From the publisher shikar looked. In the veranda of the den, squatting as if in mid-air, was a bird. This was no ordinary bird it was the biggest and most fearsome bird that shikar had ever seen. It perched proudly on talons so large that they sent shivers snaking down shikars spine. A casual slash would rip a squirrel to shreds-no question about it. As shikar watched, the bird cocked its head. Its eyes swung towards the squirrels and settled on them. Paan and supari squealed with fright, and shikars heart started to hammer woodpecker-like in his chest. Shikars friends fled the banana tree and cowered behind a bush. Paan began to sob helplessly. Shikar tore his eyes from the gaze of the frightful bird and joined his friends in the bushes. Supari stood shaking beside her sobbing brother. Th-that is a falcon, she stuttered. A falcon Asked shikar. This cage, this awful creation of man. Barred from freedom, forever I am. No sunlight, no moonlight, no starlight for me. No sky, no cloud, no wind. No wingbeat, no heartbeat, no freedom, no life. For never again shall I reach for the sky. This cage, this sinful reflection of man. Barred from freedom, forever I am. O evil cage, thief of birds souls, in this most terrible prison, my wings entombed. Oh, if you see me, surely youll cry, for never again shall I reach for the sky. No desert, no mountain, no river, no sea. No whirling, no twirling, no swirling for me. No wingbeat, no heartbeat, no freedom, no life. Oh, if you see me, surely youll cry, for never again shall my wings reach for the sky. Shikar and his friends paid no attention to the human. They gazed at talon, as the bird hopped on to the veranda wall. The falcons eyes were aglow. For once, there wasnt a trace of fierceness in them. They were lit, instead, by the light of the purest joy shikar and his bird friends had ever seen. Roused from a long sleep, talons heart had come alive again. Shikar could tell, because the birds chest was juddering and heaving like a tree in a storm. Talon jubilantly flexed his mighty wings. The wings, that the falcon had despaired of ever using again, lifted the bird, speeding him joyously to the sky. And as he rose, he sang oh, what a joy, oh, what a joy it is to fly. Greatbill gave us wings to soar to the sky. Oh, what a joy, oh, what a joy it is to fly Shikar heard blackpie and kabul singing along, and he joined the chorus. The sound of the rapturous singing awoke the birds of the neighbourhood. Their voices spiritedly pitched in, too, and their song reverberated through the night.