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“Gwaaak!!” “Hisssss…” “Ahhh-huuuu!” “Gwaaak!!!”
“What in the name of Bill’s bill is wrong with you Gully?” asked a concerned Kitti as she watched her fellow seagull flap his wings and shake his head.
“I got somethin’ in my throat,” muttered Gully as he continued to cough.
“My goodness, there for a moment I thought you were trying to lay an egg,” laughed Kitti.
“Ahhh-huuuu! I’m a male, silly,” choked Gully. “Hisssss…Gwaaak!!”
“My O my, Gully. What did you do?” asked an even more concerned Kitti. “Is a fish bone stuck in your throat?”
“Gwaaak!! Wait a minute!” stammered Gully. “I don’t know.”
After hissing and hacking a few more times, Gully moved his lower bill around trying to feel for any foreign object in his mouth. He stopped and turned toward Kitti, “Yep, I think I found it.”
“What is it?”
“Yep, it’s my tongue.”
Kitti looked at Gully for a moment and then burst out laughing. “Oh, Gully,” she said, “You’re always doing something to make me laugh.”
“Yep. Yep, that’s what I do,” observed Gully as he tried to figure out what had made Kitti laugh so hard. After thinking for a moment he looked at her and said, “I like making you laugh.”
“I like you liking my laugh,” offered Kitti as she bowed her head in slight embarrassment.
“Well, I like you liking me liking to make you laugh,” smiled Gully as he turned his head away and swallowed hard.
“I like that too, Gully.”
“So, you like me liking that I like that you’re liking the way I like to make you laugh?” pondered Gully.
Kitti shook her head to try and think about what Gully had said but quickly abandoned the effort. “Let’s just say we like each other,” she offered.
“Yep, I’d say we do,” reflected Gully as he looked up into the sky. From above soared a pelican that gently glided down to join the two seagulls.
“Well, hello, Mr. Pelitan,” smiled Kitti as the old pelican shook sand off his right foot. “It’s nice of you to stop in and see us.”
“It is wonderful to see you again, Kitti,” observed Mr. Pelitan. “I hope you’re enduring this windy autumn day.”
“It’s not too bad,” replied Kitti. “It’s going to get a lot colder when winter gets here in a few weeks.”
“Well, at least here at the shore line it’s not as bad as in the mountains,” declared Mr. Pelitan.
“Or for that matter, it’s not as bad as up north of here,” reflected Kitti as her attention was diverted to Gully as he started humming to himself.
“Yes, I believe this area they call Kill Devil Hills is a suitable place to bed down for the winter,” continued Mr. Pelitan. “The fishing has been good this morning and it should stay that way well into spring.”
“Mr. Pelitan, have you met Gully?” asked Kitti as she poked him to stop his humming.
“Oh, yes,” sneered Mr. Pelitan. “I have known Gully for some time now.”
“Well, hello, Smelly Pelly,” laughed Gully.
“You know very well that is not my name,” said Mr. Pelitan as cold as he could. “The name is Mr. Pelitan, and I ask that you address me as such!”
“Okey dokey, Mr. Pelitan,” offered Gully. “When did you get here?”
“When did I get here?!? Why, I’ve been here for some time,” smirked Mr. Pelitan. “Miss Kitti and I were having a pleasant conversation about the weather.”
“Oh, Mr. Pelitan, don’t be silly,” laughed Gully. “The weather ain’t pleasant. It’s rather windy.”
“I didn’t say the weather was pleasant. I said, oh, what’s the use,” declared Mr. Pelitan as he shook his head in disbelief.
“How do you know each other?” asked Kitti as she tried to break the awkward silence.
“Oh, that is an interesting story, isn’t it Gully?” replied Mr. Pelitan. “Would you like to tell her or shall I?”
“Tell her what?” pondered Gully.
“Go ahead and tell her how you got here,” ordered Mr. Pelitan.
“Uh, I flew.”
“No, Gully, tell her where you came from,” corrected Mr. Pelitan as he felt his frustration building.
“Uh, an egg.”
“No, no, no. Tell her how your mother laid your egg in my nest,” yelled Mr. Pelitan. “Tell Kitti how my dear wife, God rest her soul, spent days sitting on you and keeping you warm, thinking all the time that you were one of her children, a pelican.”
“I’m not a pelican.”
“I know that!” continued an irritated Mr. Pelitan. “Go ahead Gully, tell Kitti how you hatched in my nest and pretended to be one of my family and ate to your heart’s desire all the food my wife and I could bring to you. Go ahead and tell her how you took advantage of our charitable nature. Go ahead, tell her!”
“Nope. I’m not going to.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t have to. You’ve already told her,” declared Gully as he turned his head away in mocked annoyance.
