Sweet Potato

Sweet Potato watched as her brothers munched on beetles, spiders and crickets that

her mom and dad had tossed into the nest. “Yuck,” thought Sweet Potato, as she

crossed her wings across her chest refusing to eat. “No crawly critters for me,” she said.

“I want sweet potatoes!” “I am not a meat eater!” she declared.

Mamma Screech Owl just shook her head and looked concerned. “We are Owls,”

Daddy Screech Owl explained. “Meat is what we eat.”

“Well, I only like sweet potatoes and mangoes,” cried Sweet Potato.

Mr. Screech Owl regretted ever feeding sweet potato fries to his three children. He thought

back to that fateful day in the park when he had searched for hours for a yummy bug or snake

to bring home to his starving children.

He finally settled for leftovers that he found in a trash can and begrudgingly gave sweet potato

fries to his children. Of course, Sweet Potato wanted more, but her brothers were not happy

and turned their heads away from the garbage treat. This is how Sweet Potato got her name,

which fits perfectly since her feathers are a beautiful burnt orange color, just like a sweet potato.

On this particular day, the Owl family had just eaten their breakfast and they were all

becoming very sleepy, everyone except Sweet Potato.