雪地里飞来的神秘小鸟

By+Nancy+Edwards

“Look at my snowman！”Ally cried. She climbed up on the couch to get a better view. Three birds perched on top ofthesnowmanshead.Twostruttedatthebase.

Allys mom knelt beside her.“Put on your coat， Ally. Well sneak out the back door to get a better look.”Moments later， Ally and her mother tiptoed through the snowandroundedthecornerofthehouse.

“Somebody put birdseed on my snowman！”Ally cried. At the sound of her voice， all the birds flapped their wings and flew off—all but one. A bright red cardinal sat curled upunderthecurveofthesnowmansbelly.

Allys mom crouched down.“Thats not a real bird，”shesaid.

Ally ran to the snowman.“Its an ornament！”she said， pickingitup.Anotepokedoutfromunderafeatheredwing.

Ally unfolded the paper and read，“A secret friend wantsyou tohavea happy holiday. Hope you enjoy this little gift—moreareontheway！”

“Its a mystery，”Ally told her father at dinner that night.“Who do you think it is？”“The mailman，”he guessed.“Or maybe Grandma？”Allys mom wondered. Allyshookherhead.“Weneedmoreclues.”

When she got home one day she found a new clue. A little birdhouse sat on their front step， with a note sticking out.

Ally raced inside and read it to her mother，“Birds make good neighbors. They sing songs of cheer. Your neighborswishyoumuchhappinessthisyear.”

“A neighbor，”Ally said. Her breath steamed up the windowasshelooked down thestreet.“Thered door ladylet me pick her flowers.”Allys mother put her cheek next to Allys to get a better look.“The Millers get our mail when we go on vacation，”she said.“Mr. Collins has a bird feeder，”Allysaid，“butheneversmiles.”

“I know，”she said.“Lets go for a walk and say‘hito all the neighbors we see. If somebody smiles a really big smile， well know.”Her mother laughed，“What a detective youare！Allright.Letsgo！”

Mr. Miller was wrapping Christmas lights around his bushes.“Hello！”Allycalled.“Howareyou？”“Dandyas candy，”he said with a grin. By the time Ally and her mother rounded the corner， they had smiled at five different neighbors and everybody smiledatthem.

A week went by before they received another note. Ally found it taped to a birdseed bell hanging in their crab apple tree. Her dad had to get it down. It said，“Time to greet your secret pal！ Lets meet for lunch at Rays， Saturday atoneoclock.HappyHolidays！”

On Saturday， by the time they reached the restaurant， Ally thought shed burstwith excitement.“Here we are！”a voice called out. Ally turned to look. A young couple—the red door people—stoodinfrontofthem.Thewoman held outashiny ornament—abluebird，coveredinfeathers.

“Hi， were Paul and Wendy Harrison，”the man said.“Last year we were new on your street. We didnt know anyone. Then one day， presents started showing up， with littlenotes. FinallytheMiller family met us right here in this restaurant.”

Mr. Harrison continued，“We had so much fun， so we decided to be secret pals every year. When you came over to pick flowers with us， Ally， we knew your family was the right one.”“This was fun！”Ally said.“I want to have a secret pal family next year！”She wondered if a bird like this would make Mr. Collins smile. She could hardly wait till nextyear.

“看我的雪人！”艾麗喊道。她爬上沙发，好看得更清楚一些。三只鸟儿栖息在雪人的头上，还有两只在雪人的底部大摇大摆地走着。

艾丽的妈妈跪在她的旁边。“穿上外套，艾丽。我们从后门悄悄出去，去好好看看。”片刻之后，艾丽和妈妈蹑手蹑脚地穿过雪地，然后绕过房子的一角。

“有人在我的雪人上放了鸟食！”艾丽喊道。她的话音刚落，鸟儿就全都拍打着翅膀飞走了———不过有一只除外。那是一只鲜红色的凤头鸟，蜷缩在雪人圆乎乎的肚子下。

艾丽的妈妈蹲下来。“那不是真的鸟。”她说。

艾丽朝雪人跑过去。“这是个装饰品！”她边说边把它捡了起来。一张纸条从一只覆盖着羽毛的翅膀下露了出来。

艾丽展开那张纸条，读着：“一个神秘的朋友希望你度过一个快乐的假期。希望你喜欢这个小礼物———更多的礼物即将到来！”

“这是一个谜，”那天晚上吃饭时艾丽告诉爸爸，“您觉得会是谁呢？”“邮差吧。”他猜测道。“也可能是奶奶？”妈妈寻思着。艾丽摇了摇头：“我们需要更多线索。”

有一天回到家后，她发现了一条新的线索：大门台阶上放着一个小鸟窝，还有一张纸条露在外面。

艾丽飞快地跑进屋里，念给妈妈听：“鸟儿能成为好邻居，它们唱着欢乐的歌。你的邻居祝愿你这一年快乐满满。”

“一个邻居。”艾丽说。她望向街头，呼出来的气让窗户蒙上了一层水汽。“红色大门那家的女士让我摘她的花。”妈妈把脸紧贴着艾丽的脸，好看得更清楚一些。“我们去度假时，是米勒一家帮我们收的信件。”她说。“柯林斯先生倒是有一个喂鸟器，”艾丽说，“可他从来都不笑。”

“我知道了，”她说，“我们出去走一走，对我们遇到的所有邻居说声‘你好。如果哪个人笑得无比灿烂，我们就知道是谁了。”妈妈笑了：“你可真像个侦探！好吧。我们走吧！”

米勒先生正给他的灌木丛缠绕圣诞彩灯。“嗨！”艾丽向他打招呼，“你好吗？”“好得不能再好了。”他咧嘴一笑，说道。等艾丽和妈妈转过街角时，她们已经朝五个不同的邻居微笑了，并且每个人都朝她们笑。一个星期过去了，他们又收到了一张纸条。艾丽发现纸条绑在他们家的一个鸟食摇铃上，而摇铃还高挂在沙果树上，她只好让爸爸把它拿下来。上面写道：“是时候和你的神秘朋友打招呼了！我们在雷家餐馆共进午餐吧，星期六下午一点钟。节日快乐！”

当他们星期六到达那家餐馆时，艾丽突然觉得内心激动不已。“我们在这里！”一个声音喊道。艾丽转过身去看。一对年轻夫妇站在他们面前，是红色大门那户人家！那位女士递过来一个闪闪发亮的装饰品，那是一只蓝色的小鸟，身上覆盖着羽毛。

“嗨，我们是保罗和温迪·哈里森，”那个男人说，“去年我们刚搬到你们这条街上。我们谁也不认识。然后有一天，开始有礼物出现在我们家，还夹着小纸条。最后，是米勒一家和我们见面，就在这家餐馆里。”

哈里森先生继续说道：“我们觉得很有意思，所以决定每年都要做别人的神秘朋友。在你过来和我们一起摘花的时候，艾丽，我们就知道你们一家就是我们要找的。”“这真有趣！”艾丽说，“明年我也想找一个家庭做我的神秘朋友！”她想知道像这样一只鸟能否让柯林斯先生露出笑容。她都等不到明年了。