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Astro is our Rainbow Lorikeet parrot. He has beautiful colours and is a very intelligent bird but highly
curious and gets into a lot of mischief and trouble! Astro has been trodden on, almost crushed in a sliding door, got string
twisted around his claws and was unable to move all day, has escaped being caught by neighbourhood cats and Currawongs whilst
in the garden, has twice flown away and been found.
Recently his curiosity almost got the better of him when he went snooping around the garage to see what fun he could have there.
I was keeping a watchful eye on him but the phone rang. By the time I got back he was nowhere to be seen.
I could hear a kind of "rustling" noise in the garage somewhere. I called and whistled to him but no response.
I just kept hearing this funny noise. I knew he was there somewhere but I couldn’t see him anywhere!
I tracked this sound and to my horror it led me to the sharps bin. There he was at the bottom of the bin!
The little rascal had somehow got onto the lid and of course slid straight down the flap! I don’t have to tell you the horror
I experienced when I saw him in this predicament. This large bin was 1/2 full of hundreds of sharps and needles and here was
my Astro peering up at me looking rather helpless with a look of despair and as if to say "get me outta here quick!!"
I put my hand in past the flap and tried to coax him to come to me but he kept getting stuck under the flap.
Needless to say (pardon the pun) he was not a happy little bird and became quiet as if resigned to his fate.
Panic and terror gripped me, what was I to do? I thought about calling the Fire Brigade or rushing him with bin in tow to the hospital.
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I feared Astro’s luck may have finally run out... Before taking that course of action, I thought I would grab a hammer and
somehow break open that impenetrable seal myself. A vain and stupid attempt really as I doubted it was going to achieve anything,
other than give Astro a big headache or a heart attack by the pounding on the hard plastic but I thought it was worth a try.
So I gently placed the bin flat on the ground and ran off to get the hammer. In the meantime my mind was racing
with this medieval image of Astro being pricked all over with all these needles, blood pouring out of his little body... just horrible...
Anyway by the time I came back there was Astro out of the bin and as happy and chirpy as ever! The flap must have been at the right
angle and lifted, so that as soon as he saw the light (sorry, another pun), he was outta there! Just brilliant!!
What a wonderful feeling of relief engulfed me at that moment!
I then checked him over and over and nothing, no blood, no needles sticking into him... He was perfectly OK!!
In case you are wondering he still appears to be to this day, four weeks after the event. I guess his incredible feathers acted
as a buffer and a shield against the sharps. God has certainly created these little creatures to withstand enormous calamities.
So Astro survives to ‘tell’ the tale and to lives another day!
Maria Wensing
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