A FOWL TALE

Writers' Pantry #83  

How we perceive ourselves often determines the impression we make on others,  My fowl story (which I swear is based on truth) illustrates the importance of self image.   Submitted to Poets & Storytellers United on August  15, 2021

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A FOWL TALE

This is a story of a duck named Dog who thought he was a chicken.  You might say it's a fowl story.   Long ago and far away, my niece and her husband gave their little girl a duck for Easter.  For reasons now obscure, my nephew named him Dog  (To elaborate on his quirky sense of humor, I might add my nephew named their parakeet Frog.)  Needless to say Dog, the duck,  was not a welcome tenant in their apartment, so he was soon relegated to my parents' farm, where he was installed in the henhouse with mother's chickens.   Having never seen another duck, Dog quite naturally grew up believing he was a chicken.  Each night, when the hens retired to the roost, he lumbered up to roost with them.  They tolerated his strangeness: but, when he grew to adult duckhood, he began to have male urges, which they rebuffed with a great cackling and flutter of wings.  Dog, the duck,  became quite dejected

Mother had a friend who had several female ducks who were in need of male company, so mother and her friend felt a fine solution would be to move Dog to the friend's farm. When Dog arrived, the lady ducks were quite excited; but Dog was initially terrified and quite confused by these strange quacking females who had love on their minds.  His world, you might say, was fowled up.   Eventually, as is often the case, the females were successful and Dog began to realize he was quite a handsome and in-demand drake and followed his natural urges.  Joy reigned supreme in duckdom, and Spring brought lots of waddling little quackers.  Mother and her friend were quite proud of themselves for having solved this dilemma and the lady ducks were enjoying motherhood.  And Dog, the duck?  He had learned a valuable lesson about self-image.