Το μικρό πουλί κάτω από τη νεραντζιά

Eleni noticed it on the pavement, beneath a bitter orange tree. It was a tiny bird, almost naked, its wings pressed against its body and its beak open, as if asking for help.

She looked up and saw the nest high among the branches. For a moment, she thought of picking it up and putting it back inside, but she was afraid its parents might be nearby and that, if she moved it, they might have trouble finding it.

She knelt beside it without touching it. The little bird stirred weakly and tried to tuck itself beneath a dry leaf, while an anxious chirping sounded from the branches.

Eleni looked around. There was no one in the park, while people were constantly passing along the pavement. She took out her phone, ready to call an animal welfare organization, but before dialing the number, she hesitantly reached out toward the little bird.

Her fingers stopped just before touching it. Then the little bird opened its beak wider and let out a faint sound. Eleni took a clean handkerchief from her bag, folded it in half, and lifted the bird with great care. It was lighter than she had expected and was trembling all over.

She did not try to put it back in the nest; the branches were much too high, and she did not want to climb. She carried it only a few steps, into the shade of the bitter orange tree, and set it down in a low, sheltered spot where its parents would be able to see it. At once, the anxious chirping from the branches grew louder.

Eleni left the handkerchief beside it and moved a little way off, holding her phone. Perhaps its parents would come down to feed it. But she waited several minutes without a bird appearing. The little one began to grow cold again, while the low-battery warning flashed on her phone screen. Should she call the animal welfare organization now, or wait a little longer?

Eleni did not wait any longer. She called the animal welfare organization and, after explaining where she was, listened carefully to the instructions. They told her not to give it water or food and to keep it temporarily in a small cardboard box lined with the handkerchief, so it would stay warm and passersby would not come near it.

With careful movements, she placed it inside the box and left it in the shade, near the bitter orange tree. Then she sat beside it and left the lid partly open so the box could get some air. A little later, a volunteer arrived and examined the little bird without distressing it.

“You did the right thing by moving it off the pavement,” she told her. “Since it’s so young and the nest is high up, it needs care from specialists.”

Eleni handed her the box and felt the tension ease. She had not known from the outset what the right thing to do was; in the end, though, she had not tried to save it on her own. She had protected it as best she could and asked for help at the right moment.