www.storymania.com
Storymania Logo

 

 

Non-Fiction




To End All Wars by Luke T Trouwborst Why did World War II really occur? The rash actions of a few Frenchmen and Americans. The story... [506 words]
Of Art, Pt. 1 by Gregory Novak An undulating rant on Art and its relevance to civilized life. [489 words]
Jane Doe Thursday 10th January 2008 by Sooz The Ark is full, but what's one more lizard? [714 words]
Jane Doe Seven by Sooz Sooz The Begining of the Seventh book in the Jane doe series. [980 words]
I Should Think It Like A Fist by Gregory Novak A semi-conscious rant on language, love and whatever else I found offensive that ... [493 words]
Doctor Trek - Story Guide by Ian Kidd A guide to the order of stories in the"DT" series. [55 words]
How In Colombia I Grew In Mind And Soul (And Nowadays Grow In Girth) by Randall Barfield Where I grew up in Georgia we had practica... [654 words]
Workers In The Vineyard by Randall Barfield . [635 words]
Ransomed by Ruzele Strauss-Hayden - [1,080 words]
Moors And Moors: Randall Interviews Portuguese Writer--Poet--Artist Alexandra Onelight by Randall Barfield - [3,430 words]
I Voted Against Phil Bredesen by Randy Johnson - [97 words]
Grandma, I Love You by Liilia Morrison Memories of my maternal grandmother [1,027 words]
Fear And Bravery Are Walking Together by Elena Kravtsova This a story of one family which had to overcome the Soviet regime by str... [1,788 words]
Developed And Scary by Randall Barfield . [400 words]
The Gas Station by Kristofer Van Der Meulen Me and two friends go to get a drink at a gas station, we save dozens of lives, and our lives w... [2,103 words]
Randall's Humble Analysis Of The Parable Of The Workers In The Vineyard by Randall Barfield (Using the NIV version of the Bible) [635 words]
Randall Barfield Interviews Sage Sweetwater--Colorado Poet-Novelist Of The Sapphic Literary Genre by Randall Barfield . [4,890 words]
Poet--Photographer--Writer Interview by Randall Barfield Read about Joseph Randell Sherman, Iowa-born poet and photographer par exc... [1,999 words]
Moments, A Lamentation by Gregory Novak - [500 words]
Mere Life Less Love by Gregory Novak A short projection of private thoughts regarding love and life. [276 words]
Lying Little Liars - In Other Words, Our Government And It's Party Political Propaganda Tool - The Media by Thepratmeister The Pr... [338 words]
Kitty Kisses:We Can't Be Bothered by Shelley J Alongi Cats as inexpensive and affective therapy. [1,203 words]
Kitty Kisses: Water Everywhere by Shelley J Alongi Brandy and the water fountain. [909 words]
You Can Keep Your Fking Jesus-God by Randall Barfield . [480 words]
Compliments by Vera Marbrylouch A name is only an insult if you accept it as one. [159 words]
Compliment Or Insult by Vera Louch A name is only an insult if it is taken that way. [198 words]
Bob�S Amazing Duck Tale
Billy Graham's Death by Randall Barfield . [633 words]
X Great Reasons For Not Being Rich Or Famous by Randall Barfield Any suggestions for No. 15? [284 words]
Is It Where We Write Or What We Write? by Randall Barfield Just think--how many of us had heard of Annie Proulx before 2005 or 200... [681 words]
About Daddy (1) by Randall Barfield Daddy had his own emotional problems... [359 words]
Do Memories Really Have A Title? by Johnny Abrahams Seriously no point in reading unless over 35 and drunk, I am not kidding but h... [168 words]
Advice Ignored by Ss Jaspar Just something that annoys me about old people - moaning about growing old! [316 words]
What The World Wide Web Thinks Of Aussies by Thepratmeister The Pratmeister gives you a look at what real people think of the wor... [2,053 words]
Travels by Riot - [257 words]
So Your For The Death Penalty. by Jeanette Harris Will I decide to tell about time I was on jury duty [145 words]
My Kind Of Christian: Barbara Curtis by Randall Barfield "She lived to shock people, 'to be different and avant-garde'." [514 words]
His Heart by Randall Barfield - [556 words]
Spike by Greg J Brey A biography about our family dog Spike. [1,440 words]
Finding A Poem-Short Story Topic by Randall Barfield What to write about? Where do I look? Who/What can help me? [552 words]
Who I Am by Me Meanderings of the mind of me [897 words]
That's War For Ya by A Mach When I have shared this short story with others, some have made comments that,"That's just wa... [579 words]
Interview Of A South American Gay by Randall Barfield Meet Miguel Rodriguez: Miguel Rodriguez, a colleague of mine, is one of Col... [2,066 words]
First Crush by Saikat Sarkar - [1,531 words]
Cornflower Pink by Katie Fuller The story is a humorous story of a little girl always getting stuck with the cornflower pink ... [1,870 words]
Advertising The Devil by Randall Barfield "Serve the Lord with gladness..." not sadness, you dummy! [491 words]
Two Great North Americans by Randall Barfield -This is a short piece about a work of love and persistence. When these two elements... [653 words]
The Road by Randall Barfield But he felt happiness. At last. After such... [576 words]
Letter To Elvis by Randall Barfield You were human, of course. Perhaps in the end you just couldn't take any more... [642 words]
Leaving Colombia(On A Jet, Of Course) by Randall Barfield - [974 words]
Lake Powell by P L L Loomis It was the most embarrassing moment in my whole life. [343 words]
Leprchaun Ed by Tamsin Butler Yet another piece of work. This time about a bloke I fell in love with. Any reviews would be appre... [1,552 words]
Taken Fetus by Monica L Sprague Ripped from within her. [697 words]
Remembering Doug by Randall Barfield I remember thinking at the time that they were such crybabies! [472 words]
Playing Hookey by Danari Parsons Ditching school and almost getting caught. [518 words]
It's Not All About Sex by Carla Thomson You'll find out. [383 words]
Acceptable Level by O'shea A short autobiography of a Northern Ireland, teenage, half-Protostant half-Catholic immigrant ... [1,248 words]
A Horrible Little Thing by O'shea Another short autobiography about my early childhood in Northern Ireland. [1,077 words]
'bludger' Story Guide by Ian Kidd Story order guide to the 'Bludger'series. [36 words]
The 2nd Church Sign by Randall Barfield Thou shalt go and spread... [677 words]
Back To Back 10k Runs by Terry Kaufman After running the Vitry-sur-Seine half-marathon about a month and a half ago, I wanted to... [1,113 words]
Angel Of Death by Monica L Sprague A corrupted childhood contaminates the present-writing purges, but just slightly...*Caution, cou... [706 words]

