There was once a very wealthy lady, whose possessions grew alongside her loneliness and who the local people had become overly wary of. They said she had come about her wealth and standing in no godly way and went to great lengths to avoid her, the only servant who would be employed by her was the widow Blythe, bent with age and well beyond her working years. 

The wealthy lady had no family, nor friends left (although her house was once bustling with people and parties) and as the last in her bloodline, she had nothing to spend her gold on but trinkets and whim-whams. She would take regular trips out of boredom to the large city which was a 2 hour carriage ride from her home, Blythe in tow, buying all manner of elaborate jewellery, expensive ornaments and fine cloth. She would take them home and set them aside, letting them gather the dust and sadness that drifted amidst the sunbeams as they graced her halls. 

The house itself was named after the flock of Jackdaws which had presided in the oak trees there before the house was even an idea. The youngest Jackdaw of the current flock found himself fascinated by the house and would stare into the room which the lady favoured for her trinkets as the sun hit it, the treasures there sparkling and glinting like metallic fire. They spoke to something fierce and wanting deep inside of him and he decided he needed some of the treasure for himself.

His family advised against trying to steal the lady's things. ‘They do not like us inside, they will hit you and maim you, the entrance is unclear, many have tried and died against barriers we cannot see and we have learnt to stay away. What will you do with these trinkets? You are a bird and you do not need or require such things’. Nevertheless, the youngest Jackdaw was greedy and saw that the lady did not use her things the way he might and that if she had so much and he had nothing, he may as well have them 

So one day he hopped and skipped around the walls of the house, choosing not to  fly as others had before as he thought himself a clever bird and some time later , found a gap in the wall where he could enter. He moved through the house unseen and soon found the room of treasure. He picked up the first thing that shone at him and flew with it back outside. The rest of the Jackdaws were amazed at his feat and thus his confidence - and arrogance -  grew. He returned several times to take more treasures, each time escaping through the open window with his prize, and each time growing more pompous and less cautious.

Unbeknownst  to him, the Lady was well aware of the Jackdaws’ nefarious activities. Wealth and loneliness had not made her ignorant, but it had made her bored and her boredom had fostered a shrewd mind. She let the Jackdaw take her trinkets, always leaving the window open for him to escape. Blythe would watch him from the opposite room, having been instructed to leave well alone but it vexed her to let him take her mistresses' things. 

After a year, the Jackdaw had filled his nest so full of cold metal and sharp stones that he could no longer use it for warmth or shelter. His family had long since given up persuading him to cease his foolish endeavours and as he shivered against the wind whilst perched on his heap of gold, silver and gems, looking into the warm house, he resolved to steal one more thing and one more thing only.

He took his usual route into the house and as he skittered and hopped from silver goblet to brass fob watch, amongst the cabinets and polished tables. He saw the Lady approach from the corner of his eye, and moved to escape, but the window was shut and he took a hard knock against the glass. She gently picked him up, his wings pinned to his sides by her firm yet delicate  hands as the Lady appraised him.

“Ah, so you are my thief are you bird? You are a silly proud bird, I have been watching you take my things all these months. You must understand, I have grown  very bored, little bird, and it is time to leave this prison I have made for myself. I wonder what it would be like to fly away and have the sky as my kingdom. I have a secret to tell you now, trinket thief, there is a reason why I am so wealthy and so lonely.” She leaned in close and whispered in his ear, “it is because I have in my possession a great power and I will show you now what it is.” and all at once for the greedy Jackdaw, the world shrank into a suffocating dark.

Blythe had called the doctor when she found her mistress fainted, gone down like a sack of bricks with that stupid ugly bird clasped in hand. Blythe then threw the flea ridden thing through the window only to see it fly off as if no harm had come to it. Her mistress was gravely unwell, a malady of the brain the doctor said, and no remedy could be found,she sat useless in her chair, unable to even lift a hand to take tea. The noises she made, gave Blythe nightmares.

The Jackdaw did not remember sleeping but when he woke the world was changed, his thoughts were slow and felt heavy and his eyes concocted visions of things he could not comprehend, colours he did not understand. When he went to flap his wings he found them heavy and useless, they were changed; they looked just like the hands of the Lady. He sat in the Lady’s chair, wearing her clothes, her rings. Her servant attended to him, bringing him tea and sweet biscuits, though her concerned face and voice felt far, far away. He was trapped in the Lady’s body, he knew not how to speak or what to say. Men came, prodding and poking him, speaking seriously and loudly to him and all he was able to do was open his mouth and try to caw, the unintelligible, strangled cry of an animal with the voice of a human.

The Jackdaw stretched her wings as far as she could, feeling the wind buffeting beneath them over the dark trees below, riding the waves of air currents as they pushed and pulled. She often landed beside the window to observe her old form, their eyes would lock for the briefest of seconds before the once-lady began to caw and call ( bringing Blythe in to shoo the bird off). 

Guilt had never touched her ancient soul before and it didn’t now, the greedy bird had been covetous and bold, traits she admired, and she had rewarded him hadn’t she? She had left him with all the treasure he could ever want.