The swan and the duckling. A modern fairytale

I spent this morning or part of it
watching swans glide by without a
care in the world.

A little duck floated by, furiously
paddling beneath otherwise calm
waters.

The swan moved without effort, regal
in its pristine colors, not a speck of dirt or
grease on the gleaming feathers.
It swam slowly, enjoying the breeze, the ripples on
the water, the spring sunshine not doing much
to warm up the place.

The duckling seemed to be on an adventure, far away
from the flock. It headed in a straight line
to an unseen,
apparently pre-determined point. And the swan,
in its gliding about
aimlessly, got in the ducklings route.
One would expect the duckling to
just divert its path and swim
around the swan. But here was
someone more stubborn than me.

The duckling, not more than a few
centimeters wide, decided
to take matters in his own hands, or rather,
beak. In one swoop, he
paddled closer to the lurking
great white swan and poked it in the side!

The swan must have just felt a peck, because
the duckling really was
very little. But she moved away graciously, perhaps smiling
at this madcap determined
to explore the waters. Perhaps
it reminded her of
when she was little (although I've never seen a 'little' swan!)

Nature often has a way of telling us things.
Ask a question and look hard enough. The answer is
swimming before your eyes.