The Sunspire hummingbirds

Mother asked for the story retold, and Saleem gritted his teeth. He did not like retelling it very much. It meant admitting his failure, and he was not so keen to do that.

It smelled like blood, so I tried to get it, just like you taught me, he said. Except, when I tried to do that, it bit me back! Saleem had yet to encounter anything like it since then.