High up in the treetops, just beyond the crick,
Lived an owl named Ronald in a nest made of sticks.
Ronald was a smart owl, and a skilled one at that
He flew fast like an eagle and caught mice like a cat
He could build you a nest out of anything you pleased
And he had the prettiest singing voice in all of the trees
But despite all his talents, Ronald often felt bummed
For he’d become all that an owl could become
He’d achieved everything that he possibly could
And he wanted much more than life in the woods
“I want a job,” he said, “But there is no work here
So I’ll move to the city and start a career
If horse cops and guide dogs can get themselves hired
Then a job can’t be hard for an owl to acquire.”
So Ronald said bye to the only life he’d known
And flew to the city, where no owl had flown
“Ronald’s here!” he yelled once he finally arrived
“No one cares!” a man shouted, then shooed him aside
Among the tall buildings he felt small as a smidgen
To humans he was nothing but a big fat pigeon
He felt out of place, he felt terrified
But then he saw a sign: “HELP WANTED – APPLY INSIDE”
He walked up to the door, he turned the knob
Then stood tall and proclaimed, “I would like a job!”
“We need an IT guy,” a human explained.
“Do you have experience? Are you properly trained?”
What IT meant, Ronald did not know
But he had experience and training, though
Experience in hooting and catching of mice
And training in building nests, neat and precise
“Yes!” Ronald said. “I’m the worker you need.
I can do any task with great skill and speed”
“Cool,” said the human. “Can you start right away?”
And with a smile, Ronald said, “How ‘bout today?”
And so Ronald was hired as the new IT guy
At the very first company to which he applied
But before he could celebrate or savor the news
He was asked to do tasks he didn’t know how to do
“Fix the printer,” said his boss, “for it seems to be jammed.
Then clean my computer of malware and spam.”
What a printer was, Ronald was not aware
Maybe that thing? he guessed, and started fixing a chair
“Not that!” snapped his boss, “The printer’s right here!”
“Whoops,” blushed Ronald. “Must not have heard you clear.”
He waddled to the printer—a strange big white box
And looked it up and down, and gave it some knocks
Not sure how to fix it, he did what he did best
He climbed in the printer to start building a nest
He ripped out all the wires and wove them like sticks
Into a comfortable nest—the perfect fix!
“Well?” asked his boss. “Is the printer all repaired?”
“Yep!” Ronald grinned. “Now I’ll see to the malware.”
His boss said, “Here’s my computer, on which nothing works well,
From the browser to the mouse to Microsoft Excel.”
At “mouse” Ronald smiled, for with mice he was a pro
He knew everything about mice that an owl could know
He said, “No prob, boss, I know exactly what to do.
Come back in a bit, and it’ll work just like new.”
He then opened the window and flew out in the street
And caught as many mice as he could carry with his feet
He caught them by the dozen and brought them inside
Thinking to himself, I’m a great IT guy!
He went up to his boss and let all the mice loose
And proudly yelled, “I’ve solved your mouse issues!”
His boss jumped up on her desk as mice scrambled about
And screamed at poor Ronald, “GET THESE MICE OUT!”
“What’s the problem?” asked Ronald. “You had a broken mouse
And now you’ve got good ones crawling all over your blouse.
What’s more, your printer was a malfunctioning mess
But now I’ve repaired it with a functioning nest.”
“A NEST?!?” she shrieked. “Now it’s busted for good!
You can’t do in an office what you’d do in the woods!”
“I don’t get it,” cried Ronald, “I thought I’d done all you’d required.”
“You thought wrong,” spat his boss, “And for that, YOU’RE FIRED!!!”
Ronald felt like crying. His heart sunk in his chest
For he had failed at his job despite trying his best.
Head down in shame, he waddled out the door
Embarrassed for having aspired to more
Guess I’ll go back to the woods and be a regular bird
Yet just as he thought this, something lucky occurred
A mouse darted past him and he caught it with ease
Then someone yelled, “Forget a mousetrap and cheese!”
A human in work boots then came into view
And said, “Nice catch, pal—I could use a guy like you.
I’ve got a mouse problem at this warehouse I run
And I think you’re just the guy to get the job done.”
And just moments after thinking he’d have to retire,
This human shook Ronald’s wing and told him, “You’re hired!”
Ronald started at the warehouse and excelled right away
Catching over 20 mice on his very first day.
But he didn’t just catch mice—he did so much more!
For he had the perfect skills for the warehouse floor.
He flew high to reach shelves that the forklifts could not
And with his keen eyes found things no humans could spot.
He created a system for organizing tools,
Arranging them alphabetically in nests he had spooled.
And being nocturnal, he could patrol at night
Rotating his head to keep watch of the site.
Now with the best job he could ever hope to find,
Ronald proved he could do anything to which he set his mind.
So if you want to do big things but are filled with fear,
Remember the story of the owl who got a career.
