Birds of a Kind

An exploration of the power of kindness.

November 2025. Suffolk, England, not far from the Orwell.

Chapter 1

"Tomorrow", intoned Sir Griffon, "we have a visitor. And we are kindly birds, so we will all make our visitor welcome."

Sir Griffon Goodheart was a towering figure, both physically and socially. He was peerless leader of the nation, his position as undisputed as it was seemingly effortless. He had been born for this position.

The nation was vast. Probably many thousands strong. And it was safe, too. The solid wooden walls and roof of the barn provided the nation's security. Food and water were plentiful too. Yes, life was good in Turkey Paradise, for that is what the cabinet had decided to name the nation. A few of the wisest and kindest birds had been hand-picked by Sir Griffon to serve the nation on the cabinet and they made all the important decisions.

"Madge and Flo will be hosting our visitor; help them if they ask for your assistance," said Griffon.

Nial had made a name for himself as a cheeky young fella but recently his contributions had taken a somewhat sharper turn.

"Who is this visitor, Sir Griffon?" he asked, his raised voice necessary to be heard above the general hubbub but also somehow challenging.

A few birds near him began scratching the earth the way they do when they are slightly embarrassed; being kindly birds, direct challenges often caused such displays of anxiety.

Fixing Nial with a beady eye and raising his voice in a harsh tone, Griffon replied: "Our visitor is here to make improvements to our lives, Nial. You, of all birds, should welcome improvements!". The birds round about could see that once more, Griffon's superior wit and wisdom had won the day and they instantly erupted in a flurry of gobbling and feathers and jumping about in excitement. Of course, the disturbance spread as more birds reacted and, as often was the way, that was the end of the meeting.

In such a huge barn there was no possible way to include everyone in meetings; the number of birds was just far too vast. So, for improved reach, Griffon would stand on an upturned crate in the prestigious WestQuarter area and proclaim from there. The cabinet would generally be standing behind him. The other birds around about were those who liked to hear Griffon's proclamations - they would spend a lot of time in that area, mixing with the great and the good, and when Griffon or one of the cabinet spoke they would show due deference. Other birds were less interested in the goings on in WestQuarter and they would prefer other parts of the barn. But after a meeting the birds natural inclination to gossip would kick in and within an hour or two the entire nation was aware of the imminent arrival of a visitor.

---

Of course, turkeys love to gossip as much as any creature and some time ago cruel rumours had circulated that Griffon was a very old bird; much older than any other turkey who had ever lived. Gossip always spread but this rumour shot around the nation like wildfire. That day had been the most exciting day of many birds' lives. Griffon and the entire cabinet had done something they had never done before - they made proclamations from each of the four quarters of the barn, not just WestQuarter.

In WestQuarter, Griffon had spoken from the crate as usual. In the other quarters, other members of the cabinet had stood on feed stations or water stations in order to be heard. In each quarter, they explained that cruel elements had been agitating the nation and spreading lies and how the happiness of the nation was threatened by such elements. They reminded the birds that turkeys are kindly birds and unkindness is a betrayal of everything the nation stands for. They then explained that Griffon was not just a victim but a double-victim! Not only was he the victim of the cruel rumours but he was also the victim of a nasty disease called Whitefeather. This terrible condition not only altered the appearance of the bird but also caused awful pain and suffering. They explained that Sir Griffon had never complained of the condition before because he did not want to burden the nation with his personal difficulties and all his energies were dedicated to serving and protecting the nation. They quickly reminded everyone that Whitefeather was a well-known disease which cannot be spread between birds and so there was no cause for concern.

In their proclamations, the speakers reminded the birds that Turkey Paradise was a kindly nation and anyone found to be unkindly would no longer be part of the nation and everyone would hate them until they became kindly once more. After each speech, a curious thing happened; a small group of birds formed, some who usually hung out at WestQuarter and some who mostly hung out locally but also spent time in WestQuarter. They conferred privately and intensely for a short while and then dispersed; those from WestQuarter left and the local birds also dispersed, as though nothing had happened.

