The Duck-The Log-and-The Dog

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” – Helen Keller

                                 

                                                          

                                                                                     The Duck-The Log-and-The Dog

                                                                                                            or 

                                                                The Adventures Pauline Paddle-Duck

Whoever heard of a duck needing paddles?

If you have a quack second, that is a quick second, a wee bit of time, I can tell you a story.

Once upon a time a young duckling, named Pauline, was learning how to fly. She wanted desperately to fly because her friends, and her brothers and sisters could fly. But Pauline was still paddling with her wee webbed feet back and forth, back and forth across the pond. Don’t be in such a rush Pauline, they said to her. But she wouldn’t listen she wanted to fly. Pauline wanted to fly almost since she hatched. I’m sick of paddling around the pond with my stupid webbed feet. I have feathers and wings I want to fly.

You do understand you are a duck right Pauline, said her mother. Yes, I know I’m a duck. And where do ducks live. On or near water she would mumble grudgingly. And what do ducks do? They float and swim around on the water, fish for food and occasionally fly. I know that, I just don’t want to spend all my time here in Vermont on this pond. We don’t, we winter in Georgia just west of Savannah. Well I wouldn’t know that I was just born this year. And why Georgia. I heard the pigeons from New York talking and they said there is a place called Central Park where the he ducks live. Oh, god not the pigeons again. Every year this happens. Some New Yorker gets the itch for country life and they rent a truck and visit Vermont and go “camping”. When the people take off the pigeons follow them. It is a sure bet that where New Yorkers are camping there will be plenty of leftovers and that means quite a feast for the pigeons. It certainly is a lot more than they would get from the same folks at home. And just like people, pigeons like to get out of the city. In fact, there was a story of some pigeons that made it all the way out to Indiana and set up near a place they ended up calling Pigeon Creek. But that is another story. Remind me to tell you about it some other time.

Anyway, that is how Pauline met the pigeons and how she got the idea she would like to visit and maybe even live in New York City in Central Park. It made Pauline excited to think of a park in the middle of this busy city, even though she had never seen a city and had no idea what it was. But these city pigeons were great story tellers and Pauline was hooked.

Now time passed as time does and Pauline was confident this was going to be her day to fly. Of course, what she didn’t know, what she couldn’t have known, was that her life was going to change forever that day. She noticed the water beginning to ripple rapidly like something was pushing it faster than it could smooth itself out. And the lake water was rising quickly. The wind was blowing like crazy, harder than she had ever felt it. For a second she thought maybe she wouldn’t be able to take off after-all, what with the cross winds. But Pauline was determined and despite the fact it began to rain hard and thunder and lightning were crashing around the sky she kept at it. Then just as she made a powerful push ready to propel herself up and to tuck her feet under she heard a magnificent CRACK and a WOOSH. Just then she felt something hit her feet and after that everything went dark.

A giant golden birch that had stood tall by the shore for decades had been hit by a blazing bolt of lightning cutting into it and causing it to crash down into the water. As it came down one of its powerful branches clipped Pauline’s legs and crashed to the ground pinned her legs underneath. It was like the wicked witch of the west getting crushed by the house Dorothy was in. Only Pauline was more like Dorothy than the witch and instead of the witch being crushed and her legs sticking out Pauline’s legs were crushed leaving only stumps where her webbed feet had been. Pauline was the one sticking out. In any case when Pauline woke up all the other duck were around her in a circle and talking about what they could do to help. When Pauline saw, what was left of her legs and feet she passed out again.  It took a while for the ducks to hatch a plan but while Pauline recuperated the ducks worked hard with the help of a master beaver builder and fashioned some paddles for Pauline out of old nests.  At first Pauline was skeptical but as time passed and as she practiced with her newly fashioned paddles her the old spirit of determination returned.

And believe it or not because her feet were a wee bit lighter and her paddles had a little different shape she could fly in a way that none of the other ducks could.

So, time passed as time does and Pauline became more comfortable with her paddles. But she still cringed and had a bit of a shudder every time she paddled past the tree that had struck her. It just lay there half in the water. She couldn’t help feeling of resentment towards it. Then one day as she was scorning its presence she heard what sounded like an angry mumble coming from the tree.

