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Fiction. © Copyright 1999, Jim Loy
The young bird was mostly white with a black head and neck. She had long skinny legs and a long bill that curved downward. She waded in the shallow water, carefully lifting one foot, and then setting it back down so slowly that she did not even stir up the muddy bottom. Then she saw a shape moving through the water, a juicy fish. She was about to catch the fish in her mouth, when she saw another bird out of the corner of her eye.
A soft voice said, "Go ahead and catch your fish." She recognized her grandfather's voice.
The fish was still there in front of her. She caught the fish with a quick lunge with her beak. She pulled her head out of the water. The fish struggled in her mouth. She mumbled, because of the fish in her mouth, "Woo yoo lye suh uh my fih?" What she meant was, "Would you like some of my fish?" She said that to her grandfather. She felt sorry for her grandfather, as he was probably too slow and weak to catch a fish of his own.
Here grandfather understood her mumbling, as he was used to listening to birds with fish in their mouths. "No, you earned your fish. When you are through eating, there is something I want to show you."
She gulped down the fish, which was still struggling as it slid down her throat. And she followed her grandfather over toward a large stone building.
Her grandfather asked, "Have you heard of the Sacred Ibis?"
She nodded, "Yes. But I don't know what it is."
Her grandfather pointed his wing at the wall of the building. There on the wall was an ancient egyptian word that looked like this:
She said, "That bird looks like me, except that the legs are a little short."
Her grandfather said, "Yes. I used to look like that. That is the name of the ancient Egyptian god Thoth. That word was written 3000 years ago."
"Am I a Sacred Ibis?"
"We are. It is the name of our species."
"Are we gods?"
"No, I don't think so. And I think I would have noticed that kind of thing. But we do have a proud history. So do these people around us. They are the descendants of kings."
She saw some children, playing in the dirt.
They walked back to the water. She looked around for some more fish. And she was thinking about history, and gods, and kings. And she had gained some respect for her grandfather.
She heard a splash, behind her. Her grandfather mumbled, "Woo yoo lye suh uh my fih?"