Go to page: 1 [2] 3 4 5
TITLE (EDIT)
Bob�S Amazing Duck Tale
DESCRIPTION
-
[1,432 words]
TITLE KEYWORD
Animal
AUTHOR
Robert Gronewold
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
-
[July 2007]
Bob�S Amazing Duck Tale
Robert Gronewold

   Driving home from work, I stopped off at the video store near Knollwood Mall. As I approached in my car I had to stop for a young woman who was walking around in the middle of the street blocking traffic trying to guide a mother duck and three ducklings across the busy four-lane street to safety. Other interrupted motorists began to voice their discontent with the young woman, using their automobile horns. The young woman however, precariously out into the middle of the busy rush hour thoroughfare, was undeterred , and continued her quest to encourage the mother and her ducklings off to the side of the road. The problem was, the mother duck was unwilling to be herded to either side, choosing instead to cross the busy street repeatedly, back and forth, to return eventually each time to a particular grate covering a storm drain. Seeing the drama unfold before me, and feeling the heightened tension brought on by the swelling honking horde of irritated motorists, I thought to exit my car and enter the fray of events; to help this daring young woman. But alas, what could I do, I thought, except add to the apparent chaotic futility of the moment.
   I eventually was able to pass by the young woman and the stranded ducks, and into the parking lot of the video store. I got out of my car and stood there to see this young woman lay face down at the curb and peer intently down the storm drain. I wasn't sure exactly what she was doing, as the mother duck in obvious distress continued to wander into danger, out into the busy road with her three panicked ducklings following her every move.
    The young woman suddenly rose to her feet and, much to my surprise and abject disappointment, walked off down the street and did not look back. She had decided the situation was hopeless: the mother duck was trapped and this young woman was giving up and could no longer bear to watch what was to come. My heart sank into my stomach. "She tried," I thought. "At least she tried."
   I entered the video store and attempted for several minutes to find a movie for my Friday evening, but was soon too distracted and depressed by what I knew was taking place just outside the window. The names and pictures on the colorful video boxes held no interest for me as they normally might, nor made much sense really in my new-found state of despair and futility: the ducks would be killed, the car would win, and nature would again be destroyed at the cost of the never-ending hurried progress of, well,.. me. What good is another movie gonna do me now, etc..
   I left the store then as quickly as I'd entered, and saw the mother duck now across the street near the credit union building. Feeling that this might be my opportunity to whisk the mother and her two babies (only two now; I reasoned that one had been killed) to safety, I confronted the mother and physically barricaded myself between the three of them and the road and began to march them (much to the mother's vehement displeasure) across the parking lot away from the busy street and toward the trees and the hill beyond, to the waiting safety of Minnehaha Creek. I urged the mother through my words and body language that she had no other choice than to go in this direction. She balked at my every step however with her every physical move and vocal inflection. The two remaining ducklings, tiring and under great stress by this time, followed the mother's every move, as they had since I first saw them. I reasoned that the mother hesitated so because she wanted to go back for the other duckling who was now gone and lay dead I was sure.
    After much struggle and coaxing, we finally made it to the banks of the creek, and with one last pause and look beyond from where she had come, the mother led her remaining two ducklings down the hill and into the water, where the three of them swam away. "Well, we lost one, but we saved the family of three, and all is well for the most part, � I thought. �I stuck with it when everyone else had given up. I'm a small hero of sorts! I've done good." My heart rose.
