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Lizzie's had to take another day off school. She can't go; her father needs her. Lizzie's father has needed her quite a bit since his wife, Lizzie's mother, died. He's finding things difficult and he's retreated into the only world in which he feels happy and safe - the world of birds. Lizzie's father wants to fly. To this end, he's made himself some wings - ''They were made of feathers and string and bits of old shirt and bits of bamboo and wire and thread and cardboard and feathers and feathers and feathers''. They're lovely wings, but he's really not to be trusted with them. So, much as Auntie Doreen and headmaster Mr Mint disapprove, Lizzie is staying at home.