Turkey’s Hideout
K. A. Williams
It was cold this morning; I fluffed up my feathers. I warmed my feet by scratching around for breakfast and dug up some tasty grubs and worms which I gobbled whole.
“Your ma will be so proud of you when you shoot a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner.”
The voice scared me and I squeezed myself into a thicket before the man who spoke could see me.
“She’d probably rather cook one from the grocery store that didn’t have to be prepared. Last year ma spent an hour just getting all the feathers out,” said a second voice.
Then the speakers came into view – a tall male human and a short male human. Both of them carried shotguns. I stayed still and hoped I was well hidden.
They went past me on down the path but I could still hear them talking. “I knew you’d like the rifle I bought you for your birthday. You did great on the shooting range, you won’t have any trouble getting us a turkey and some other game as well.”
Their voices faded down the path. I hadn’t finished my breakfast and was still hungry. I’d grown big and had barely fit myself into the space I was now in. There was no room for me to forage. If I moved, the thicket would rustle and I would be discovered.
I hoped my family had been able to conceal themselves as well. My dear mother had disappeared at this time last year, now I knew what had happened to her. I could hear gunfire in the distance while I stayed hidden.
***
“You ma will be disappointed that we didn’t bag any game this time. I’m sorry you missed all those wild ducks that flew by. I was sure you’d get one of them, there were so many. I wouldn’t have missed that bobwhite if you hadn’t stumbled and bumped against me. It’s lunchtime, let’s give up and go home. I can’t believe we didn’t see a single turkey this morning.” The tall human headed down the path, away from me.
The short human stopped in front of the thicket where I was hiding. “Yeah, I wonder where they’ve all gone.” He looked directly at me and waved, before following the other male.