You know I lost something too” said the tree, which was now a log really. “You can’t be a tree anymore when you have come down. Not really. You are a log. You can be paper of course or flooring, cabinets, walls, boats, maybe a musical instrument but you just can’t be a tree. It is upsetting. But there it is. It happened. It can’t unhappen. You can’t just paste yourself back together and stand up and grow leaves and all that. No, you are a log and then whatever after that. You wouldn’t believe the snacking that goes on.  Gone are the days when I was standing tall.  I was a golden god. I could look down at everything that was happening in the forest. Now all that is gone. Gone, gone, gone. Oh, and worst of all gone are the days you can sway back and forth in the wind and tickle birds as they fly by.

“But you hit me.” Said Pauline.

Do you think that was my idea, said the tree-log? Do you think I wanted to be hit by lightning in a storm and come crashing down?”  BOOM, then searing pain, CRACK, WOOSH.

“Well I guess not.” Said Pauline.

“BOOM, CRACK, WOOSH. That was it.” Said the tree, whose name was Alex. “I mean who am I now. I’m sure not who I thought I would be. You know the other trees used to call me an “up and comer’. I could have been king of the forest. Now look at me. In an instant. In one stormy instant life changed forever. You know I used to love the storms and the rain. I was never more golden, than when the light hit me just right, after the rain all glistening gold.”

And so, for the rest of the day they talked about their lives and shared their unplanned struggle in a life they had no idea they were destined to live.

Time past as time does and one day Pauline was out paddling on the lake when a giant odd looking dog came bounding into the water after her. This dog didn’t look like the other dogs she had encountered on the lake. She knew the game that the dogs and the ducks played. We swim around they jump in and start swimming towards us. Then just as they get close we take off. It was good for loads of fun and the dogs were just pitiful and always exhausted after the game. But for Pauline it was tricky because she couldn’t move quite as well as the other ducks. Despite her best efforts to get away, the dog, a very powerful swimmer got way too close before Pauline could take off. And so, despite her fear, she stopped sharply swiveled around splashed the dog and said in a very loud quack, “HEY! CUT IT OUT!”

The dog, whose name was Marjorie was so stunned by the sharp swivel, splash and shout she stopped short, stumbled back in the water and stared at Pauline. “Woah, whoa, whoa,” she said” what’s wrong with you. Why don’t you swim away? I was told you would swim away and it was all a game.”

“Well I can’t alright. So, cut it out. It’s not funny.”

Marjorie was a German Shepherd. We will get to her story but for now you should know she is a German Shepherd, a very smart, very powerful dog.

“Well, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m really a very good dog.  So, what happened. Why can’t you swim like the other ducks do?”

“What are you, a detective?” said Pauline.

“Not anymore, but I used to be. I was a police dog. I worked for the New York Police Department.”

“No WAY!’ said Pauline ‘I always wanted to move to the city and live on the pond in Central Park. Oh, my gosh that would be so exciting. But a detective how cool. I want to be a detective. A duck detective and I could fly around the city fighting crime.”

“Yeah, I miss the city. The food, the smells, the sounds. You wouldn’t believe it. It is a lot different than Vermont.

“Well, why don’t you take a bite out of crime anymore?” said Pauline, her” feathers jiggled as she giggled at what she said. “Get it. Bite out of crime?”

Marjorie cocked her head pricked up her ears off the side of her head and leaned forward.

“Yeah, yeah I get it. But cut it out. It isn’t funny.”

“What happened?” said Pauline.

And so, they spent the afternoon, sharing their stories of who they were and what they lost. Before they knew it, the sun was starting to set.

“I got to go.” Said Marjorie. “My foster family will worry.”

“Oh yeah, me too. I better be paddling off.” She giggled again.

They promised to meet again.

But promises made are not always promises kept.

At least not always right away.

And not always the way you might have thought they would be kept.

