Nice and friendly, insightful/mind-expanding bedtime stories for children. Every month 2-3 stories.
A swallow’s nest
Spring was knocking extremely early on the door this year and the Old Man decided to go to the countryside earlier than usual. He packed his bags, emptied both the fridge and the bin and stepped on the bus: „ One ticket to Vigala, please.“
He chose the seat by the window on the right row– the view was better there and the cars headlights did not make him dizzy. After an hour he stepped off the bus, stretched, and took several breaths of fresh spring air. Then he began his journey to his sauna house (=cottage?) which was 3 kilometres away. Having arrived to his cottage (=sauna house?) he lit the stove and put the kettle on. After that he decided to get rid of the signs of worn-out winter around the house. He gathered the broken branches, raked through some tufts of grass that were still under the snow, checked the well and went back inside to warm himself up ejoying a cup of lime – tree – flower tea. In the morning he was woken by the loud chirping. It was so fast and loud as if the bird was in the room. The Old Man came out of bed – there was nobody in the room. The morning sun was so bright that he forgot to put his shoes on and stepped barefoot outside to check out the situation. The life was bubbling under the roof – barn swallows were building their nest. This sight made the Old Man happy, he brought the treestump from next to the woodpile into the sunlight and sat to watch the birds. The birds took small breaks between the nest building – they sat on the roof, looked at each other, waggled their wings and then returned to building. The Old Mans happiness spread to other people when he went to the store and post office – the barn swallows have always been a part of country life. In the barns, in the attics, under the roofs and
everywhere where there are animals or people.
Weeks went by, the Old Man was busy in the garden and the swallows were busy with their nest.
One morning he was woken by such noise that made sleeping impossible. It was five oclock in the morning. He listened carefully and soon a smile appeared on his face – the usual chirping was louder than ever before. The Old Man forgot everything he had planned to do that day and rushed barefoot through the grass wet with dew. He took a seat on his tree stump. The sky was slightly cloudy but the swallows had a busy day ahead – all the babies needed to be fed. The Old Man kept close watch on the swallow parents who flew up to the river and back again to get their babies extra rich food. Suddenly the Old Man shrudded, the weather had turned cold and the first drops of rain had already fallen. He felt hungry. With the smile on his lips and in his eyes he went inside and fried some slices of bread, bacon, and some eggs. He added some dill and pepper and sat in his armchair to enjoy his late breakfast. It was middle of summer. The weather was cloudy and muggy and the Old Man was visiting his neighbour. The sat and discussed the life in their small village – why the fish was not biting, when the new post boxes would arrive and wheter the road leading to the cottage would be made prettier. After a hearty discussion, the Old Man set off. An inner voice told him to make circle around the cottage before entering and he noticed something hopping in the grass as if it was a frog. When he stepped closer he saw that it was a young barn swallow. The Old man frowned, looked at the rainy sky, brought a ladder and put very the baby swallow very gently back into the nest. The next morning he slept in. It was still rainy and the room was chilly. He was woken by the cries of anguish. The Old Man didnt hesitate, he tossed on some clothes and rushed out. He walked around
the cottage, looked everywhere but couldn`t see a soul. Still, the birds cried as in distress. Finally, the Old Man found a baby swallow near the woodpile, it was soaked and couldn´t fly to the nest. Again the Old Man brought the ladder and helped it back home. Couple of hours later the sun came up, the grass got dry and there were two big and three smaller swallows flying in the sky. The Old Man came out, sat on the stairs and all swallows flew past him chirping loudly at the same time – probably
thanking him for helping their family.
As autumn drew closer, the Old Man saw five swallows flying over the cottage.Sometimes they passed him really close and showed him stunts inthe air. When it was time for them to fly to warmer countries, the Old Man packed his bags and followed their suit – to his city appartment.