Word: Flit

flit

\ flit \  , verb;

1. to move lightly and swiftly; fly, dart, or skim along: bees flitting from flower to flower .

2. to flutter, as a bird.

3. to pass quickly, as time: hours flitting by .

4. Chiefly Scot. and North England . a. to depart or die. b. to change one's residence.

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The boy stood on a deck chair and gripped the side of the railing.  His eyes were forced wide open as he watched the red tube of translucent plastic with baited breath.  He had been standing there for at least an hour, and in his young mind, that was a long time.  He was starting to worry nothing would happen.  Then he heard it.  A low hum from nearby.  He turned to find the source of the sound, and is eyes soon fell on the small hummingbird that had come to investigate the feeder.

                The small bird flitted around the feeder, as if it didn’t know whether or not to make use of it or not.  Soon though, it darted in and stuck its long, thin beak into the decorative yellow flowers at the base of the feeder.  It moved its body in and out several times, taking short drinks each time.  The boy watched the bird drinking happily.

                “Mom, mom, they’re here!”  He shouted.  The hummingbird darted off at the sudden outburst, but soon returned to its meal.

                The boy’s mother walked onto the deck, not sharing her son’s enthusiasm at seeing the small, energetic birds.  She supposed it was only natural.  Not only was he only seven, and so still fascinated by every little thing, he had also helped make the sugar water used in the feeder.  She could only think that he felt he had a personal stake in whether or not the hummingbirds liked the mix.  She had thought the boy had used far too much sugar.  But, seeing as how the bird kept coming back for more, it must not have minded the extra sweetness.  Either that or it didn’t see the bush of real flowers not twenty feet away.

                “See it, mom?”  The boy said. He grabbed his mother’s hand and pulled her towards the railing.  He eagerly pointed out the hummingbird.

                “Yes, dear.  I see it.”  She said.

                “Hey, look, there’s another one!”  The boy said as the droning hum of another hummingbird could be heard.

                The new bird went right for the flower bush, and so was largely ignored by the first.  The two birds went about their respective meals without worrying about the other.  That is, until a third hummingbird joined the feast.

                The newest addition delighted the boy, but not so the other birds.  As soon as it was in range, it made a beeline for the feeder, which caught the attention of the first bird.  It left its meal and flitted around aggressively, attempting to ward off the newcomer.  It chased the third bid around the yard, driving the intruder off before darting back to the feeder to continue its meal.

                “Mom, why are they doing that?”  The boy asked as the third hummingbird attempted the find its meal at the bush.  It was quickly chased off by the second bird.

                “Well, that’s just what hummingbirds do.”  The mother said.  She wasn’t quite sure what the tell her son about the hummingbird’s eating habits. 

                “But why?”

                “I think that hummingbirds don’t like sharing food very much.”

                “That’s not nice of them.  They should share it.”

                “That’s right, they should.  But I don’t think they feel the same way.”

                The boy looked up at his mother quizzically.  All of his short life he had been told its better to share things, even food.  But the actions of the hummingbirds was in direct opposition to that lesson. 

                “But sharing stuff is better, right?”  He asked.

                “That’s right, it is.  But the hummingbirds need a lot of food so they can fly around so fast.  That’s why they don’t like others taking it away.”

“Oh.  But, but there’s lots of food here, so they don’t need to do that.”

“We know that, but I don’t think they do.  Hummingbirds aren’t as smart as people are you know.”

“Maybe we should try showing them?  That way they’ll know that they can all have something to eat.”

“We can try, but I’m not sure if they’ll like that very much.”

The boy’s forehead wrinkled as he thought.  His mother could almost see the gears turning in his young mind.  She had to admire his dedication to the idea, but lamented that anything he could come up with was probably doomed to failure.  Still, it was best to encourage good habits like trying to teach others and sharing important things. 

“I think I have an idea.”  The boy said soberly.  His eyes were glued to the two hummingbirds that were still eating.

“Ok, why don’t you tell me what it is.” 

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Hummingbirds are fun to watch, but they can get nasty when there's more than one of them around.  They go after each other like crazy trying to get at some sugar water.