By mid-morning the park birdbath had a line of sparrows holding petal-sized napkins. Each bird wiped its beak, nodded once to the water, and only then took a sip no larger than a seed.
We asked at the kiosk by the gate. "I thought they were arguing," said Mrs. Pell, who feeds the hedge every Tuesday. "Then I saw the folding. Very neat. Nobody drank out of turn, and the water stayed clear enough to show the clouds."
The park keeper pinned a note to the rim: Kindly return the napkin to the moss. Extra petals may be borrowed if a flock arrives all at once.
The next day a wren came back with a thank-you tucked under a pebble: the second sip was even quieter, and the water had nodded first.