Kept 'mouse'? It only looked like one. What she found was a bat, and an endangered one. Kept 'birds'? They were what she was out looking for.
This one really happened. Karly-Lynne volunteers with FLAP Canada, walking downtown Toronto on spring and fall mornings to find migrating birds that have flown into buildings. On her way to drop off some injured birds, she saw what looked like a mouse at the foot of a building. When she bent down, its wings shot out. It was an eastern red bat, one of seven endangered bat species in the area. Toronto Wildlife Centre treated her for a minor head injury, and after nine days she flew off, circling the team once first. (The Dodo, 5 November. Sent in by a player.)
Every word, accounted for
OutA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
lookingWhy she was out. The bat is the news.
forA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
birdsWhat she was looking for, not what she found.
thatA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
hadA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
flownWhat the birds did.
intoA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
downtownWhere the windows were.
windowsWhat the birds flew into.
aA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
TorontoWhere she is from. Stays.
volunteerWho found it. Stays.
stoopedHow she found it, not what she found.
toA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
helpWhat she meant to do. Finding the bat is the news.
whatA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
lookedA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
likeA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
aA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
mouseThe best wrong word here: it only looked like a mouse. It was a bat.
andA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
foundWhat happened. Stays.
itA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
wasA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
anA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
endangeredWhy it mattered. Stays.
batWhat it really was. Stays.