Thursday, March 15, 2007

A Tale of a Duck

Once upon a time, there was a young duck. She looked high and low as she sought the perfect nesting spot.

One day the young hen found what looked to be the ideal spot for nesting. It was soft, high up, sheltered, and safe. It even came fully decorated in her favorite sky blue pink.


But the young hen wasn't sure so she continued her search.

















She searched high and low but nothing seemed quite right. And then she found it - the perfect spot. It was hidden, protected from the two-legged creatures that shared her world, and was sheltered from wind and rain. She just KNEW that it was the ideal hidden spot. So she set about gatherings leaves and fluff to make a warm nest.


At last her task was complete. Her home was made and she settled in.


But the hen was young and inexperienced. She did not have the wisdom of an older and wiser hen, a Mother Goose if you like, to rely on for advise and guidance. So in a very short time she discovered that the two-legged creatures in her world were not the real threat to her home. In fact, the major threat came from beneath the shrubs and stole in during the dark of night.

Foxes raided her nest leaving nothing but table scrap remains.















In sadness and resignation, the young duck and her consort lightly waddle off, hopefully a bit wiser and prepared to make better choices as the season of life progressed.

9 comments:

TMTW said...

My heart goes out to the mother. Poor thing.

Julie said...

A tale with a moral rather than a happy ending, *sigh*. At least the pair can try again.

(Are those cyclamen in the second picture? Beautiful.)

Happy Blogiversary!

Sue Seibert said...

Wow, Annie, What a narrative!

paris parfait said...

Aw, poor thing. Lovely photos and sweet story.

Tammy Brierly said...

Oh Annie, that was so sad.

Beth said...

What an Excellent story on the Duck, you really should be a writer, you and Daisy are the two best writers that I know. I hope you have a great St. Patrick's Day, Sweet Annie!!

trailbee said...

I suppose this is a trade-off: fame at the price of progeny. Is there such a thing in the duck world? Thanks for reminding us of the smaller, sweeter things in life.

Anonymous said...

amazing in words and images. Sad though....

Naturegirl said...

Aww this is sad but I know they had to learn the hard way as our human babies do!Mother Nature will guid them next time! What a precious way to tell us this story!! hugs NG