"Happy Birthday, Mr. Kang"
by Susan L. Roth

Student Edition
Unit 6, pp. 308–325

Realistic fiction has characters and events that are like people and events in real life. Are the characters in this Snapshot like anyone you know?

Mr. Kang came to America many years before his grandson, Sam, was born. He spent those years cooking at a Chinese restaurant. When he retired and turned 70, Mr. Kang made three birthday wishes. Every day he wanted to read The New York Times. He wanted to write a poem each day in Chinese characters. He also wanted a hua mei. He would keep this bird in a cage with narrow slits and take it to the park every Sunday. There, he and his friends would talk together, while all their hua meis sang. Sam did not understand this wish. Why would Grandfather want to keep a bird in a cage? Sam thought birds should be free. Mr. Kang told him that a hua mei was a special bird from China that people always kept in cages.
Mr. Kang got his wishes. Every morning he reads the newspaper and writes a poem. Some poems tell of life in China and in America. In one he remembered walking to work on chilly mornings and thinking about people who stayed in China.
Every morning he takes good care of his special bird. When all the windows and doors are closed, he opens the cage to let the hua mei out. He cooks for it, using a recipe of seeds and egg yolks and chopped meat. He cleans the cage and even uses a damp silk cloth to wipe the bird's shiny gray feathers. He sometimes reads his poems to the bird, and the bird sings back to him. Always the bird walks back into its cage.
Very early every Sunday, Mr. Kang carries the birdcage to the park. Mrs. Kang follows behind him. She spends time with her friends. Mr. Kang bows his head to greet all his friends. Then he hangs his cage near their birdcages. His hua mei perches on a bar and sings its song. His friends' birds do the same.
One Sunday Sam went to the park with his grandparents. Sam listened to the hua meis sing. He said their songs were sad and meant the hua meis wanted to be free. Mr. Kang thought about this. Maybe Sam was right, he said. Maybe his hua mei did want to be free to do what it wanted. "America is the land of the free," he said.
Mr. Kang went to let his bird out of its cage. Everyone tried to stop him. "Do not be foolish. You wanted the hua mei," they said. Mrs. Kang spoke softly to her husband. "Sam does not understand about old Chinese ways," she said. Sam thought about all the things that could go wrong and tried to stop his grandfather. But Mr. Kang opened the cage. His hua mei stopped and sang one note. Then it flew away. Sam began to cry. His grandmother was very sad. Mr. Kang said it was time to go home.
When they got to their apartment, the hua mei was waiting for them. It flew over and perched on Sam's head. They all ran up the stairs. Mr. Kang sat down to write a poem while the bird sat on the table. The poem told of coming from a foreign land and choosing to be an American. The poem was for Sam and for the bird that chose to live with Mr. and Mrs. Kang.

From Happy Birthday, Mr. Kang by Susan L. Roth. Copyright © 2001 Susan L. Roth. Reprinted with permission of the National Geographic Society.

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