---

Every single bird understood the importance of being kindly. Despite the noise and limited space, the birds of Turkey Paradise mostly managed to get along. But from time to time, a bird would be identified as having been unkindly. The denunciation usually took the form of an injured party and a witness. The injured party would loudly proclaim the unkindness and how it had hurt their feelings and the witness would confirm it. Immediately, one or two other birds in the vicinity would be terribly shocked and upset by the revelation that such unkindness could even exist. By this time, the fate of the Unkindly bird had already been sealed - the accusation and proof of unkindliness unleashed some latent inner viciousness in most of the birds. As the Unkindly bird started to deny their actions or downplay their seriousness, or even worse, try to justify unkindliness, the holy righteous wrath of kindliness would rise up to enforce itself. Each and every bird would demand of its neighbours whether they were kindly birds or not and, in order to prove their own kindliness, they would all spurn the Unkindly bird. The Unkindly bird always reacted in the same way; it would start to panic and protest its innocence most anxiously and that very anxiety would make it look desperate... and guilty.

A bird guilty of unkindliness is, of course, a traitor to the nation. Before long, the entire locality was worked up into a flurry of feathers and squawking and then the pecking would begin. The unkind bird would generally then try to leave the area to escape the assault, but the flurry would move with it and the blood from the peck marks served as undeniable proof that this bird was the Unkind one wherever it went. The bodies of Unkind birds were found where they fell and served as an extremely potent reminder. Certainly, every single bird understood the importance of being kindly.

---

Most birds would agree that life in the barn was very comfortable. Feed and water was freely available and the barn kept them all safe and dry. There were, however, some birds who were prone to grumble. They would appear agitated and seemed to look for opportunities to stir up strife. Squabbles would sometimes break out, though, of course, no bird would openly be unkind or aggressive. The squabbles tended to take the form of a general upswelling of agitation - a sense of tension would arise in a small area, then some squawking and then, in the worst cases, claws would flash. Generally, at this point, the birds concerned would realise that they were on the verge of being unkind and they would disperse for fear of being identified.

Such squabbles often came to the attention of the cabinet and they would immediately investigate such incidents. Who was involved? Who are their friends? Where did it happen? Who squawked first? With these outbursts, there was always as many different versions of what had happened as there were birds telling the story. In every case, the cabinet would decide that the underlying cause was a lack of kindness.

"If we are to live in harmony, then every bird must agree to be more kind," had became the nation's mantra.

Chapter 2

In the morning of the following day the barn door opened and bright sunlight flooded in, blinding the birds. By the time they had recovered from the excitement, the visitor had entered and closed the door behind him. He was a tall, muscular human, dressed in blue overalls. Griffon seemed content that all was well and so the other birds were reassured. Those closest to Griffon noticed what might have been the vaguest of acknowledgments passing between Griffon and the human and the human set off across the barn, carrying equipment. With a superior air befitting their stations as cabinet members, Madge and Flo escorted the human, enjoining the birds thereabout to make way and be kindly. This was the moment that Nial has been waiting for. He had intentionally placed himself close to Griffon and spoke loudly so that every bird nearby could hear.

"I don't understand what improvements this human can make to our lives! We eat well and have plenty of water and we are safe. Why is he here?"

A general murmur of assent went around as the birds nearby realised that if they were to have a human in the barn, they would really like to at least understand why. Griffon visibly stiffened. But of course, kindly birds welcome constructive questioning and Griffon was a master at being kindly. Griffon walked over to the crate, hopped up on to it and gobbled to get every bird's attention.

"Kind birds of Turkey Paradise, as we know, we are blessed. As Nial has rightly pointed out, we have food aplenty, water and security. Turkey Paradise is well named!"

A gobble of agreement went up round about.

"But we are missing one thing that is essential to each and every one of us."

A quiet now descended on the crowd in the WestQuarter.

