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Somewhere far away in an unnamed town, lived two brothers: Arden – the youngest, and Hector – the eldest. During a particularly hot summer day, the brothers were sitting near an open window, in the shadow of a great pear tree. The tree grew so near, that they could harvest its succulent fruit without going outside. But neither Arden nor Hector liked pears. The ripe fruit fell to the ground and rotted.

“Look! A vagabond taking our pears”, said Arden, seeing a poorly dressed woman under the tree.

“And so? Let her have them. Who else needs them?”, replied Hector.

“Those are my pears! I won’t allow anyone to take them!”

Arden ran out into the street to chase off the unfortunate woman.

“Go away!”, he yelled. Picking up a rotting pear from the ground, he threw it at her. The pear struck the woman painfully. She began to cry and hurried off.

It so happens that at that very moment, across the street, a witch named Elixstilence was passing by. Outraged by the boy’s behaviour, she decided to punish the hoarder. The witch approached Arden. Looking him directly in the eye, she began to recite this flightful spell:

As a pale pair of powerless avians,
you and your sibling will circle the heavens.
To liberate you both of this damnation,
from the offender requires admission:
He was wrong, he was greedy and inhumane,
but like this no longer wishes to remain.
To correct his reprehensible misdeed,
“Please forgive me!”, must he most sincerely plead.

Elixstilence had barely uttered these words, that Arden promptly transformed into a white pigeon. Frightened, he flew up to the window where his elder brother had been sitting. But in his place was a pigeon with a tuft of feathers on his nape, similar to the way Hector’s hair grew.

“I don’t understand any of this… Arden, what happened?” Hector was puzzled.

“It’s all because of that tramp! So the old witch changed us into birds…”

“But why? I don’t want to be a pigeon! Did she not say how to remove this curse?”, Hector inquired, recovering his wits.

“She said something about greed and asking for forgiveness. But I was so angry at the vagabond that I don’t recall.”

From the outside, the conversation between Arden and Hector resembled the normal cooing of pigeons. So it wasn’t surprising that upon their return home, the parents didn’t recognize their children and chased away the birds.

***

The brothers had no idea what to do. They spent quite a while flying above the town. From their bird’s-eye view, it didn’t seem as large as they had imagined.

“I’m extremely hungry”, Arden complained to his brother.

“Then let’s fly to the park. Many people go there during the weekend. We’ll surely find something to feast on”, suggested Hector.

Indeed, the inhabitants did enjoy going to the town park during summer. Here, one could admire the flowers, enjoy the coolness of the fountains, or simply sit on a bench under the shade of tall green trees. And of course, many visitors brought something for the pigeons. There was a multitude of them in the park.

Arden and Hector spotted someone taking out some bread, so they flew towards him. The kind citizen broke off a small piece and tossed it towards the starving birds. The brothers tried to eat it, but failed. The small piece repeatedly jumped aside, forcing them to catch it again. Arden and Hector barely had time to get used to pecking, that a whole group of pigeons swept in. Beating their wings, they quickly finished off the bread. The squadron leader flew towards the brothers.

“I’m called Columbus. This is my territory! Who are you?”, he said aggressively.

“Can’t you see? We’re pigeons too, and that was our bread.” Arden attempted to rebuff him, but Columbus painfully pecked him on the crown.

“Which squadron do you belong to?”, Columbus inquired once more, getting ready for another peck. The other pigeons surrounded the brothers menacingly.

“We’re on our own”, replied Hector. He wasn’t looking for a fight.

“Impossible. There are three squadrons in this town. Big Beak leads his – based from the Town Hall attic. His territory is the main square. Cyclops’ squadron lives on balconies. All the bird feeders in town belong to him. The park is my territory. If you wish to remain here, you’ll have to abide by my rules: You find food – you alert the squadron. My gal Cookie and I eat first, followed by the other pigeons.”

“And us?”, intervened Arden. “When do we eat?”

“The two of you are fresh recruits – which means you eat last. Is that clear?”, announced Columbus. Without waiting for a reply, he took off on a demonstration flight around the park. The squadron followed him.

“That does it! Because of a vagabond, we have to settle for scraps left by that pompous pigeon”, grumbled Arden. Nevertheless, the brothers remained in the park. Many people were relaxing here. There was enough food for all.

Thus summer went by, and then autumn arrived. Fewer people strolled through the park. Sometimes, due to rain, there were none at all. No one fed the pigeons. For days, Hector and Arden had nothing to eat whatsoever…

All puffed up, the pigeon brothers were perched on a branch. Suddenly, they spotted a little old lady passing through the park and casting seeds about. Starving, they rushed in to eat without noticing the approaching squadron. Columbus knocked Hector over, and would have pecked him to death if Cookie had not intervened.

“Leave them alone! They haven’t had anything to eat for ages”, she interposed.

