The captive birds in the walk-through aviary had nowhere to go, so they perched on branches and observed the humans.
“These creatures are very selfish,” commented the purple honeycreeper. “Watch them as they crowd outside our enclosure. Every human is anxious to get in here first, but they don’t want to appear like ordinary animals. They measure distances from the corners of their eyes, then shift and shuffle and angle. For an intelligent species they are very squirrelly.”
“But why are all these humans in such a big hurry to get in here?” asked the blue-necked tanager.
“Because they want to exult in the little things they have caged. Then they want to feel relief when they step out of the cage.”
“If they want to feel relief, why do they hesitate to leave?”
“Because it turns out we are beautiful.”
“But if they prefer to be free, why won’t they let us be free?”
“Because our beauty would escape them.”
Short Stories by Richard 
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