Mr. Pelitan’s lower bill started shaking as he tried to control his anger. “You. You. You always find a way to ruin my day. I’ll not stand idly by and watch you ruin this young maiden’s life!”
“What are you talking about, Mr. Pelitan?” asked a concerned Kitti.
“I need to speak to you about your future with this, this bird,” declared Mr. Pelitan. “I prefer to talk to you in private, but to try and get Gully to leave would take far more energy than I have today.”
“Oh, Gully’s no trouble,” smiled Kitti. “We just need to find something else to occupy his attention for a while.”
“I wouldn’t have a clue as how to accomplish that,” reflected a tired Mr. Pelitan.
“Oh, I know how,” laughed Kitti. “Hey, Gully!”
“Yes, Kitti?”
“Do you see Mr. Owl way over there in a tree?”
“Yep, I do.”
“How about going over there and introducing yourself to him?” asked Kitti as she gently laid her wing on his shoulder.
“Okey dokey.”
Gully smiled at Kitti and took flight toward the owl. He landed at the tree and looked up at Mr. Owl. “Hello, Mr. Owl. My name’s Gully.”
“Hooo.”
“Gully.”
“Hooo.”
“Gully.”
“Hooo.”
“Gully.”
“Hooo.”
“Gully.”
“We could leave him over there all day doing that,” smiled Kitti as she looked at Mr. Pelitan. “He’s such a dear.”
“Well, you thinking that is what concerns me,” offered Mr. Pelitan. “And I’m not alone in my worries. Others are talking.”
“Talking about what?”
“It seems to me, uh that is, us, that you’re planning to nest with Gully,” declared Mr. Pelitan.
“And what if I were?” asked a somewhat shocked Kitti.
“Well, you see how he is. He’s not like the rest of us,” observed Mr. Pelitan.
“I know Gully’s not the smartest bird, but he’s got a big heart,” reflected Kitti. “He’d do anything for me and that’s more than I can say about some of the bright birds that you’re hanging around with.”
“He will only disappoint you,” declared Mr. Pelitan. “He could never properly take care of you and your hatchlings.”
“I think Gully will make a great father,” observed Kitti as she became increasingly annoyed.
“My dear, you are just not thinking correctly,” offered Mr. Pelitan. “I’ve known him since he hatched and I’m telling you it will be a colossal mistake to make a nest with him.”
“With all due respect, you’re wrong about Gully, Mr. Pelitan,” objected Kitti. “Why, just yesterday I wasn’t feeling well and we had gone most of the day without eating. He flew to the ocean and brought a fish back to me. It was a big fish and Gully struggled to bring it all the way back here. And even though he was tired and hungry, he wouldn’t eat until I had eaten first. Now you tell me which one of your so-called friends would have done that for me?”
“I never said he wasn’t good,” observed Mr. Pelitan. “I know he’s good. It’s just he’s not good enough for you.”
“Not good enough?!?” Kitti said in disbelief.
“Exactly, young lady. Not good enough,” declared Mr. Pelitan. “I forbid you from nesting with such a simpleminded nitwit.”
“You forbid me, huh? Well, I really hadn’t made up my mind about who to nest with until now,” reflected Kitti. “But thank you Mr. Pelitan. You’ve convinced me as to what I should do.”
“Good!” declared Mr. Pelitan. “Shall you tell him or shall I?”
Kitti looked over at the tree where Gully and Mr. Owl was still having their conversation. “I’ll tell him,” she said.
“Gully!”
“Hooo.”
“Gully.”
“Hooo.”
“Gully.”
Kitti raised her voice and yelled, “Gully!!”
“Yes, Kitti?” Gully yelled back.
“Come on back over here. I’ve got something to tell you,” she yelled.
“Okey dokey,” Gully replied as he looked back at the tree. “I’m sorry Mr. Owl, but I’m gonna have to leave. Kitti needs me.”
“Hooo.”
“Kitti.”
“Hooo.”
“Kitti.”
“Hooo.”
“Kitti.”
“Gully!! Get over here!!!” Kitti yelled at the top of her voice.
“I’m a-coming,” he said as he took flight and soared to a landing near Kitti and Mr. Pelitan.
“Gully, I want to tell you something very important,” declared Kitti as she peered into his eyes.
“Yes, Kitti?” replied Gully as he swallowed hard.
“Thanks to Mr. Pelitan, I have decided that come this spring we should make a nest together,” declared a confidant Kitti.
“What?!?” muttered a shocked Mr. Pelitan.
“Oh, Kitti,” blushed Gully. “Mr. Pelitan’s a pelican. You and him can’t make a nest together.”
“Not Mr. Pelitan,” corrected Kitti as she suppressed her laughter. “I want you and me to make a nest.”
“Me?!?” asked a surprised Gully.
“Yes, you.”
“Me and you?!?”
