A Misunderstanding

This is the account of the alien encounter last month. The reporters got it wrong.

The kids had decided to make little houses out of cardboard. As usual on Sunday, I was working, trying to finish a contract. Annie came running in.

"Need tape!"

I handed her a roll of masking tape, hoping that she would be satisfied with it for the afternoon. But fifteen minutes later Petey was complaining that the tape did not stick.

"Don't we have any decent tape, Mom?"

"I'm afraid not."

He left. I started to make progress.

But it was too quiet out there; I went out to check up on the kids. They had built a miniature condominium development on the living room floor.

"Annie found some great tape!" Pete said. Annie sat there, babbling, trying to put together another house.

"It's really nice," I said. "Why don't you get this trash into the wastebasket, and it'll look even nicer?"

We stared. The bird flapped its wings. It managed to get itself into the air, fell back onto the ground, then tried again. It took off.

"Wait!" I yelled. Then, remembering what had worked before, "Stop!"

But the bird just circled and rose.

"We've changed our minds!" I screamed. "Don't go! We love you!"

But birds don't understand English. It flew away.

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