Ella pressed her nose to the sunny window. A tiny sparrow hopped on the sill, one wing drooping.
She reached out a finger. The sparrow didn't run.
Ella lined a shoebox with cotton and set it on the windowsill. She dropped a sunflower seed beside it.
The sparrow hopped closer. It ate the seed.
Days passed. The sparrow flew from the box to Ella's shoulder, then back. Ella laughed out loud.
One morning, she opened the window wide.
The sparrow hopped to the edge. It looked at the sky, then at Ella. Ella held still.
The sparrow spread both wings and shot upward into the blue. A feather drifted down. Ella caught it.