Houdini By Jane

We have a class pet named Houdini. He is a budgie. Our class got him when our neighbouring class's budgies had babies. His name came from a 20^th century magician, named Harry Houdini. They are both very alike; they both love the art of escape. My teacher got Houdini because she thought having a class pet would help maintain a happy environment.

Houdini is a very beautiful bird. His feathers are grey and turquoise. The grey covering his head, wings and back as if he was wearing a suit; a turquoise breast as if he was wearing a turquoise undershirt. Underneath his sharp, bright eyes he has a crafty, orange beak. He is quite a small bird, but smart (for a birdbrain). Houdini is very cute and loveable.

When we first got Houdini, he was very shy. We would often put our hand in the cage and it would take him 20 minutes to perch on our hand. He would often escape from his cage and fly to the top of the curtains to isolation. We would have to use a long stick to take him down. Then after about one month, he got used to the human hand and he would willingly perch on our hands, our shoulders and even our heads. Now, he often flies onto peoples' heads and sit there as if the hair was a nest.

His favourite thing to do in the whole world is chewing paper. He would go anywhere to chew the paper, meaning: desks, tables, shelves and even the floor. One day, he landed on my desk and started to chew some paper. So I pulled the paper bit by bit closer and closer to the edge of the desk and Houdini didn't even notice; he just followed. Soon enough I pulled the paper off the desk and he went falling down, flapping his wings furiously. From that day on he became a little more cautious, although still hopelessly flies to wherever he sights paper.

Houdini likes to fly around the room and land on people's shoulders and heads, especially my teacher's. One day, he flew onto my teacher's shoulder and (like all adults) my teacher had a mug of coffee in her hand and Houdini daintily hopped down her arm, stood on her thumb, leaned down and started drinking her coffee. That gave us all a good laugh for the rest of the day.

In many ways, I suppose my teacher was right. Having a bird in the classroom brightened our spirits very much, even when we all had piles of homework to do. Now we have two other birds in the class along with Houdini, his aunt and sister. He has made very close friends with them (besides the fact that he tried to mate with both of them). Having birds in the classroom helps maintain the positive atmosphere.

Courtesy of Jane, 2003

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Last updated: Sunday 14 December 2003

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