                                                                                                    

That night Marjorie thought about her meeting Pauline and about the life she used to have. She fell asleep thinking about the hot dog vendors and the smells of the city.

As she slept her former life played out in her dreams. She saw herself being selected as a young pup to train at the police academy. They had drills to learn about smells and sounds and of course basic manners. They also learned how to help and how to get the bad guys. She saw the day when she first met her partner. His name was Ray. Oh, he was such a good guy. He was a Sargent so the people at the academy used to call them Sarge and Marge. She didn’t like being called Marge. Her name was Marjorie. Ray always called her Marjorie. He was sensitive and so good at his job. She was proud to be his partner and his best gal. They did everything together. She even lived at his house she was family.

Marjorie was good at what she did. Ray saw that and Marjorie knew that he believed in her. They were a great team. They sure did take a bite out of crime. She had a purpose and she could serve. And she did everything just right.

But sometimes, even when you do everything right accidents happen.

And life doesn’t turn out the way you thought.

Something did happen. Ray was killed. A wall collapsed on him. He and Marjorie were on a case searching in a building when they heard a person cry out. They both ran over and saw a man struggling to get away from a fire that had him trapped in the warehouse. Ray grabbed the man and told Marjorie to help lead him out. He put the man in front and had him grab Marjorie’s collar. She pulled with all her might. But then she heard a WOOSH and a CRASH. The wall had collapsed on Ray. Ray saw her stop and said, “Keep going girl. Go. Go, get out.” So, she did and got the person out. But Ray couldn’t get free. His back legs were crushed. He, couldn’t get out and he died. And Marjorie was burned. She healed after treatment and care. But her spirit was crushed. Her spirit didn’t heal. The department tried to get her to work with a new partner but she just couldn’t do it. She was retired from the force and moved to central Vermont to live with Ray’s sister.

Vermont was about as different from New York as you can imagine. The smells, the sounds the people and animals. She had been there before with Ray but only for a visit. This was different. It was hard at first but she met some new friends like the crazy threesome from the woods. There was Boris, an elegant black standard poodle. Fiona the beautiful big-hearted yellow lab. And Billy the Golden-doodle who was a total goofus. He was the youngest and it showed. It was Fiona who taught Marjorie about the game called Duck-Chase. Which of course was what he was doing when he met Pauline.

When she heard about what happened to Pauline it made her think of what happened to Ray. Right that first day they met, Marjorie vowed to herself whatever Pauline needed she would help her. It was what Ray would have wanted. And what she would have done for Ray, if only Ray had survived with clipped paws. He used to say to her, “sometimes doing the right thing is hard and takes sacrifice. But it isn’t always about what we want. It’s not all about us. But doing the right thing is the right thing to do.”

She wanted to keep her promise to Ray and to do the right thing. Because sometimes a promise is fulfilled in another way. Not our way maybe. Not the way we thought it would be. But a promise met is a promise kept.

Time passed as time does and soon it was nearing winter in Vermont. The ducks were all getting ready to head south for the winter. Making last minute flight plans and saying goodbye to their friends. Pauline sat with Marjorie on Alex. They often sat together and looked out on the water. Marjorie said she would miss Pauline and Pauline said she would miss Marjorie. Alex said she would miss Pauline and Pauline said she would miss Alex. Alex and Marjorie said they would keep watch over the lake until Pauline got back from her winter trip. They called her a snow bird. They all laughed. Then they said goodbye. The ducks were going to leave that night but they had been so busy getting all the ducks in a row and ready to leave that they were tired and decided it would be best to wait till morning. What they didn’t know, what they couldn’t know was that there was going to be a freak ice-storm that night. Well that was a BIG problem. You see the ducks were sleeping on the lake and it froze. The ducks’ feet were all frozen into the lake.

They were all frozen into the water which had turned to ice. They were all stuck except for Pauline who had paddles.

 Quick, Quick, Quick said the ducks. Quick Pauline fly and get us help or we will be stuck here and freeze to death. We must get free and go south.

Pauline was afraid and not sure what to do. But she knew she had to do something. She slipped out of her paddles and took off.  Quick, Quick she could hear them calling out as she took flight.

