“My name is Margalo,” said the bird, softly, in a musical voice. “I come from fields once tall with wheat, from pastures deep in fern and thistle; I come from vales of meadowsweet, and I love to whistle.”

This line is spoken by Margalo, the canary, in E. B. White’s children’s novel *Stuart Little* (1945). Margalo arrives at the Little family’s home and introduces herself in lyrical, almost poetic language, emphasizing her rural origins—wheat fields, ferny pastures, and meadowed valleys. The moment helps establish her as a gentle, musical presence and a figure of freedom and wanderlust, contrasting with Stuart’s domestic, urban life in New York City. Margalo soon becomes Stuart’s close friend, and her later disappearance propels Stuart into a quest beyond the safety of home.

Margalo’s self-introduction functions like a miniature pastoral poem: it evokes an idealized countryside of wheat, ferns, thistle, and meadowsweet, culminating in the simple declaration, “I love to whistle.” The imagery suggests rootedness in nature and a life shaped by open air and song, qualities that make Margalo both enchanting and slightly untouchable. In the novel, her voice and origins symbolize the call of the wider world—beauty, movement, and risk—drawing Stuart toward friendship and, eventually, adventure. The passage also showcases White’s distinctive style: plainspoken narration that suddenly turns lyrical to capture wonder.