C. T. Suddeth

Anglo-Saxon riddle

My mother and father forsook me,
While I was not yet breathing.
A kind mother covered me with clothes,
Kept me and looked after me,
Cuddled me as close as if I had been her offspring.
Under that covering I grew and grew.
I was cruel to my adopted brothers and sisters.
This loving mother fed me
Until I could set out on my own.
Because she befriended me,

Few of her sons and daughters survived.

This is tough.

Cuckoo.

A cuckoo will lay eggs in another bird’s nest. The cuckoo hatches and pushes the other eggs out of the nest.