The Birds and Other Stories by Daphne du Maurier

That evening, the radio announcer declares a state of national emergency and urges people to barricade themselves indoors.įollowing supper, the family hears the drone of planes and gunfire heading toward the sea. Nat attempts to distract his family from the peril of their situation by singing and whistling as he further secures the inside of the cottage. The Hockens huddle together in their cottage as hundreds of birds hammer against the windows and roof. The swarm of birds begin to dive at Nat as he runs home, making it inside only seconds before a gannet would have split his skull. Trigg does so but makes light of Nat’s fear, insisting it is a waste of time to board up his house. Trigg to drive Jill the rest of the way home. As the birds begin to swarm, the two run to the farm, where Nat asks Mr.

Alarmed, he rushes to pick up Jill from the bus stop. Nat walks partway to the beach to find that the tide has turned and that the gulls have begun circling as if ready to attack. Nat resents the announcer’s lighthearted tone, and predicts that many will refuse to take the attacks seriously. Hours later, another broadcast relays that an enormous flock of birds has brought London to a halt. Nat proceeds to board up the cottage windows and fill up its chimney bases. Back at his cottage, a radio announcement informs Nat and his wife that the attacks are happening across the country. He brings the bodies to the shore, where he sees thousands of gulls hovering over the sea. Nat returns home to collect the bodies of the dead birds, but cannot bury them because the ground has frozen solid. Jim, a cowhand, is similarly unconcerned. Trigg of the previous evening’s battle with the birds, she is dismissive of his story, positing that it was simply the weather. He sees his daughter Jill onto the school bus and then visits the farm to check on the Triggs. The next morning Nat insists to his wife that the sudden cold snap and east wind are to blame for the birds’ behavior. When day breaks, fifty birds lie dead on the floor. Nat ushers the children out of the room before wrapping a blanket around himself and fighting with the birds until dawn. He rushes to their room to find the window open and dozens of birds diving about in attack. Nat scatters them away with his arms, only to hear cries coming from his children’s bedroom. Upon opening it, half a dozen birds swarm about his face.

That evening, Nat awakens to an insistent tapping on his window. Trigg asserts that the weather must be causing the birds’ behavior, and predicts it will be a hard winter. Upon finishing his work for the day, Nat tells the farmer Mr. Nat Hocken, a war veteran and farmhand with a disability, observes that there seem to be more birds than usual clamoring restlessly over the sea. On the third of December in a quiet, seaside town, the season shifts abruptly from autumn to winter.

The Birds and Other Stories by Daphne du Maurier