“What of it? They disobeyed orders, so I’m going to boot them out of my park! If I see them here again, I’m going to peck their brains out”, threatened Columbus. He then proceeded to execute another demonstration flight around his territory. The squadron followed.

The brothers were forced to leave the park. Big Beak’s squadron in the main square wouldn’t take them under their wing either. His birds were famished and had no use for additional mouths to feed.

***

Snow began to fall. Nourishment could only be found in bird feeders, where Cyclops’ squadron ruled. Their leader really did only have one eye, and a menacing air. But he welcomed the brothers into his squadron. Although he too had rules.

“You find a new feeder – it’s yours. But never dare to eat from someone else’s feeder, otherwise you’ll have to deal with me! Here, it’s every bird for himself”, declared Cyclops, who then promptly flew away.

All the feeders in town had already been claimed, and people were in no hurry to add new ones. The brothers were weakened by hunger. They hopped from one windowsill to the next, pecking at the windows, begging for crumbs. But they only heard “Shoo!” or “Go away!” in response.

“How greedy they are!”, protested Arden.

“And you… remember the woman you chased away. She didn’t have anything to eat either”, Hector reminded his brother.

But Arden disagreed.

“If it wasn’t for that vagabond”, he droned on, “we would now be home and warm. It’s her fault that we were changed into pigeons.”

“Are you done blaming others? You are the guilty one!”, exclaimed Hector, exasperated.

Arden was angry at his brother, but decided to let it go…

***

An evil bird hunter also lived in this town, by the name of Kazoo ibn Coo. He caught birds to stuff them, which he then tried to sell at the market. But no one would buy them – everyone felt sorry for the poor birds. Kazoo became angry, but nonetheless continued to capture more birds. It just so happens that the brothers got into an argument on his windowsill.

“What luck”, remarked the bird hunter, rubbing his hands together. “Today the birdies come to me!”

He caught Arden and Hector effortlessly, and put them in a cage.

The room where Kazoo ibn Coo lived was filled with shelves. But instead of books, these were covered with stuffed birds. Every variety was represented here. However, it was the object on the table which attracted the brothers’ attention. Ibn Coo had just finished working on it. Judging by his steel-blue plumage, one could recognize the squadron leader from the town park.

Nearby in the cage, someone began to cry softly.

“The same fate awaits us all”, sadly announced their cell-mate. It was Cookie.

“Don’t worry. We’ll think of something”, replied Hector. He desperately wanted to console the anxious sweetheart. So hugged her with his wing.

Hector knew the cage could easily be opened. He unhooked the latch with his beak and the door swung open.

“I can’t leave the others behind”, Cookie said to her rescuer. Many pigeons from her squadron still remained in the cruel bird hunter’s room. Hector and Arden opened each cage one after another, letting the birds go free. Meanwhile, Kazoo ibn Coo was busy sharpening his knives in the kitchen.

“Peck him!”, yelled Hector, when ibn Coo entered the room. The birds attacked their tormentor as a unit. The evil Kazoo, running away, leapt out the window. Nobody in the town has seen him since.

***

The birds were grateful to the brothers for saving them, but quite astonished, since none of them knew how to open a cage. The brothers recounted their story – that they were actually human, and how a witch had transformed them into pigeons.

“I’m ashamed of what I did”, admitted Arden. “I’d like to fix everything and ask that poor woman to forgive me. But where could I find her now?”

Without realizing it, Arden had met the flightful spell’s first condition.

The brothers were fortunate. The other birds knew this woman. She often fed them. The pigeons gladly showed the brothers where she lived. Upon seeing the squadron of birds, the woman fetched a treat for them.

“Forgive me! Please!”, Arden yelled at the top of his lungs, hoping for a miracle. But no miracle occurred.

“Perhaps she simply doesn’t understand bird speak”, said Hector to his dejected brother. Cookie was concerned about the brothers. She had always remained at their side. Hector had already caught her eye in the park.

“No… Everything is my fault. It’s because of me, Hector, that you became a pigeon. Forgive me, if you can.” Arden was so sincere that he failed to notice he was once again a boy. Except that his elder brother remained a pigeon, exchanging sweet cooings with Cookie…

“Well, well… My beloved flightful spell has been broken.” Elixstilence had materialized near the boy.

“But why is my brother still a pigeon?”, Arden asked the witch.

“It has nothing to do with me. He is in love – where love exists, magic is powerless”, replied Elixstilence. She then promptly vanished…

***

Arden carried this lesson for the rest of his life. Some mistakes can never be corrected…

He often visited the town park, to feed the birds and see the new squadron leader – the pigeon with a tuft of feathers on his nape, his gal Cookie and their unfledged chicks. The happy parents had named one of them Arden – in honour of his uncle.

© Asa Guves, 2012

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