“Yes, Gully, you and me.”
Gully quickly looked away and ran his tongue around the inside of his cheek.
“Well, what do you say?” asked Kitti.
“Okey dokey.”
“I cannot believe this!” shouted Mr. Pelitan. “How can you even entertain the idea of nesting with him?”
“I have made my decision and I expect you to respect it,” declared Kitti.
“You can’t be serious!” continued Mr. Pelitan as he looked around in time to see Gully stumble over an object in the ground and fall flat on his face. Mr. Pelitan shook his head and muttered, “See what I mean?”
“Gully! Are you OK?” asked a concerned Kitti as she rushed to help him back on his feet.
“Yep. There’s something in the ground there,” he declared as all three birds looked to see what had made him fall.
“I recognize that,” offered Mr. Pelitan. “The two-legged mammals call them tracks. See how two of them run side-by-side back up the hill?”
“What are they for?” inquired Kitti.
“From what I have seen, they use them to run big machines,” explained Mr. Pelitan. “But this is curious. These are not as long as I’ve seen them before. I have seen some that go for a great distance.”
“These tracks end over there,” observed Kitti.
“They look hard,” offered Gully as he bent down and pecked one. “Ouch!! Yep, they’re hard!”
“Mr. Pelitan, look at the other end of the tracks,” said an excited Kitti. “The mammals are pushing a big bird over to them.”
“Hmmm, it does look like some sort of bird,” mused Mr. Pelitan. “But I’m not sure.”
Gully ignored Mr. Pelitan and Kitti and bent down and pecked at the track again. “Ouch!! Yep, they’re still hard!”
“Gully, quit that and come over here,” ordered Kitti.
“Okey dokey,” he said as he joined her in looking at the mammals and the big bird.
“Do you think it’s a bird?” asked Kitti as they continued to stare at the movements of the mammals.
“Nope, I don’t,” replied Gully.
“Well, then what do you suppose it to be?” smirked Mr. Pelitan.
“Yep, it’s a giant grasshopper,” declared Gully.
“Oh, my God, you’ve got to be joking,” said Mr. Pelitan as he was shaking his head in disbelief.
“Yep, it’s a giant grasshopper,” Gully again declared.
“Well, it does have more than one wing,” reflected Kitti. “It does kinda look like a giant grasshopper.”
“Yep,” agreed Gully. “We’ve been eatin’ them for years and I guess now they’re gonna be eatin’ us.”
“Oh, Gully, do you really think so?” asked a somewhat scared Kitti.
“Yep, I do,” declared Gully. “But I won’t let it hurt you, Kitti.”
“Oh, you’re so sweet,” smiled a grateful Kitti.
“Yep, with me around you don’t have nothing to feel safe about,” offered Gully. “Wait a minute. That didn’t sound right.”
“I know what you mean, Gully,” mused Kitti.
“Yep, with me around you have everything to be afraid of,” declared Gully. “Uh, wait a minute. With me around you have nothing to fear, but fear. Uh, that ain’t right either.”
“Do you see what I’ve been talking about?” asked a disgusted Mr. Pelitan. “How could he ever look after you and your hatchlings when he can’t even think correctly?”
“That’s because he thinks with his heart,” replied Kitti. “His head made not get it right but his heart always does.”
“Uh, with me around you can surely be afraid,” continued Gully. “Nope. That ain’t right.”
“Will you please stop that babbling?” yelled an irritated Mr. Pelitan as he turned to look at Gully. “If Kitti will not listen to sound reason, maybe you will. Will you please, for once, listen to me?”
“Okey dokey,” replied Gully as he looked at Mr. Pelitan.
“Gully, my boy, you’re a fine seagull,” declared Mr. Pelitan. “But you should never start a nest with Kitti.”
“I like Kitti,” declared Gully.
“I know you do, but there’s more to it than that,” explained Mr. Pelitan. “Kitti needs someone better than you. She needs someone who is, uh, well…”
“Smart,” interjected Gully.
“Yes, I’m afraid that is so,” offered Mr. Pelitan. “She and her hatchlings will need a gull that is intelligent enough to look after them.”
“Kitti, is that what you want?” asked Gully as he gazed into her eyes.
“Gully, I want you,” she said as she kissed him on top of his beak. “You’re all I need.”
“Kitti don’t want someone that’s smart,” declared Gully as he turned back toward Mr. Pelitan.
“She’s not thinking clearly!” yelled Mr. Pelitan. “Gully, for once in your life, do the right thing! Fly on down the shore and let Kitti nest with someone else.”
“Nope. She wants me,” declared Gully.
“You stubborn bird!” shouted Mr. Pelitan. “I had hoped you had changed. But you’re just as obstinate as you were when we found you.”
“There ain’t no need for you to talk like that,” offered Gully as his feathers ruffled.
