"What things do you say when you sing? Is all your singing related to territory, mating, and food, or do you ever sing of other things?"
-=-
"But why do the humans think you have pots of gold, or wishes, or whatever other nonsense? Are there none that have ever been friends with your people?"
"Well, I am grieved at how your people have suffered, and I understand how I might not be welcomed among them. It is a pity, for given half a chance, I think we could learn much from one another. Are there any other ways I might be of service to you and yours?"
"Are there any other folk in the woods that might enjoy sharing a song or story together?"
"Other things? Sometimes I thank the maker for my territory, mate, and food. Sometimes I sing warning to my mate that there is a predator in the area, whether a bird hunter or an egg stealer. What else is there?"
*****
"Why? Why do humans think anything at all? They find that we're hard to catch, and figure that we must use magic, and then they think that magic can do anything at all, so we must be able to conjure untold wealth, magical healing of whatever ails them, or anything else they can imagine. Many of my kin have escaped the grasp of a human by making unbelievable promises that the humans then stupidly believe--begging your pardon, I'm sure. As if a pot of gold would be any use to someone living in the woods!"
"To my thinking, the best service you could do to me and mine would be to forget you ever saw me and never mention it to anyone. The sooner humans stop believing we're out here, the safer we'll all be."
"Sharing a song or story? Well, you've heard the bird sing, and I dare say there are other birds with other songs. And there's a fellow comes through from time to time, with a stringed instrument that's not a fiddle, who sings stories to the humans that camp in the woods not far from here. But what's a story but a lie told to distract?"
--M. J. Young
"What of the beauty of the forest, or of the great waters you fly over when you follow the sun, or of the rising sun's warmth on a chilly morning, or of the coolness of a breeze on a warm afternoon?"
-=-
"Some stories can be for such base things, but not all. Stories may recall worthy events of the past, such as Beren Briarfoot and Princess Alyna. Stories may convey great truths by illustration or parable. And the stories that folk treasure in their hearts help me understand and know them better. Is it not so?"
Your suggestions of what else there is seem only to confuse the bird. The word for "beauty" appears to suggest primarily sexual attractiveness in a mate; changes in temperature are not other than facts about the world that must be endured; he doesn't really pay attention to ground where he cannot land other than to keep going until he finds a place where he can.
*****
"You have a strange idea of the use of stories, stranger. But then, if you're right, that knowing someone's stories helps you understand them, that would be all the more reason why you shouldn't tell your stories to strangers--understanding others lets you control them, and so being understood makes you controllable."
--M. J. Young
"Thank you for talking with me. Is there any way that I may be of service to you?"
-=-
"But do you not share stories among your people? Why bother with ever speaking of Beren Briarfoot and Princess Alyna, even amongst yourselves, if it is nothing but a lie to distract?"
"I suppose that you have a point about control... but I love and serve the LORD my God by loving and serving those around me as best I can. Bridging the gap from strangers to friends won't happen unless someone is willing to reach out, and risk, and be vulnerable. So I freely initiate taking such risk, in the hope that others will also. And you are a good example. With all that your folk have suffered from humans, you would scarcely be inclined to initiate such risk with me. The only hope, slim though it might be, is if I do so first. Is it not so?"
"Do you know where there is any food close at hand?"
*****
"All right, then--you first. Tell me your story."
--M. J. Young
"What do you like to eat?"
-=-
"Ah, but I already did... though there are many hidden treasures within it that are worthy of further detail. You heard the song I sang when we first met. Have you ever heard the like of it before? What did you glean from it? For that song is the heart and soul of my story..."
"Food".
It appears that the bird's language does not have a different word for whatever it is.
*****
"Aye, but a rather sketchy tale it was. Where were you lost, when were you blind, and what dangers have you faced? It's hardly a proper tale. It's a bit like saying, 'I went somewhere and something happened and I came back.' Where did you go, and what happened? Or did I miss something?"
--M. J. Young
"I'm sorry, but my food is different than your food. I don't know where your food is."
-=-
"Ah, good questions all. Very well then, let us be sure we understand together the context of my story..."
"Now, you previously mentioned your Beren Briarfoot and Princess Alyna. Therefore, I take it that your people are organized into a kingdom, and ruled by a king. Is this so?"
"How are you ruled, then? What is your law? If your king gives a command, is it to be obeyed, or is it to be ignored?"
"Odd. I see creatures eating what is not food sometimes, and was glad they did not know what food was; but I never considered that something might be food for them that was not food."
*****
"Ruled? The King's job is to make sure everyone has food and shelter, and can enjoy life. If we find anything that might be used for trade, such as human coins or jewelry, we give it to him so he can use it to get what we need if necessary. He's required to play the fiddle for our dances, and to know the songs to keep us entertained. But we have no law, if I understand the way you use that word."
--M. J. Young
"What creatures do you see in these woods?"
-=-
I consider thoughtfully.
"Do each of you have jobs, or things that you are required to do?"
"I see two-legs, four-legs, snakes, and birds; I see predators and harmless. Two-legs are usually harmless, but they are egg-stealers sometimes. Most four-leg predators can't reach a nest easily, so only have to be watched when getting food. Predator birds are the dangerous ones."
*****
"Well, we all have our jobs, that is, what we have to do. I have to keep my woman happy and fed, and get food and clothes for her children. That's my main job."
--M. J. Young
"Are all of the two-legs about my size? Are any much larger or smaller? Do any look much different, as if they are a different type of creature than I? Do any of them fly?"
-=-
"Why do you have to do anything? What if you didn't do your job? Or what if your king didn't do his?"
"Oh, yes, all of the two-legs are bigger than birds, even bigger than predator birds; but no, if they fly they must be birds. That's just obvious. The ability to fly is the definition of a bird."
*****
"If I didn't make sure that my woman and her children were clothed and fed, she'd be very angry, and she's not so easy to live with when she's angry, and she's not so easy to escape, neither. As to the king, I suppose if he couldn't do his job we'd get another king. I really don't understand what you're about in all this."
--M. J. Young
"What of insects, or of bats?"
-=-
"Ah, this all has to do with my story, the tale I sketched to you in song just now. For it is a tale of a wretched unworthy fellow, and of a great king he served. This fellow had jobs, things he had to do, things he was required to do... and yet did not do them. And the king was indeed very angry, for the conduct of this fellow was so utterly negligent and so utterly wretched as to be worthy of death."
"Have you any such things in your experience, among your people? Things that are so important to do, or not to do, that those who transgress are worthy of nothing but death?"
There is no word in the bird's language for "insects", and when you try to come up with the word for a "bat" it's the same as the word for a "bird". When you press for the details, you find that all flying insects are also birds, and all crawling insects are "four-legs". Apparently that designation has more to do with their stance than the actual number of legs.
*****
"I expect that there are those that deserve to die, and probably they die. Then of course there are those who die who probably didn't deserve it. Death comes to all eventually, and sooner if you don't do what you need to do to live. If you don't do what you need to do to live, would that mean you deserve to die? Perhaps that's what you mean?"
--M. J. Young