Hi folks. My name is Earnie. Any of you Cockatoos out there think you've had it rough? If you're really brave and you have a strong heart, look at my picture and I'll tell you my story.I'm not too clear because I was very young, but all I can remember is green leaves, a warm nest, and sunshine in the morning. Then something happened and I was in a dark box. All I could think to do was cry. When I got out of that box, I was in a different place in another box where the sunshine could not get through. When I tried to bite the sticks that made the box, they were too hard. Now that I think about it, that was my first cage.
There were these strange featherless creatures that would come and look at me and squawk gibberish that didn't sound like the talk back home. The next thing I knew, I was in another box, then into a new cage with new featherless creatures. They seemed to like me. They gave me food that tasted good and cleaned my cage every day. Their gibberish became my gibberish and I began to understand this new language. Life was good and I was happy.
Suddenly, my cage was carried away to another place with me in it; a strange place where pots and pans rattled and utensils jingled. Whenever I looked down at the floor, that black and brown monster was staring at my fluffy white feathers. These new featherless creatures had bad breath. I wasn't so happy anymore -- no good food and I stayed messy.
One day, I saw an opportunity for a jailbreak. I took the chance and flapped my wings in sweet freedom. Just as I began to soar, that black and brown monster jumped high and snatched me in his foaming jaws. SCREEEECH. Snap went my wing, out came my fluffy white feathers, and I thought I was a goner for sure. As I lay shaking and shivering on the cold tile floor, dripping with spit, a featherless creature came to my rescue. All that monster got was a loud scolding.....I got the broken wing and solitary confinement. I couldn't eat or sleep for weeks and began plucking out the few feathers I had left. No one dared to come near me or I would bite them hard. No creature or monster would ever hurt me again. I spent an eternity cold, hungry, and half-naked with my beautiful wing hanging limp at my side. With a slam of a door and a rush of wind, me and my cage were on the move again.
B ack into the kitchen, same lousy food, but new featherless creatures and not a monster in sight. Things were looking up when my cage was cleaned daily, so I didn't need to pull my feathers out to hide the poopy mess. Then my breakfast became sticky stuff and dinner was the same. YUCK! They let me escape once in awhile and I chewed everything in sight. I had to eat something decent! I paid for that when they caught me in a towel and force-fed me honey, fruits, and veggies. I thought they were becoming monsters, so I bit those fingers and got more solitary confinement. My sentence here was short because the featherless creature with the growing belly didn't want me around her expected arrival.
T he now familiar slam of a door and a rush of wind brought me and my cage to a new home. Many featherless creatures come and go here and the monsters seem kind of OK. I see two birds that are the image of me, or what I used to see in my mirror. One featherless creature isn't afraid of my bad temper or my odd appearance. He's been giving me food that actually tastes good and I gorge myself. After a long bath, I came out a few shades lighter and brighter, but not without a good nip or two. When he comes home at night, he opens my cage door and I can go out wherever I want. I'd like to make friends with Bert and Sam; they can speak featherless creature talk. I can hear loud squawking coming from another room. I wonder who that can be? Monsters? Featherless? Feathers! Maybe I can stay here awhile.....If I could only stop this shaking. Do you think they'll notice?
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