A Nest for Celeste: A Story About Art, Inspiration, and the Meaning of Home

The terrified mouse fears that the human will eat her. Instead, Joseph pets her and talks to her as he works on the background of a sketch of a bird. He explains that he has been Mr. Audubon’s assistant for two years and that he was only 13 when he joined the naturalist on his travels. He recalls the day that he set out with Mr. Audubon on a flatboat. His mother cried, and he felt useless and in the way among the crew. As the boat pulled away and the figure of his mother receded in the distance, the 13-year-old found himself on the verge of tears. Mr. Audubon put his hand on the boy’s shoulder and told him, “Prepare for high adventure, son!” (87). The boy longs for home, but he knows that he could make a good living as an artist with Mr. Audubon’s training. Joseph feeds Celeste a peanut, and she is confused by this act of kindness. He puts the mouse in his shirt pocket. Joseph grows frustrated with his progress on the drawing and laments, “Mr. Audubon wants it perfect, and I can’t do it! [.