Said the flea to the fly in the flue ...

This morning, Trent noticed Sal and Booley sitting in front of our fireplace, looking at it strangely and cocking their heads simultaneously and in the same direction. He came closer to determine the source of their curiosity.

At about that time, I came into the living room, and Trent whispered, “I think there’s something in our fireplace.”

“Huh?” I replied.

“Shhhh.”

I bent over and put my head near the fireplace. Something scuttled about inside.

“What do we do?” I asked.

“Well,” Trent replied, “if we leave it in there, it’s going to die and stink up the house.”

We gathered the necessary supplies: a laundry basket, towel, gloves, and flashlights. We put the cats in the upstairs bedroom and opened the front and back doors.

Thinking the animal was trapped above the chimney flue, Trent tapped on it to determine the species.

“Definitely a bird,” he said. “Or maybe a bat.”

We braced ourselves, placing the laundry basket in the fireplace, and positioning the towel to quickly cover whatever fell out of the chimney. Trent opened the flue.

All that came out was a bunch of soot.

Then we noticed where the animal was actually trapped—behind the vents of the chimney. And now we could see that it was a little bird. (Yay—no bats or squirrels.)

Trent unscrewed part of the fireplace, and the little sparrow came zooming out. Trent screamed and ran toward the kitchen. I screamed and watched as the sparrow bonked into our living room window. Then I shooed it out the front door.

Just another exciting day at the Mason Zoo of Kennesaw. Copperheads, cat bites, and crazy birds—oh my!