By: Lauren Wu

One Saturday afternoon, I was playing with my squish owl, Winston. He was dressed in the dragon costume I sewed for him. Still, it was boring, and I wished that he could be alive and actually play with me.

Then, suddenly, he shimmered then blinked. I was amazed. Was I dreaming or was Winston suddenly alive? Then, he wiggled out of my grasp and fluttered onto my head! He chirped, “This dragon costume you made for me is totally amazing!”, and flew in circles around my head. I nodded and smiled. I was still too shocked to get words out.

He started exploring the room which he had never seen before. I was very gentle with him, even more gentle than before, because I knew he was alive and could feel pain. I knew owls liked to eat mice, but obviously I didn’t have any, so I didn’t know what to feed him. Then, I remembered that owls ate chicken. I asked my dad to make chicken for dinner, and he agreed.

Since there was still time before dinner, I quickly sewed up a felt bed for Winston, so he could have a good night’s sleep. At dinner, I slipped a piece of roast chicken to Winston, and he munched on it happily. Soon, it was time for bed. I laid the little owl in his felt bed and turned off the lights.

I couldn’t wait to wake up the next morning to play with him again, since it would be Sunday and there would be no school. The next day, I woke up eagerly and looked at Winston to see if he was awake. To my surprise and disappointment, he lay there, once again just a squishy!

Image Credit by Juan Vargas