   I decided to go back to the storm drain area to see if I could find the third duckling when I heard loud chirping near the grate. Perhaps the other duckling was nearby in the shrubs! Perhaps I could save it as well! As I neared the drain however the voices and volume increased. I looked down into the sewer to see not one, but eight trapped stranded ducklings in the hole. So this is what held the mother fast. And this is what captured the young woman so..
   Realizing the storm drain cover would not budge, I crossed the street and was met by a woman from the credit union who had watched the whole dilemma unfold. She pointed toward the creek and frowned. I turned to see the mother duck returning with the two ducklings in tow once more, and it all became clear: eight ducklings trapped in the hole, the mother unwilling and biologically unable to leave them, four lanes of rush hour traffic unyielding, a grate that was locked and could not be lifted, and that would be that; a gruesome road kill end was at hand for the mother, the two ducklings would then succumb as well beneath the tires of busy motorists, the eight baby ducks in the drain would die eventually from hunger and thirst, and that would be it.
   I dialed 911 with one last gasp only to be informed that the grate could not be removed to save the ducklings unfortunately. "At least you tried," the woman from the credit union consoled me, "at least you tried.� My heart sank into my stomach for the last time.
   But just then I looked up, and there was the young woman who had walked away earlier! She was carrying a box and a three foot-long clawed gripping device of some sort! She had walked off to the Target store a quarter mile down the road, apparently purchased the best tool available, and returned! My heart rose first back into my chest, and then upward into my throat! "Whatever it takes now," I thought. "Whatever it takes."
   While the credit union woman kept the mother from returning from across the street, this brave young woman lay down at the curb and reached down into the drain with the clawed tool and, as I shielded her head from the oncoming traffic with my presence in the busy road, she began to pull the ducklings one by one, and twice two by two, up from their hopeless trap, blindly holding each out at arms length for me to grasp and deposit into the waiting box, before pursuing back down into the sewer for the next. When the last of the eight was hoisted from the drain, we ran across the street together, where the mother could hear her babies crying closer now; her excitement was palpable. We hurried to the top of the hill, where the four of us (the young woman, myself, the woman from the credit union, plus an onlooker who had enthusiastically rooted us on the entire time) emptied the eight ducklings from the box where they quickly joined the mother and two siblings; a family once more. The mother and her 10 babies then scampered down the hill to their watery safety. To watch them all swim away was the thrill of a lifetime. We all hugged and shook hands. �You did it!� I said to the young woman, my voice quavering with emotion. A bit stunned to be sure, we all smiled, nodded, and went our separate ways, back into our lives.
   What did I learn from this experience? That even the most mundane and routine moments can suddenly become amazing life and death drama, that given a choice, it�s better to get involved when someone's in trouble than it is the alternative, that the inherent love and devotion of a mother duck is overwhelming, absolute and true, and that one courageous woman with an heroic heart and a mind made up, is better and made more strong, than a thousand cars.

 

Submit Your Review for Bob�S Amazing Duck Tale
Required fields are marked with (*).
Your e-mail address will not be displayed.

Your Name*     E-mail*

City     State/Province     Country

Your Review (please be constructive!)*


Please Enter Code*:

Submit Your Rating for Bob�S Amazing Duck Tale

Worst     1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10     Best

COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© 2007 Robert Gronewold
STORYMANIA PUBLICATION DATE
July 2007
NUMBER OF TIMES TITLE VIEWED
1415
 

Copyright © 1998-2001 Storymania Technologies Limited. All Rights Reserved.