Strictly for the Birds Page #7

---

Bunch of crows...

attacked

the school kids.

It's the end of the world.

"Thus saith the Lord God...

"unto the mountains and

the hills, and the rivers

and the valleys.

"Behold I, even I...

"shall bring a sword

upon you.

And I will devastate

your high places."

Ezekiel, chapter six.

"Woe unto them that rise up

early in the morning, that

they may follow strong drink. "

Isaiah, chapter five.

It's the end of the world.

I hardly think a few birds

are going to bring about

the end of the world.

These weren't a few birds.

I didn't know

there were many crows...

in Bodega Bay

this time of year.

The crow is

a permanent resident

throughout its range.

In fact, during

our Christmas count,

we recorded...

How many gulls did

you count, Mrs. Bundy?

Which gulls, Mr. Sholes?

There are several varieties.

The ones who've

been playing devil

with my fishing boats.

- Have you had

trouble with gulls?

- One of my boats did, last week.

This young lady was hit

by a gull only Saturday.

Deke, I'm still waiting

for those Bloody Marys.

Comin'right up.

Could you ask them to lower

their voices, please? They're

frightening the children.

A whole flock of gulls

nearly capsized

one of my boats.

Practically tore

the skipper's arm off.

You're scaring the kids.

Keep it low.

All right.

Yeah, but he's

scarin' me, too.

Are you tryin' to

say that all these...

Nah, that sounds

impossible, Sebastian.

Deke, look, I'm just

tellin' you what happened

to one of my boats.

The gulls were after

your fish, Mr. Sholes.

Really, let's be

logical about this.

What were the crows

after at the school?

What do you think

they were after?

Miss, uh...

Daniels.

I think they were

after the children.

- For what purpose?

- To kill them.

- Why?

- I don't know why.

I thought not.

Birds have been on

this planet, Miss Daniels,

[Door Closes]

Since archeopteryx,

[Footsteps Approaching]

Doesn't it seem odd that

they'd wait all that time...

to start a... a war

against humanity?

No one called

it a war.

Scotch,

light on the water.

You and Mr. Sholes seem

to be implying as much.

Who said

anything about a war?

All I said, some gulls...

[Helen]

Want some more coffee?

No.

...came down on

one of my boats.

They could have been

after the fish,

just like you said.

- The Captain should

have shot at them.

- Huh?

Gulls are scavengers,

anyway. Most birds are.

Get yourselves guns

and wipe them off

the face of the Earth!

- [Chuckles]

That would hardly be possible.

- Why not, Mrs. Bundy?

Because there are

of birds in the world

today, Mr. Carter.

It is estimated

that 5,750,000,000 birds...

live in the

United States alone.

The five continents

of the world...

Kill 'em all. Get rid

of the messy animals.

...probably contain

more than 100 billion birds.

- It's the end of the world.

- Those gulls must have been

after the fish.

[Mrs. Bundy] Of course!

Hurry up, children.

Finish your lunch.

Are the birds gonna

eat us, Mommy?

Hell, maybe we're

all getting a little

carried away by this.

Admittedly, a few birds

did act strange, but that's

no reason to believe that...

I keep telling you,

this isn't a few birds.

These are gulls, crows, swifts...

I have never known birds

of different species

to flock together.

The very concept

is unimaginable.

Why, if that happened,

we wouldn't have a chance!

How could we possibly

hope to fight them?

We couldn't, you're

right. You're right,

Mrs. Bundy.

- What's the matter?

Somethin' wrong out here?

- We're fighting a war, Sam.

A war?

Against who?

- Against birds!

- I'm glad you all think

this is so amusing.

You've frightened the children

half out of their wits.

If the young lady said...

she saw the attack

at a school, why

don't you believe her?

What attack?

Who attacked the school?

Birds did. Crows.

You're all sitting

around here debating!

What do you want

them to do next?

Crash through that window?

Mommy!

Ssh.

Put on your coat.

Why don't you all go home,

lock your doors and windows?

- What's the fastest way

to San Francisco?

- The freeway, ma'am.

- How do I find it?

- I'm goin'out that way, lady.

You can follow me.

- Well then, let's leave now.

- Haven't finished my drink yet.

[Panting]

I got here as fast

as I could. Where's Cathy?

She's with Annie.

She's all right.

Al, why

aren't you over at the school,

- where the attack was?

- 'Cause I just got back

from Dan Fawcett's place.

- He was killed

last night by birds.

- What?

Hold it, you don't

know that for a fact.

- What are the facts?

- The Santa Rosa Police

think it's a felony murder.

They think a burglar

broke in and killed him.

How do they explain

the dead birds all over

the floor?

Santa Rosa Police

figure they got in after

the old man was killed.

Were the Santa Rosa Police

at your school today?

- Are you coming?

- Now take it easy, lady.

There isn't a bird

anywhere in sight!

"Look at the birds of the air.

They do not sow or reap.

Yet your Heavenly Father

feeds them."

Something like this happened

in Santa Cruz last year.

The town was just

covered with seagulls.

- Please finish your drink.

- That's right, sir.

I recall it.

A large flock of seagulls

got lost in a fog,

and headed into the town

where all the lights were.

They made some mess, too,

smashing into buildings

and everything.

They always make a mess.

The point is that no one

seemed to be upset about it.

They were all gone

next morning, just as though

nothing at all had happened.

- Poor things.

- I'm leaving!

Are you coming?

All right,

all right!

Well, hope you folks

figure this thing out!

It's the end

of the world!

I better get back

to the cannery. What

do I owe you, Deke?

S- Sebastian,

hold it a minute.

Huh?

L- I don't want to be

an alarmist, but...

No one ever said you were.

I think we're in real trouble.

I don't know how

this started, or why,

but I know it's here

and we'd be crazy

to ignore it.

To ignore what?

The "bird war"?

Yes, the "bird war."

The bird attack, plague...

Call it what you like,

they're massing

out there someplace,

and they'll be back.

Ridiculous.

C- Come here.

Unless we do something

right now, unless we get

Bodega Bay on the move, they...

Look, Mitch.

Even if... Even if

this is true, even

if all the birds...

Don't you

believe it's true?

No, Mitch, frankly I don't.

There's no reason l...

Well, it's happening.

Isn't that a reason?

I like Bodega Bay as

well as the next man...

Fine, then help me.

You're an important man.

If you help, they all will.

Help how?

What do you want to do?

[Seagull Crying]

Mrs. Bundy said

something about Santa Cruz.

[Crying Continues]

About seagulls getting lost

in a fog and flying in

towards the lights.

[Sebastian] We don't

have fog this time of year!

[Mitch] Make our own fog!

How do you figure to do that?

We can use smoke pots,

the way the Army uses them.

- Look!

- [Seagull Crying]

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes