One day she found a baby crow trying to fly, and she caught it. Before long the crow learned to take food from her hand, sit on her shoulder and come when she whistled. She named him Blackie. He was free, but seemed to prefer her company to that of other birds. Blackie would sit in her window, and ride on her shoulder wherever she went. He was her best friend.

Her birthday was coming, and her parents were very concerned about her unhealthy attachment to the crow. They longed for her to have a real friend in the new school, so they planned a  birthday party for her and invited the whole class. They had kids coming, including Lena, the girl Susie talked about constantly. 

Susie was so excited. The kids came, the food was great and she was the center of all the attention. Lena and her crowd of followers hovered around her asking questions. Susie bragged about her pet Blackie, and whistled. Blackie came, and strutted his stuff for the kids. He finally sat in the center of the circle, preening his black feathers. 

Lena got bored. “What a stupid pet. Who likes crows anyways. Come on guys, let's kill the crow and find Susie a real pet!” She started grabbing stones and throwing them at Blackie. Susie screamed, but the other girls joined in laughing and began taunting her. Before long Susie was throwing rocks with the rest of them until Blackie was dead.