In our last post, we shared with you that Pearl was to be the next Principalis Bibliothècarius, or Head Librarian, of the Living Library of the Songbirds. Pearl wanted me to make sure that you understand what The Living Library is all about, and so that is what we will try to do in this post beginning with the smallest and hardest working members of the Living Library in our neighborhood—The Wrens.

There are no members of the Living Library any smaller or with a more important mission than the wrens. Along with other songbirds such as robins and thrushes, their title within The Living Library is Page. As a group, they like to be called “The Watchful Wrens.”

Of all the creatures on earth, their task is the most important. They watch over any child who looks as if he or she needs help. You see, wrens know what it is like to be small and helpless, and so they do what they can to help a small child who may need help.

The wren keeps a record of the child’s life, and this is often shared with others who can protect the child from those who are bigger and stronger or simply meaner like a bully. (Pearl assures me she has seen more than one bully stopped in their tracks when bombarded by a wren who targeted them for a runny “splat.”

But there is more that a watchful wren can do, and they often do this throughout a person’s life—sing into their dreams. How this works is a secret shared only by the wrens, but during the night and often in the very early morning hours, the wren will sing a song into the dreams of the person they are watching over.

It may be helpful advice or simple encouragement. It may be information that will be helpful in some way. Whatever is sung into the dream will be something that will help the person face the challenges of the new day ahead. Wrens will do this for a child person or a grown-up person. They have even been known to sing into the dreams of chickens!

Pearl is very appreciative of the watchful wrens. She knows what a good serviced they perform. When they have proven themselves as protectors and positive motivators, she rewards them with a hat creation she has designed and made just for them. They wear their hats quite proudly, but only at night when hats would be less obvious.

In the early morning hours as the sun is coming up, and you begin to hear the songbirds stirring, you may want to peek out of your window and look for any wrens wearing a hat. If you do, then rest assured that you are going to have a great day!

The other thing that wrens do as Pages of The Living Library is to share the information they have collected about their topic of choice. Whatever topic someone needs facts about, a Page will share all that they know about it. If there is a questions that the Page cannot answer, they will find a Page who does have the answer and either share the answer with you or send that other Page to you.

This is how Pearl was able to collect the names of curious colors like ultramarine, and goldenrod, and vermillion. Pearl collected scraps of colorful paper that blew out of the trash truck every Trash Truck Tuesday, and a one of her favorite wrens would teach the names of the different colors to her.

Pearl sincerely hopes that you will appreciate her wren friends as much as she does. They watch over children who will benefit from their watchfulness. They sing into the dreams of anyone who needs their help with whatever the new day holds, and they share a wealth of information simply for the asking. They do all of these wonderful things without expecting anything in return.

Wrens are to Pearl and the other chickens what angels are to people. These hard little workers are quite invaluable, and all they may ever ask in return is perhaps a handful of seeds in the cold winter months. Neither chickens nor people have hopeless lives as long as there are wrens nearby.

When Pearl is the next Head Librarian of the Living Library, she has promised to remember her primary purpose: to serve its smallest and hardest working members.

Until Next Time: Remember every job is important—no matter how small or insignificant it may seem. And if you are in a leadership role of any kind (supervisor, manager, teacher, parent, coach), remember Pearls example of serving. Leaders lead best through their service to those they lead.