Once upon a time there lived a boy named Tommy. Tommy was a polite, handsome, young

boy. He had shiny, straight blonde hair and green eyes.

    Tommy was an orphan. He lived with his mother, sister and brother in a small cottage.     He was helping his mother to bake a cake when he saw a little blue bird sitting on the window, sill, watching him.     "Well, hello there, little fellow," said Tommy to the bird. "Do you want a bread crumb to eat?"     But the bird flew away and made Tommy go after it. After a while, the bird landed on the branch of a tree outside a big house and started to sing a soft, lovely, sweet song. Tommy climbed on another branch.     Suddenly, he saw a beautiful girl go to the window of the house and open it. "Who are you?" asked the girl looking out of the window. "My name is Tommy."     "Go away," said the girl.     Tommy got down from the tree and ran back all the way home. The girl was called Lisa and she was very beautiful with long, blonde, straight hair and black eyes. She lived with her stepmother and step-sisters in the big house.     One day, the bird flew to Lisa's house and this time it flew straight into her lap.     "What a lovely bird you are," said Lisa to it softly. "Oh, if you only can tell me where that handsome boy is," she whispered.     Just then the door opened and the step-sisters walked in and shouted at poor Lisa. Just as Lisa got up the bird fell to the ground with a loud bang and bumped its head.     "Oh, you poor thing," cried Lisa with tears in her eyes. She slowly picked up the bird and laid it on her bed. She then covered it with a small blanket.     "Now you go to sleep, little one," said Lisa to the bird.     Tommy was waiting to see Lisa once more, because he loved her very deeply, but she did not come out.     Days went by and still the little bird lay unconscious in Lisa's bed.     "When will you get better, little bird?" said Lisa as she bent to kiss the bird. "Oh, I do wish I could see Tommy," she thought to herself.     Slowly, the bird opened its tired little eyes and looked at Lisa with so much love.     "You are better!" cried Lisa. She ran to bring some cold water for the bird to drink. "Tomorrow, you will be better still, little one," said Lisa. And so the bird got better day by day.     Lisa went outside to pick some flowers when she saw Tommy sitting on the trunk of a tree.     "Tommy, I am so happy. The little bird was sick and is better now," she said as she ran to him and hugged him for joy.     Tommy was so surprised he did not know what to say. And from that day on, he came to see her every day. And every day, Lisa met him with a smile and a hug. And all the time, the little bird was watching them and singing his soft, sweet songs of happiness for them.

IIn Memoriam

In loving memory of Lida Hagopian, a gem of purest ray serene, an innocent soul, born in the hallowed Old City of Jerusalem, whose footsteps also echoed in the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula, and on the sunswept sidewalks and distant shores of Australia.