B: Taking Flight

Timothy the blue Tit was just three months old, his mummy and daddy
were away from the nest and his brothers and sisters were making the
most of it. They were swooping and diving in the late summer breeze.
Timothy hadn't flown as yet, he was scared. Since Timothy could
remember all his brothers and sisters were bigger than him, Kevin was
much bigger, his oldest brother, by forty minutes.

Timothy sat and watched them all, they were tweeting excitedly to each
other, doing close fly by's and generally having a great time. Timothy
sat miserably in the nest. He got up and flapped, what he thought, were
his pathetic wings. Then mummy returned, the other kids piled into the
nest and hurriedly gulped down the grub she had brought back, Timothy
had got pushed to the back and sat in silence. The other chirped their
thanks and were off again. Mum looked at Timothy and winked, then she
produced the biggest grub you had ever seen, from under her feathers,
Timothy jumped up and down, he was hungry. They both sat and ate it in
the nest.

After a few minutes, mum cheeped some cheeps of encouragement and
Timothy stretched his wing, he felt very nervous but with his mum
behind him, he climbed to the edge of the nest. He stood there for a
little while then uncertainly launched himself. He started to plummet,
twisting towards the ground, he closed his eyes and flapped with all
his might. Strangely he didn't feel a bump, he opened his eyes to see
the garden below him. He was flying. He flapped and flapped and rose
higher and higher, gliding, swooping, and diving he flew and flew and
flew.

After and good half an hour of flying he went back to the nest, where
he made a perfect landing. His mum gave him a big hug and his brothers
and sisters all twittered happily around him, they had all passed the
first test, the test of taking flight. The nest seemed suddenly so
small.