The Whistle

Whistling Boy

Duveneck

Banished from the house she went out to play in her backyard. She ran to the fort she and her siblings had built from a large wooden shipping box. They had fashioned separate rooms for the kitchen, living and bedroom. As she played alone in the backyard in her imaginary world, she thought she heard a whistle "whip woo" like a boy whistles at a girl. She went outside the fort to hear a little better. She heard the whistle again "whip woo".

She was a little embarrassed to think someone was whistling at her. She thought someone must be teasing her, surely it was a joke. She wondered who it was. Her backyard was completely enclosed with a tall fence she couldn't see over. She couldn't tell which direction the whistle came from. She decided to ignore the whistling. Someone was teasing her, someone was trying to make fun of her.

The next day she was sent outside again and she went to play in the fort. After a little while she heard the whistle again, "whip woo", just like the previous day. Who could be whistling at her.  She looked through the spaces in the fence but couldn't see anyone in the other yards. She went back to play, thinking perhaps someone was paying her a compliment, at least she hoped so.

All summer long she played in the fort in the yard. She was lonesome and she wondered where her siblings were. Why they weren't they outside playing with her? She began to look forward to hearing the whistles, "whip woo"; the whistles came almost every day. She looked and looked but never saw anyone. She wondered if someone was teasing her or if someone thought she was pretty. Perhaps the whistler was shy like her but secretly wanted someone to play with.

Another day, another week went by and the whistles made the days go by quickly. The whistles were wonderful, something secret no one else knew about, something to look forward to each day. Someone thought she was pretty, someone teased her, someone wanted to play. Thinking of the whistles made the days so much better, she wasn't so lonesome.

She imagined a playmate in one of the yards adjacent hers waiting to play with her. The playmate was sure to be someone nice since they whistled at her. Someone who hid from her must be a lot of fun. Someone who liked to play games, someone who teased. Someone who thought she was pretty, someone who wanted to play, someone who liked her. Someone who wanted a friend just like she did.

As the days wore on she began to whistle back, "whip woo". Sometimes her whistles were returned, sometimes not. But still she whistled because she liked to hear the whistles. She figured if she liked to hear the whistles someone else must like to hear her whistles too. Someone like her wanted to play. Someone like her wanted a friend.

Towards the end of summer she began to worry. She didn't want the summer to end. She wanted to meet her whistling friend but try as she might she could never find her whistling friend. She didn't want to loose her whistling friend before she had a chance to meet him. She made a point to peak through all the fence boards. She whistled and whistled, "whip woo, whip woo". She listened real close to see if she could hear where the whistler might be. Surely her whistling friend felt the same way as she. Surely her whistling friend wanted to meet her. Why did whistler tease her so with their whistling and never show themselves to her?

One day she saw the ladder was left in the yard. She wasn't supposed to climb the ladder but summer was almost over and she still hadn't met her whistling friend. She was afraid she'd never know who the whistler was. She'd loose the whistler if she didn't find out who they were before the summer's end. She was afraid she'd loose her whistling friend. She made sure no one was watching from the house. She took the ladder to the fence and climbed up and looked over. She didn't see anyone over the fence and she heard no whistling. She put the ladder back.

The next day she took the ladder again and looked over another part of the fence. Again she saw no one over the fence and she heard no whistling. As she put the ladder back she heard the whistling again but it was too late to look again. She had to wait till the next day to try and find her whistling friend.

Again the next day she took the ladder and looked over another part of the fence. Still she saw no one over the fence and she heard no whistling. She looked over the fence in another section and she saw no one and no one whistled that day.

Finally the last day of summer she had almost given up hope of meeting her whistling friend. She immediately heard the whistling when she want out in the yard. She grabbed the ladder; she was finally going to meet her whistling friend. She quietly placed the ladder near the fence and crept up the ladder. She heard the whistle again and knew she was close to meeting her whistling friend. She saw a covered patio but saw no one on the patio. Where was her whistling friend? Where could they be?

Then she heard the whistle again and she saw her whistling friend. Her summer whistling friend was a mynah bird in a cage hanging from the patio cover. She thought back over the summer and all the thoughts she'd had of her whistling friend. Her whistling friend thinking she was pretty, thinking the whistler wanted to meet her. She started to feel disappointed; how could she have been so foolish the whole summer long.

But then she thought the myna bird really was her friend. She realized the myna bird had wanted to meet her. He had been trying to get her attention all summer long. The myna bird had wanted a friend too. After that day she never saw the myna bird again. When she thought back over the summer she knew the myna bird had been her friend and she had also been a friend to the myna bird.

© Linda Starr, (images borrowed from the net).