Short Story

It is a morning just like any other; the backyard of 25374 Wayland Lane is is covered with the soft glow of a newly rising sun. Flip, a small titmouse, is sleeping on his branch in an apricot tree. He opens his eyes and hops to his feet. Around him, the other birds in the trees are still asleep, their heads rested between their wings. Flip stretches first his right wing, then left, and fans out his tail before swooping off of the tree and into the morning air.

He circles in on a small hole in the ground, and lands gracefully at its mouth. For a brief moment his muscles twitch in preparation, and with a quick downward stab into the hole, his beak lifts out a fresh worm. Flip proudly carries his breakfast up to the top of the apricot tree, and proceeds to eat it while surveying the yard. Right as he finishes his worm, the sun lifts above the rooftop of the house, and with a large inhale, he chirps out a sweet melody that fills the yard like the sunlight. The other birds stir awake on the branches below, and the morning begins.

Flip smiles and takes a deep breath with satisfaction as the mornings events are proceeding exactly in order. He flies down below the branches of the apricot tree, where a white, plaster birdbath stands in its shade. Alighting perfectly on the edge of the bath, Flip daintily sets one foot in the water, followed by the other. He dips his head into the cool water, takes a sip and uses his front wing feathers to cup water onto his face. Humming to himself, he continues washing in a tidy and efficient manner, each movement hardly disturbing the surface of the water. 

Right as Flip glides to the center of the bath, he flinches at a loud crack resounding in the branches overhead. With a crash, a large, plump blue jay falls down through the branches and lands belly first in the bird bath, creating an enormous splash and drenching Flip. Leaves released from the blue jay's fall float down from the tree, littering the water. Flip stares incredulously at this intruder, his beak dropped in disbelief of his rude and untimely entrance. The blue jay groggily pulls himself to his feet and bangs the water out of his ears. Upon noticing Flip, the blue jay flashes a nonchalant smile and offers a friendly wave, to which Flip responds by promptly turning his back. With closed eyes, he focuses on smoothing his ruffled feathers. After a moment he tentatively sneaks a glance over his shoulder, and notices that the sloppy blue jay is still sitting in the pool. Turning his head back around, he rolls his eyes and continues washing.

The blue jay has now not only started singing loudly and off key, but is splashing profusely and consequently spilling a majority of the water over the edges of the bath. Flip's nerves are wearing thin as he has now been splashed several times. He stiffly marches over to the jay and attempts to push the bird out of the bath, but the blue jay's chaotically splashing wings accidentally knock Flip out of the bird bath, where he lands face first in the mud. Completely irate, Flip yanks himself out of the mud and propels himself back up to the top where the blue jay is now dozing, floating on his back in the water. Flip lands in the water right in front of the jay, and spreads out his wings, preparing to shower him in an enormous splash. Before Flip can complete this action, the blue jay opens his eyes, startled by the shadow Flip cast over his face. This catches Flip off guard, and he hesitates. The blue jay bursts out laughing upon noticing Flip's comical appearance with his feathers ruffled and the mud covering his face. Despite his furiousness, Flip is taken aback by this unexpected reaction and pauses. He notices his reflection in the water and can't help but laugh himself. The two birds continue laughing and share the bath together.

**I do not yet feel satisfied with this resolution, as it seems to be contradictory to Flip's character to laugh at himself and concede to share the bath. I think a better possibility would be for Flip's muddy appearance to frighten the blue jay away so he wins the birdbath to himself in the end. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!