By Lucy

Long ago, in a far away land, Jamie lived by a small village. It was a peaceful place. Thousands of acres of prairie land sink in to the horizon. In the morning, the call of the rosters awaits. A gentle creek flows by a little red house. In the house lived the eleven-year-old girl Jamie.

Jamie was a gentle girl with a high sprit. She lived with her stepmother and stepsisters. They would always make her do all the dirty work and made her sleep in the basement. Jamie didn’t care though; oh she had always loved living in her house with an apple orchard and a little pond where the creek flows in. She loved the fresh smell of pines in the morning and the never-ending rows of flowers. She loved watching the birds nest in the maple trees and the rabbits eating grass. Jamie wouldn’t leave her house for anything in the world.

Jamie’s two sisters Tara who was 13 and Amy who was 15 however don’t care much about nature. They would always stay in the house and have tea parties. Jamie’s stepmother was an evil lady and all she liked to do was make Jamie miserable.

One morning Jamie went out to fetch some water from the well. She was humming to herself when suddenly she heard a soft cry. It didn’t sound human like. More like an animal cry. Jamie stopped humming and listened. There it went again. She looked around but could not see anything. The cry came again and this time she realized it was coming from the maple tree up the hill. Jamie ran up the tree to find the sound. She looked up the tree, but the leaves were too thick. Again the cry came and now Jamie was certain it came from the tree. She started to climb it branch by branch. When she got up she saw a baby bird with golden feather lying in an abandoned nest in front of her.

Jamie slowly crawled toward the bird. She did not want to frighten it. Jamie accidentally snapped off a twig. The bird turned toward her, it had pure black eyes and a golden beak. It made no movement at all it just sat there staring at Jamie. Jamie crawled up to the bird. She noticed the bird had a broken ankle. The bird looked more and more scared of her. “There, there little bird it’s ok,” whispered Jamie “I won’t hurt you.” She started to pet the bird. The bird made no defense for itself. It just sat there letting Jamie pet it. The feathers felt as smooth as silk. Jamie realized then that it was not an ordinary bird. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you,” said Jamie. She decided to name it Maple since they’d met at a maple tree.

Jamie took Maple inside to show her around. “You will like it here Maple,” Jamie told her. When Jamie brought Maple in to the living room, Tara and Amy were having another tea party. “Ew!” cried Tara, “what is that horrible creature?”

“Oh, this is Maple,” responded Jamie, “we met in the maple tree,”

“I don’t care where you two met,” screamed Amy, “I just don’t want that thing closer to me than twenty-feet!”

“Maple is not contagious, she’s the sweetest thing ever,” Jamie cried back. The Stepmother stepped in the room.

“What’s this all about?” she asked. Tara and Amy told their mother everything about Jamie and her bird. After they’re done talking, the stepmother gave Jamie a long hard stare. She says that Maple either stays in the basement or goes outside. Jamie decided that’s fair enough and took Maple down stairs to her room. Jamie bandaged Maple’s ankle and fed her some fruits.

Day after day Jamie took care of the bird. Maple started growing bigger and stronger, her feathers grew brighter and brighter. By the end of the third month Maple had become the most beautiful creature in the world. Jamie decided then that it was time to let Maple go. The next day Jamie took Jamie to an empty field. “Maple it’s time for you to go,” said Jamie, “I can’t keep you any longer.” She tied a ribbon to Maple’s ankle so maybe one day they could meet again. Maple gave Jamie a gentle pull on the ear and flew off.

Two years had past since Jamie had said good-bye to Maple. One evening there was a knock on the door. Jamie opened it and there stood a beautiful woman. She was wearing a white skirt and she looked a lot like Jamie. “Hi! Could I help you?” asked Jamie.

Jamie you have proven to be a responsible young girl therefore I will present you with a gift,” the woman said. She took some pixy dust and threw it around Jamie stepmother and sisters. Then they became very nice to Jamie. The woman turned to Jamie. “Take care!” she called. The woman turned into a bird and flew off. Jamie had noticed a ribbon tied to her leg.

“Well what do you know?” Jamie said to herself, “There had been a guardian angel with me all along.”