“I want you to listen to me, Gully,” continued Mr. Pelitan. “I forbid you to nest with Kitti. Just get it out of your head!!”
“Look, Mr. Pelitan,” declared Gully. “I don’t want to have to fight you over this. Cause if I have to fight you I’m gonna get hurt.”
“That’s the only way I’m going to allow you to nest with her,” acknowledged Mr. Pelitan. “So either fight or leave.”
“If that’s the way you want it, Smelly Pelly, then that’s the way it’s gonna be,” declared Gully as he flapped his wings.
“Don’t call me that, you numbskull,” yelled Mr. Pelitan as he started flapping his wings, too.
“That’s what Ma used to call you behind your back to make us chicks laugh,” revealed an angry Gully.
“Don’t you dare disgrace my dear wife’s name!” snorted Mr. Pelitan.
“Smelly Pelly!!”
“Imbecile!!”
Gully moved in close to him and they were beak to beak when Kitti stepped in between them.
“You two stop this now!!” she declared as her foot slipped on the sand and became wedged under the track. “My foot’s stuck,” she said.
Gully and Mr. Pelitan tried to help Kitti pull her foot out but it was held tight. Mr. Pelitan was about to say something when he was interrupted by a loud noise coming from the giant grasshopper.
“The grasshopper’s coming this way,” yelled Kitti. “Help me!”
Mr. Pelitan grabbed Kitti again and started pulling while Gully took off in flight. “Gully!” shouted Kitti.
“I told you he would be of no help in the face of danger,” muttered Mr. Pelitan as he strained to help her free her foot.
Gully flew straight toward the giant grasshopper. The giant moved slowly down the tracks toward Kitti and Mr. Pelitan. Gully flew around and approached the grasshopper from the rear. He was surprised to see a two-legged mammal lying between the double wings. For a moment he wondered if grasshoppers were now eating mammals. Matching the giant’s speed he came up above its right wing and dove to it. When he was close enough, he sank all his claws into the top of the wing. With all his might he flapped his wings and strained to pull the giant grasshopper off the tracks and away from Kitti. Just when he thought his claws were going to break, the giant slowly lifted off the tracks and sailed safely pass Kitti and Mr. Pelitan. With another giant tug, Mr. Pelitan pulled Kitti free of the tracks. They both fell backwards onto the sand.
An exhausted Gully landed near the tracks. He watched in amazement as the two-legged mammals jumped around with excitement. They sure were making a fuss over the giant grasshopper. Gully did not understand what was so special about a giant grasshopper being able to fly a few feet. Turning his attention back to Kitti, he looked around and could not see her or Mr. Pelitan. In near panic he shouted, “Here, Kitti, Kitti, Kitti! Here, Kitti, Kitti, Kitti!”
“Gully, I’m over here!” came her reply. He waddled over to where he heard her call.
“You OK?” asked Gully.
“Oh, Gully, you saved my life!” declared Kitti as she put her wings around his neck.
“Yep,” Gully blushed as he rubbed his beak against hers. “And Mr. Pelitan helped, too.”
“Yes, you did, Mr. Pelitan,” agreed Kitti. “Thank you very much.”
“Glad to be of assistance,” offered Mr. Pelitan.
“Oh, Gully! You’re my hero!” continued Kitti. “You see, Mr. Pelitan, he will take care of me.”
Mr. Pelitan looked down at the sand and then looked at the loving couple. “My boy, I believe I was wrong about you,” he declared. “You were right Kitti. He is good enough. I believe Gully would give his life for you if he had to.”
“Yep,” offered Gully.
“I can see now that he loves you with all his heart,” declared Mr. Pelitan. “A love like that is special. I used to know that kind of love. I had forgotten what it was like.”
“That is kind of you to say,” offered Kitti.
“Gully, I want to apologize to you,” reflected Mr. Pelitan. “I said some mean and untrue things. I am truly sorry. Can you ever forgive me?”
“Okey dokey,” smiled Gully.
“I tell you what, Mr. Pelitan,” declared Kitti. “If it’s OK with Gully, would you do the honors of performing the nesting ceremony for us?”
“Yep, I’d like that, too, Mr. Pelitan,” offered Gully.
“So, you want me to handle the nesting ceremony?” mused Mr. Pelitan. He gazed at Kitti for a moment. With a nod of his head he looked toward Gully, smiled and said, “Okey dokey.”
The three friends embraced each other as the two-legged mammals pushed the giant grasshopper back to the top of Big Hill. With renewed confidence and energy they would make an even longer flight later in the day. The two love birds, Gully and Kitti, giggled as they rubbed their beaks together. It was a happy day in the sands of Kill Devil Hills.
THE END
Copyright ©2006 by Jerry W. Crews
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