Tidbit Tussle

I walked out of the Library and nearly ran into two birds zipping around the corner. Angry cawing and scolding blasted my ears as the huge birds swooped just clear of my head. I ducked, then turned in the direction they flew to see what the ruckus was about.

A huge black crow with a cheese puff in its beak was darting close to the ground while immediately above him a seagull squawked angrily, giving chase. The crow ducked and dodged around trees, flipping under the eaves of Garlock, slicing through the small space between the dorms and back to the parking lot, barely clearing parked cars, breezing between bushes, flitting here and there at a dizzying pace, the seagull never more than an inch or two behind him, relentless in his pursuit, determined to have the cheese puff for his own.

Was it the bright orange color? Had the crow stolen the puff from the seagull's grasp? Did the seagull promise his younguns a tasty treat only to have it snatched away?

I stood riveted to the ground, watching the two birds fight over the dubious prize. It was all out war. I was sure that at any moment the crow would crash into something, taking the gull down with him. I was stunned by how they maneuvered, pulling up from disaster at the last minute, barely missing some unexpected object as they wheeled and turned. How did they calculate so quickly?

At last they flew out of sight. I can only imagine the outcome. In the long run, I wonder that the gull didn't give up and just return to the place where he found the first puff to see if there were any more to be had. Or better yet, perhaps he could have raided the dining hall's dumpster. I am pretty sure there are all sorts of goodies there for the taking.

Whoever ended up devouring the orangey cheese puff may have discovered that it tastes like styrofoam and stains the feathers for days.

Ah, me. How like we humans, determined to have what our neighbors have, not because there isn't enough to go around, or that there aren't other things that would do us as well. Whoever gets their way in the end often discovers they didn't really want the thing anyway. Sigh.

All that energy expended over a scrap of garbage. Do I do that? I sure hope not.