One morning, I woke up and realized something strange I could understand the birds chirping outside my window. At first, I thought I was dreaming, but then the blue jay looked right at me and said,
Took you long enough to wake up.
I was amazed. I ran outside and the first thing I wanted to know was what do animals think of humans? I asked a squirrel who was nibbling on an acorn, and he replied, “Some of you are kind, but many leave too much trash around. It’s hard to find clean food.”
I promised to do better and kept walking. At the park, I found a group of ducks swimming in a pond. They told me stories of the lakes they had visited during their migrations. I had no idea ducks were such great storytellers. I always loved dogs; they were my comfort animal.
Next, I visited a nearby farm. The cows told me they actually enjoy the sunshine and chewing grass all day, but they wished people understood how smart they were. One cow, Lila, said she could recognize every person who visited and had a favourite farmer who always sang to her.
As the sun began to set, I sat with my dog, Odie. For the first time, I could really hear him. He was a black poodle; he told me that he loves our mom the most (not surprised) and said no offence (none taken). He also told me that he always waited by the door when me and my brother left for school. Hearing that made my heart melt.
By the end of the day, I didn’t want to lose the ability. I had learned so much about animals’ point of view, and even about myself. I went to bed grateful for the conversations and promised to always treat animals with kindness and curiosity, just like I always do.