Chapter 3: The Bird Parade
Season 1 Episode 3
Themes:
Prominent Characters
Hilda
Hilda starts out skeptical about the new town that they’ve moved to, and she’s angry at the group of kids when they throw rocks at birds. As the episode progresses, she decides that the town might be more interesting that she thought
Hilda's Mom
Eager to make Hilda like Trolberg, Hilda’s mom expresses some concern during the episode that Hilda doesn’t want to make friends with other children, but she’s ultimately proud to find out that Hilda chose not to be friends with the kids who were mean.
The Raven
Hilda saves the raven from some mean children, and he’s nervous about missing something important that he can’t remember. When he remembers that he’s the Giant Raven, he regains his confidence.
Trevor
A local boy who threw a rock at the raven and knocked it to the ground, then appeared embarrassed and frustrated when the other kids didn’t believe that the raven had spoken.
Plot Highlights
- On a walk out in town together, Hilda’s mom encourages her to talk to a group of children. Hilda nervously approaches them and asks to be friends, and they initially welcome her to the group. As the group does various activities together, Hilda seems not quite to fit in.
- Hilda is shocked when the children start throwing rocks at birds, and scolds them when one of the boys hits a bird with a rock and knocks it to the ground. The bird, a raven, speaks a few words out loud, catching the attention of the mean boy, Trevor, and Hilda snatches the bird and takes it home to keep it safe.
- Talking to the raven more, Hilda learns that it’s lost its memory, and can’t remember where it’s supposed to be, but does remember a particular statue. When Hilda’s mom throws the raven outside, he and Alfur set off to try to find the statue.
- Meanwhile, Hilda goes to the parade with her mom, and learns that the raven she found is actually The Great Raven, which flies over the annual parade to bless the town. Worried that the raven will miss the parade, she and her mom set off to find him.
- Trevor has captured the raven and put it in a cage, and Hilda and her mother find him just as he’s accidentally dropped the cage in the river. Hilda calls out to the bird that he’s the Great Raven, then jumps in the water to save him. The raven then emerges from the water as a giant raven flying with Hilda on his back, and the duo fly over the parade together to the crowd’s delight.
- The episode closes with Hilda and her mom watching the parade together from the special spot where her mom used to come as a child, and Hilda is starting to decide that the town they’ve recently moved to might not be so bad after all.
Discussion Questions
Some themes explored in this episode are kindness and responsible decision making. We encourage you to ask your child some of the following questions in your discussion:
- How did Hilda react when the group of kids were throwing rocks at birds? What did you think of this activity? What would you have done if you were in Hilda’s position?
- Why do you think Hilda decided that she didn’t want to be friends with that group of kids after all?