"As the learned birds amongst us will know, our ancestors had some fanciful ideas. They worshipped a thing called the Liber Tree. They imagined that being outside the barn, near the Liber Tree, was a wonderful thing! They would be attacked and eaten by all manner of wild beasts and yet they rejected the safety of the barn!"

At this point the crowd expressed a mixture of surprise, agreement and disagreement. Some birds had heard of the Liber Tree beliefs of old. A few believed the stories while others assumed they must surely be apocryphal. Many had never heard them before.

Griffon understood the confusion and responded to the crowd like the seasoned speaker he was.

"Yes, it is true - our ancestors worshipped a tree and never knew the safety and security of the barn." And, for emphasis, he stood on his claws and thundered "And they were not kind!"

At this revelation there was pandemonium. Feathers were flying, the gobbling was deafening and birds were almost in a frenzy. The disturbance was so great it spread to much of the barn. But with great effort and help from the cabinet, Griffon achieved something that had never been done before at a time like this - he succeeded in bringing the meeting back to order so that he could continue speaking. As airborne feathers and dust settled, he continued.

"Yes, it is true, our ancestors would say whatever they liked, however unkind! They said that their Liber Tree would fall if they were not able to say whatever they wanted! And they would go wherever they liked, too! They would wander to far-off foreign lands and worship the Liber Trees there. But everywhere they went they were attacked and eaten. How fortunate we are to have shaken off such silly, old-fashioned ideas and remained here, in the barn where we are all safe."

Having regained the attention of every bird in the WestQuarter and laid the necessary groundwork, he commenced the next phase of the scheme.

"Now, it has come to my attention that a few of you follow a new belief. And this is a belief system called Eyam."

Every bird in the crowd looked around their neighbours as if to find a bird who was part of this new belief system but there was no sign of any bird knowing anything at all about Eyam.

Griffon quickly continued "Only a small number of you are Eyams. And that makes you a minority. And as kind birds, we are always very welcoming of minorities, aren't we?"

In their confusion and bewilderment, the crowd failed to respond.

Griffon raised his voice, stiffened his neck and repeated:
"As kind birds, we are always very welcoming of minorities, aren't we?"

As one, the crowd gobbled loudly in agreement - oh yes, every last one of them was a very kind bird who understood the importance of welcoming minorities.

As the gobbling died down a high-pitched voice came from the crowd not far from Griffon.

"What's a minority?"

An awkward moment passed as every bird in the barn realised that none of them knew what a minority was and Griffon quickly explained.

"Of course a minority is a small number."

The birds who wished to be seen as knowledgeable on such matters gobbled their agreement despite having never heard of such a thing before. Griffon continued.

"And small numbers are especially vulnerable to unkindness! So we will be especially careful to be kind to all Eyams to save them from persecution by White Dog."

At the mention of White Dog, another flurry of squawking and wing-flapping broke out. Of course every bird had heard of White Dog and the terrible things it did to any bird unlucky enough to encounter it. White Dog was enormous and stupid and smelt of burned blood and had a hundred teeth made especially for biting the heads off of birds. It had a dirty, shaggy white coat with a red cross on its chest. And as it killed, its chest would become soaked in blood so that the cross would effectively disappear. Nothing could stop White Dog and it would kill all the birds just for fun if it ever got into the barn. No bird had ever seen White Dog but every last one of them knew all about it and feared it.

As the squawking died down, Griffon continued.

"White Dog especially likes to drink the blood of Eyams so we must do everything we can to keep Our Eyams safe. The very first thing we will do to keep Our Eyams safe is that we will not ask them to identify themselves. For if they did, this would make them an easy target for White Dog."

This struck the birds as very clever indeed - what a wise and courageous leader Griffon is, caring for the most vulnerable amongst the nation and diligently defending them. That's why no-one knew of an Eyam - because they were so vulnerable that they had to stay silent for their own safety.

As the sound of birds praising their great leader died down, Nial spoke once more.

"I still don't see why this human is here... and what is it that we need?"

The day had gone well so far and Griffon felt confident to respond: "I'm glad you asked, Nial, let me explain. In order to properly accommodate Our Eyams and keep them safe, we need special spaces for them. Safe spaces."

