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Fiction. © Copyright 1996, Jim Loy
Two ducks were floating on a pond. One was a young female, the other was an old male. Several other ducks were floating on the pond, in the distance. There was an occasional quack.
Suddenly, there was a violent splash nearby. A few ducks launched into the air in panic. Some others hid in the weeds. A young male duck appeared, bobbing up and down, in the center of the expanding circle of waves. It seems that he had dropped, from a great altitude, into the center of the pond. He swam around as if nothing had happened. Some of the other ducks seemed embarrassed for having panicked.
The young female said to the old male, "Dear me! What was that all about?"
The old duck said, "Oh, he does that all the time. He says that that is how his mother taught him to land."
She gave him a questioning look, to encourage him to go on.
He continued, "It was the day that he learned to fly. He and his mother were up flying around. And she was going to demonstrate a graceful landing, not one of those somersaults that beginners always do. She had just told him to watch how she did it, when a hunter shot her dead. And she tumbled out of the sky, into the pond."
There was a pause, as she absorbed this. Then she said, "Doesn't he realize that she was dead? Didn't he hear the shot?"
He replied, "He didn't associate the noise of the shot with her 'landing'. He followed her down, and tumbled to a splash landing only to find a dog had grabbed her in its mouth. He thinks the dog killed her."
They were silent for a moment. Then she said, "Someone should tell him that's not how a duck should land."
The old duck replied, "I suppose. I figured that he would figure it out for himself. He sees ducks land all the time."
She sighed, and said, "Well, I'm going to tell him."
The old duck watched her float over to the young duck. He could hear her saying something, but he couldn't hear what she said. And then he heard the young male say, "Liar!" The young male swam into the weeds, out of sight.
The young female looked down, as if looking at her reflection in the water.
They didn't see the young male for the rest of the day. The young female felt miserable.
The next day, the young male swam over to her. His eyes were red from crying. He said timidly, "I'm sorry I called you a liar. Of course, you're right. I guess I knew it all along. I just wouldn't admit it to myself."
She said, "That's OK."
They talked for a while before he asked, "I'm embarrassed to ask you this, but could you teach me how to land. I don't think I know how."
He was a good student. Even though he had never done it before, he really did know how to land.
He and she lived happily together, as mates, for as long as they lived.
Author's note: This story was hard to write. It is a blend of fairly outrageous comedy with deep tragedy. I don't name the ducks, as these are not cartoon ducks. But, they talk, which I don't think should stretch your credibility too much.