“Perfect.”
She doesn’t mince words, nor waste them. Economy of language is her greatest strength.
She actually wanted me to edit these—I did, but not too much since I didn’t want to destroy her voice for the sake of making perfect “adult” sense. Nor did I want to mar the “sheen” of the stories. What it’s a sheen of, I’m not sure.
Lavender the Allibird
Hello! I’m Lavender. I am here to tell you about my weird life. I am an Allibird. Allibirds are special. Let it begin!
I was 13 when I learned “Bird and Beak.” It became my favorite song. One day I was singing it. Now, I was in my big backyard. Then Prince Shining Star heard my sweet voice. When he saw me, he couldn’t take his eyes off me! Then he remembered from one of his books about special birds that Allibirds could be very dangerous. He flew away without a word.
I was so upset I flew away crying. I spent many months in my treehouse alone, but only with my pet ladybug, Spotty. I sobbed very long. I had nightmares that I would stay there forever.
A few days later, Shining Star came back with a case. I longed to be a princess.
He knelt down and said, “Will you marry me?”
I was so happy I fainted. When I woke up, I said “Yes!”
Finally I was a princess. The wedding would be tomorrow.
The next day we went to get married. Then we touched beaks. It was amazing.
The next day I built a nest. I laid an egg in it. It took three months to hatch.
As time passed, I wrote song lyrics. At last, the big day came. The egg hatched! I would name her Lilly.
Don’t miss the next book!
Lilly the Shy Allibird
Hi! Um, It’s me, Lilly, the shy Allibird. My pals sometimes call me Fluttershy. They call me that because when I fly, I flutter my wings, and because I am very shy.
You know my mom, Lavender, right? Now it is time for the story of my life. Lavender has told me her ten times.
When I was having supper with my family, my evil cousin flew in. Then he grabbed me by my wing. My mom punched him and my dad hit him with his talons. Finally he got away with it. He snatched me away.
He finally let me go and I fluttered my wings. It was torture! He told me to go in my room for twelve minutes, because I am twelve years old! I missed my mom and dad. All I had was a picture album of my life. I stayed there for a very long time…about four years! At last he let me go.
When I got home, I went into my big backyard. I played with my big ball. Then I met a prince. He was a parrot. His name was Prince Rainbow. He said “hi” to me, but we went back home for supper.
The next day, he came back again. He asked me, “Will you marry me?”
“Yes!” I said. Then we got married.
The next day, I laid an egg. It took two months to hatch. I will call her Jewel.