Another wave of agreement came from the crowd. Griffon continued.

"The human is constructing the necessary safe spaces. I'm sure you all support being kindly to Our Eyams and keeping them safe?"

The crowd gobbled it's enthusiastic assent.

---

An hour or so after the meeting there was another enormous disturbance. Lucy from NorthQuarter was heard to say that she had overheard some wild crows talking to each other outside the barn and that they had said that the visitor was a thing called a 'betcher', and he would kill turkeys. A group of the NorthQuarter birds who often visited WestQuarter had quickly intervened in the row and decided that Lucy should tell the cabinet what she had heard. Lucy rarely ventured outside NorthQuarter and was extremely nervous as she stood before Griffon and the cabinet.

"It was them nasty crows what done it - they said it. I just told my friend Jim, that's all," she explained.

It was Griffon who spoke, without any visible sign of distress:

"Now Lucy. Repeating nasty rumours started by those lying crows is a very, very unkind thing to do! I am shocked. I am disappointed in you. I am appalled."

It was Madge from the cabinet who acted as witness.

"I can see poor Griffon is distraught at the terribly nasty things you have been saying, Lucy."

In this case, the pecking started even before Lucy had a chance to offer any further defense and the attack escalated very quickly. Her body fell only feet from Griffon's crate and was not moved. Word spread - never believe lying crows; as everyone knows, they are in league with White Dog.

The human continued bringing in equipment and constructing the safe spaces.

Chapter 3

It was the following day that Griffon called a special meeting.

"I have been speaking with Our Eyams and what they have told me is very, very important for all of us and that is what I want to talk to you about today. It seems that our ancestors were not entirely wrong to worship the Liber Tree after all. The Liber Tree is real! In fact, the very wood that this barn is made of came from the Liber Tree!"

The crowd was shocked. Shock quickly turned to curiosity to know more.

"So you see, the Liber Tree does make us safe after all! Our Eyams have explained to me that the reason our ancestors died out is because they worshipped the Liber Tree..."

and he spoke the next words slowly for emphasis:

"the wrong way".

This revelation was met with a gobble of anticipation and Griffon continued:

"The correct way to worship the Liber Tree is from inside the safe spaces! Now, kindly turkeys, tell me, do any of you want to be eaten by White Dog!?"

Every bird in the barn knew about the terror of being chased down by White Dog and eaten alive by its hundred sharp teeth; it was their greatest fear and they would do anything to save themselves. The crowd was putty in Griffon's claws. He continued.

"Would you want the wood that this barn is made of to turn against us and rot... and fall apart... and let White Dog in because we failed to worship the Liber Tree?"

Every bird could now see clearly that the Eyams had saved them from a fate worse than death; they must all worship the Liber Tree the right way - from the Safe Spaces. How thankful they were that Griffon had the foresight to arrange the construction of the Safe Spaces which would save them all from evil. It was Madge who asked the question on every bird's beak.

"When can we start worshipping the Liber Tree, Sir Griffon?"

"Tomorrow! We shall all worship the Liber Tree tomorrow!"

The crowd was ecstatic. Griffon continued.

"But we are kindly birds. Any bird who does not want to save us all from White Dog may be excused from attending Safe Space, provided that you identify yourself now."

The barn had never been so silent.

Chapter 4

It was the day of the first service dedicated to the worship of the Liber Tree. Griffon had arranged for the entire barn to be addressed at once. He would address the WestQuarter and each member of the cabinet would address another part of the barn. In this way, all the nation could be prepared for worship at once. On his usual crate, in the WestQuarter, Griffon began.

"We are many and time is short so we will each only be able to stay in the Safe Space for a very short period. It is very important that before you enter the Safe Space, you must prepare yourself in the proper way of the Liber Spirit. As you wait to approach the Safe Space, be very calm at all times. Show respect to the Spirit by keeping your gaze down toward the ground. And repeat the ancient Eyam chant: 'Arbor is salvation. Eyam is the way.' And as you enter the Safe Space, you may be filled with a beautiful sense of wonder and awe. The chosen among you might even see the light of the Spirit."