Oh my, my, my this is terrible. What shall I do? Oh, I know I’ll ask Alex and Marjorie for help. She flew and got Marjorie who said she would get her friends Boris, Fiona and Billie the doodle to help. Then she went back to Alex, who came up with a great idea. It would take them all working together. But they had faith they could do it. But they had to act QUICK, QUICK, QUICK. 

The plan was to use Alex as an ice-breaker battering ram. The ice had the ducks frozen in but closer to the shore where Alex laid it wasn’t as thick and frozen. Alex remembered that when the dogs used him as a launching pad to jump into the water it moved him ever so slightly. He figured if the dogs could give him a push towards the ducks in the ice and then if Marjorie could direct them in just the right way from overhead, that he could get up enough speed to break open the ice. But they would only have one chance. And they had to act QUICK, QUICK, QUICK.

Pauline hovered up overhead and called out instructions. Marjorie got Boris, Fiona and Billy the doodle to line up by Alex and get ready to push. QUICK, QUICK, QUICK, said the ducks that were trapped.  This made Boris, Fiona and Billy laugh because it sounded like quack, quack, quack. Guys not now we have a job to do, said Marjorie. Does it look about, right? asked Marjorie to Pauline who was hovering overhead. Yes, called out Pauline. Ok dogs, let’s do this. Paws up, and all four dogs place their paws on Alex, PUSH. Paws up PUSH, Marjorie growled, trying to sound like the drill captain from the police academy. A little to the right said Pauline from the air Come on, put your tails into it. Paws up PUSH. It was working Alex was free from the land and heading right toward the ducks trapped in the ice. But Alex knew he had to land just right. Jump up on me and jump off said Alex to the dogs. And Pauline you are going to have to give us a dive bomb at just the right point to make this happen. The dogs hopped up on Alex and one by one jumped off. First the Billy the smallest, then Boris, Fiona and then with one final splash Marjorie leapt off and into the water. It was just then Pauline crash landed on the tip of Alex and put him in the perfect position to break open the ice.

It worked. CRACK, CRACK, CRACK the ice splintered open and it was enough for the ducks to wiggle free, up and out of the ice. You did it Pauline they all cried out. You did it. Well I couldn’t have done it without my friends. Thank you thank you thank you they all quacked. But we better get going, we must go south.

Pauline knew they were right and that she had to leave. She quickly thanked Alex and Marjorie and her three furry-hairy friends.

Before they parted they promised to meet up again.

But promises made are not always promises kept. At least not always right away and not the way you think they might be.                                                                                                    

And time past as time does. Marjorie spent more time with her three friends, who she learned she could count on when she needed to help Pauline.

She thought about her friend Pauline and their unlikely friendship. And she thought about the way they all came together and found courage to act despite their fear.

Marjorie spent many cold Vermont nights by the fire. She learned to love the new smells and sounds and new tastes.

And she spent many days sitting by and sometimes on top of Alex who had floated back to the shore.

They like to just sit together and think about old times and look out at the water.

It was there Marjorie was one early spring day when she heard a familiar sound.

It was the ducks. They were coming back from their winter down south in Georgia.                                    

Marjorie jumped up on top of Alex and looked up. There flying towards them was Pauline, paddles and all.

Marjorie was so excited her tail was wagging up a storm as Pauline landed on Alex.

Hey, easy gal, don’t blow me over with that thing.

So, the three friends were back together. There they sat two bumps on a log.

And for the rest of the day they told stories of what they had been doing and reminiscing about their big adventure.

Pauline said “you know it’s funny we all got crushed in one way or another and burdened with a life we didn’t expect. But because of it, we were all there to come together and help set others free.” Pauline put her wing around Marjorie and said “My life isn’t what I thought it would be. And I’m not who I thought I would be but I like who I am.” Marjorie looked at Pauline and said “I like who you are too. And I like me” and then at the same time both Pauline and Marjorie said, “and we like Alex even if he isn’t a tree.” You guys said Alex and they all giggled.

The End