't know about. And while the opening chapter branches out into Stuart Little from Snowbell's perspective, this chapter branched out into Stuart Little 2 from Margalo's perspective. Future chapters will, most likely, be in the present time (that of Stuart Little 4, or a year after Stuart Little 3.)
I know this deviates from what Margalo told Stuart about her having lived in a jewelry box, but, very likely, she, being sent to steal jewelry, just invented that on the spur of the moment. As for Margalo stating that one day, her mother was just gone, I decided to have her eventually start telling herself that. Though a lot of the chapter focuses on Margalo, I thought it appropriate to fill in the gaps in the canon story with Falcon as well.
In this chapter, I decided to introduce another protagonist of this story, Harriet Ames.