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Andhun followed Rochadan, completely oblivious of what exactly was going on. He saw Ærosylle, and admired her courage for climbing up there. With a sigh, he looked down at his crippled foot and felt deep regret that he could never engage in such activities again. He raised his eyes to the girl again when she said she would fly away, and a deep longing came into his heart. He wished he were a bird, he wished he could fly away and find his sister. Maybe his sister would be a sweet and kind and funny as Ærosylle was.
"Oh, I wish you wouldn't fly away!" he called to Ærosylle, his voice vibrating with the notes of all the homesickness, loneliness, and longing for family in his heart. "I wish I were a bird, so I might also fly away."
And how, also, he wished he were like Ærosylle. She could find friends everywhere: in the dishware, in the tables and chairs, in the steps... especially the step that didn't like to be stepped upon. She could content herself with her imaginings that she was a bird, or a fish, or whatever she wanted to be. And he felt always the lost little boy without a mother or father, crippled and disfigured, and lonely for a friend.
He had been moving much that day, and his leg was weary, and was paining him. He gently sat upon the ground, and looked up at Ærosylle, flapping her arms, and it seemed to him that she was flying away already. He bowed his head, and at the moment he did a soft hand touched his hair, and Earcwen stood beside him. Her eyes were wide and her face was pale as she looked up at Ærosylle, but she smiled at him and sat beside him. "What troubles you, Andhun?" she asked.
"Miss Earcwen, I was just wishing I were a bird," said Andhun. "If I were a bird I would fly above the houses, and sooner or later I should find my sister."
"If you were a bird your sister would not recognize you, and would only love you as a pet, not her dear brother," Earcwen replied.
"You are right," said Andhun, "but if I were a bird I should not be lonely for my sister."
"And therefore you should be very unhappy, because you would not even love her."
"I suppose so," said Andhun.
"Don't be upset because you miss her," said Earcwen. "When I miss anyone I take it as a comfort. If I did not miss them perhaps I should feel that I did not love them. You can't want to see someone unless you want to see them, you know." Her words were sincere, but her eyes were distracted and ever drifting to the little bird Ærosylle upon the barn.
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