He spoke slowly to emphasise the next instruction:

"Once inside, remember to simply repeat the Eyam chant and then quickly leave."

These instructions were carefully delivered to all the birds in the barn and they were then instructed to line up and prepare to worship the Liber Tree to save themselves from White Dog.

The Safe Space had been constructed near the WestQuarter and so those birds were the closest. Under Griffon's direction, they lined up and solemnly approached the entrance. Griffon lead on the chanting and all the birds respectfully joined in. Once they had learned the chant well, the effect of the chanting was mesmerising to the birds and helped them all to remain calm and even serene. A sense of reverence and piety fell across the entire nation as each bird waited their turn to pay their respects to the Spirit.

The other areas of the barn were similarly lead by the members of the cabinet and before long, several lines of chanting birds snaked toward the Safe Space, all synchronised so that the entire barn was filled with the sound of the birds paying their respects.

The Safe Space had been constructed so that each bird had to turn a corner to gain access. And a light was shining from inside the Safe Space; most of the birds wondered whether this was be the light of the Spirit that Griffon had mentioned. Griffon stood beside the entrance and the birds were surprised and rather touched to see that he was actually bowing to each bird individually as it crossed the threshold; such a show of appreciation made each bird feel that they must be doing something really quite special and worthwhile and surely this would mean that the entire nation would enjoy a better tomorrow as a result.

Occasionally a bird's gaze would start to wander but the cabinet and some of the other more devout birds were ready and sharply reminded them to show respect to the Spirit and keep their gaze directed toward the ground.

The line moved slowly but consistently.

Flo was one of Griffon's most dedicated enforcers. As a young bird she had been carefree and happy. But she had learned quickly that for evil to prosper, all that was required was for good birds to do nothing and she knew then that she had to get involved and... do something! She had learned to be constantly alert to unkindness and wore an expression of permanent indignation. As the line shortened ahead of her, she found herself to be the very last bird, apart from Griffon of course, to experience the Safe Space. It had been a very long wait but the chanting had helped the time pass. In front of her was Jacob, an excitable bird known for having been a witness to many acts of unkindness. He had seemed a little agitated lining up but as he had settled into the chanting, he too had calmed down and kept his gaze respectfully averted. As they approached the Safe Space, they could not see the far side, where all those birds who had already worshipped the Spirit were gathered. She could only imagine the blissful look in their eyes and the peace in their hearts as they stood and recalled the experience of being in the presence of the Spirit.

Griffon bowed to Jacob as he passed the threshold into the Safe Space. For the first time, Flo heard that as he bowed, Griffon said "Bless you, my son." This was a further touching element of the proceedings. The nation was indeed blessed by Griffon's great leadership, wisdom and unlimited kindness, which was all the more impressive considering how he suffered in silence with Whitefeather. She saw Jacob pause for a moment as Griffon bowed to her and blessed her and then she saw Jacob move on and the way was clear for her to proceed. This was her special moment. As she turned the corner, the light was much brighter than she had realised and she was quite blinded by it. But she had prepared well for this moment and she began to chant. The pressure round her neck was instant and ferociously painful. But it did not last more than a second before the darkness came.

---

The bodies filled two trucks. The heads were left in a bloody pile beside the barn.

Once the human had finished washing off the blood and packing away the slaughter pen, he turned to Griffon:

"Ah Lenin, you're a godsend. I would have to hire more men if you didn't get them to line up for it like that. Same time next year, mate."

The last sentence was half question, half instruction. Griffon replied:

"Yes, same time next year, Alan..."

The human interrupted: "Yeah, yeah, I know, more females next year, right?"

Walking away, he continued: "Ha! What is it with you, Lenin, you randy old cock! How many young chicks does an old fella need?"

Speaking only to himself now, Griffon replied: "A good leader needs a kindly cabinet."