In a tall tree, behind a long meadow, where the sun was shining from the blue sky and the wind blew warmly from afar, two titmice were sitting on a branch. One is a little taller with a yellow belly, little black muzzle and red wingtips. The second one is a bit smaller and has green-ginger-brown plumage. How unusual were these colors of these little titmice! Whenever she gently exposed them to the sun, they shimmered and gently reflected the rays, as if sprinkled with dust from the most precious stones.
And so these birds sat and chirped together. They chirped about what they saw, what they had recently experienced and who they met along the way. And they always did it on the same favorite twig, at the edge of the woodlet.
Each titmice with its little bill open listened to the other. Sometimes they laughed together at each other’s stories. Another time, one of them covered the other with a feather wing, or when one of them was drooping with sadness because the story was not a happy one, the other titmouse jumped, hop, hop, hop on the twig, closer to her friend and lifted the other one’s head with her head.
And that’s how they often stayed on their branch and shared everything.
However, they could not always be found there. Sometimes they went on a trip together to experience something. They did it a bit crazy, haphazardly, scattershot. They did not always check what exactly awaited them where they were flying. They did not ask the wise old owl where they could stop on this journey, they did not check the detailed maps of the area with the meticulous ants. They only asked other titmouses and other birds whether the place they wanted to visit was safe and if they heard that it was, they set off on a long journey. Preferably the next day! Right away, immediately! They were so impatient when it came to adventures!
Later, after the entire trip, they returned to the twig, laughed and remembered the distant places they had visited together. They replayed in their heads and conversations everything that happened to them along the way.
– Do you remember how I told you to take winter feathers with you on the road, because it’s cold where we’re going, and you didn’t do it? Hahaha, what a face you had when you saw those snow-capped mountain peaks on a distant continent!
– And the other time I told you to take some grains with you because you might need them there? And you didn’t do it and we ended up eating mine? Hahaha, I felt like your mother then.
– Do you remember those other titmice? How we danced in a circle over the fire with them? It was so beautiful there! and the lakes that were around there. The water there was amazing. I would like to learn to swim in it someday!
However, they did not always fly somewhere together. Although the yellow and red titmouse loves adventures, it stayed at home more often, near its beloved twig. The wind took the green-red-brown one somewhere with it more often. There were times when they didn’t see each other for months. However, no matter how long the separation lasted, they always sat back on their twig and chirped with the same pleasure. They chirped for hours. Sometimes until late at night. And then they would flew somewhere together again, even if they were flying next to single twigs, near a tall tree, behind a long meadow.
They liked each other so much because one always listened to the other. And they listened to each other sincerely, carefully, with interest and without judgment, but always trying to understand. They knew they could count on each other and, most importantly, they simply liked each other. As they are. Even though they had different feathers, they were actually a bit similar.
Look between the twigs of tall trees and see if they are flying somewhere together or separately. Call and invite them if you meet one or both of them. Maybe you will feel the titmice’ legs on your shoulder and you will have the opportunity to ask about their latest adventures. Who knows… maybe you’ll even experience something together that they can chirp about later while sitting on their favorite twig!
