Duck Ducky
The Grey Muzzled Mercy
The sun was setting, and only a few clouds could be seen in the darkening, orange sky. Evening was often a welcome relief in the late spring days, as the only shelter that could be found during the day was in the tall oak trees lining a thick gravel road. This particular road was small, but it connected a series of small houses together. The sound accompanying the road wasn’t exactly silence, as birds and crickets could be heard all around. It was, however, very tranquil. In contrast to the usual humidity, the day was elegantly cool. It may have felt like early April, but all other signs pointed to late May.
The tranquility was suddenly broken by the soft sounds of tires moving down the street. The noise weren’t heavy enough to be a car moving along the concrete. The wheels were soft, and sounded almost like a loud whisper as they split the dirt in the road.
They belonged to a small red bicycle slowly prodding its way up the hill the street occupied. Pedaling along on the bike was a young boy, his sandy blonde hair sticking out from underneath a brightly colored helmet. On his back, lay a heavy looking backpack, with several childish looking patches decorating its seams. In particular, one patch was a bright rainbow with the name “Eric” embroidered in crooked white lettering.
The boy’s eyes were fixated on the road, trying to be as cautious as possible. The sun may have been bright enough for now, but its light was diminishing with each minute. By the time he reached his home, it would almost be dark. Keep your eyes on the road. Dad said a lot of people get hurt on bikes when it’s dark out. I just have to make it past the pond, and through the woods. Then just up our hill, and up the driveway. Keep your eyes on the road…
Though he wasn’t very good with telling distances, Eric had at least a mile and a half more before he would pull into his driveway. It was alright though, for he was still very young. Like most other boys his age, Eric was fairly bright, but not very knowledgeable. Still adorably naïve, and not yet truly aware of how the world worked.
As he pedaled his bike down a large hill and past a small pond on the side of the pavement, he suddenly gripped his brakes tightly. His wheels turned slightly on an angle as his bike quickly slowed to a stop, halting right in front of a small duckling in the middle of the road. Eric was almost thrown to the ground, but managed to keep his balance, sparing the baby duck in the process.
The duckling was nothing special. It’s brown and yellow feathers did nothing to tell Eric if it was a boy or girl duck, but it was still cute nonetheless. Its tiny beak and half closed eyes made it seem almost as if the duckling was on edge, but for whatever reason, it hobbled its way towards Eric. He smiled brightly as the little ball of brown and yellow rubbed itself against his leg.
“Hey little duck!” He spoke to the creature with a higher pitched voice, sounding warm. It was if he was talking to a puppy. “Where’s the rest of your family?”
Almost responding to Eric’s question, the little duck waddled halfway back across the street, in the direction of a bush near the pond. Under the low, red branches lay a beautiful adult duck, dark brown feathers adorning her body. Eric supposed it must be a girl, because it didn’t have the dark green heads he associated with boy ducks. She was keeping watch over four or five other children of hers, looking increasingly concerned for the sixth wandering around in the road.
Despite his mother’s apprehensions, the duckling shuffled back over to Eric, rubbing against his leg again. Eric found himself softly chuckling this time.
“Is that your Mama over there ducky?”
The adult duck let out a quack in response to Eric’s question. He could only smile in reply.
Eric didn’t seem to care though, as the innocent little duckling continued to rub itself against his leg.
“You’re a cute little ducky.” He found himself talking to it more directly than before. “You know, I have a dog and kitty at my house. Maggie and Oreo. I bet they’d love to play with you.”
He looked back over at the bush, as the older duck had taken a more assertive position. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining the look of concern around her beak or not.
“Go ahead…go back to your Mama duck. I think she’s worried.”
The small bird rubbed against Eric’s leg one last time, then hobbled halfway across the road again. Meanwhile, Eric climbed onto his bike, as the duckling gave him one last glance before shifting back under the bush to return to his family. Eric smiled at them, but the mother duck seemed to give a disapproving glare.
Showing his age, Eric waved at the ducks as he pedaled off.
“Goodbye duckies!”
Several minutes, and about a mile and a half later, Eric found himself going down the final hill that lead to his driveway. His calves were tight, and the insides of his thighs felt inordinately sore, but he still prodded along, standing up on his pedals as he ascended the gravel hill that was his driveway.
Once at the top, both tired and a little sweaty, Eric dropped his bike right in front of his porch, and headed towards the backdoor. He stopped right before turning the corner, lifting the weight of his backpack from his shoulders. He began fumbling through the sack, searching for his house key. It took a few minutes, but after clumsily rooting through disorganized books and loose papers, he held a small keychain with a plastic black and white cat attached to it. Relieved, he turned the corner, looking for the cat that had inspired his parents to buy the keychain.
“Oreo! Oreo!”
When he came closer to the door, however, the sight of his pet was not as welcome as it should have been.
His beloved cat was jumping all around on the creaky wooden porch, her steps so light and graceful that she barely made a sound. Interested at what she might have been playing with, Eric walked over to get a closer look. His eyes widened with a slight hint of dread, as he realized that she was pouncing up and down on a small rabbit, a baby bunny.
Eric couldn’t have said what came over him at the moment. Probably some shock, and possibly a little anger at what Oreo had been doing. Whatever the reason, he immediately ran over and threw his leg back, releasing it rapidly and kicking his pet away from the rabbit.
“Go away! Go away Oreo! Don’t hurt him! Don’t hurt the bunny!!”
Surprisingly, Oreo didn’t end her pursuit there, even after the blow. Instead, she hopped around Eric and pounced on the helpless bunny one last time.
Eric responded by kicking the cat one more time, tears beginning to stream down his face. Exclaiming the same words as before, his mind was too clustered to think of anything new. He was a fluster of emotions, at the same time angry and sad. The cat who had slept on his bed only the night before, hissed in disgust before finally retreating to a neighbor’s yard.
Eric stooped to the ground, trying frantically to see what damage Oreo had done. The bunny was barely alive, blood trickling from out of its back. One of its eyes was also badly cut. It whimpered softly as it suffered. Eric didn’t know what to do as he opened the door, looking for help from someone.
“Mom!! Dad!! Is anyone home? Help! I need help!!”
No one answered his calls her help. Eric was frightened, and worse, he had no idea to do. He tried to silence his own whimpering, while trying to get his thoughts in order.
Stop being a crybaby. Dad says only babies cry like that. Maybe the bunny is ok.
Still unsure of what to do, Eric slowly walked back outside to see another unexpected sight in front of him. A large St. Bernard had made its way to the porch, and was whimpering next to the rabbit. The boy’s red eyes suddenly widened with a gasp of relief.
“Maggie! Maggie!” His attention returned to the bunny briefly. “Is he…is it okay?”
The old dog looked back at the sobbing boy in front of him with sad eyes. She cocked her head downward, and began sniffing at the bunny rabbit while whimpering softly. Eric started to cry again.
Maggie proceeded to take the rabbit into her mouth softly, and hobbled slowly over to the grass. Hopeful, Eric walked over with them as the large animal plopped onto the ground in the last remaining sunlight of the day. She opened her jaws, letting the bunny go just as Eric fell to the ground with them. Maggie whimpered softly at the injured animal, and began licking it softly.
Several minutes later, Eric and the bunny had both calmed down. Maggie seemed sullen, and suddenly stopped comforting the small creature. She seemed to look at it pitifully, and stared at it through several long seconds.
“Maggie…what’s wrong?”
Eric’s old friend looked at him sadly, then turned her attention back to the bunny, giving it one last lick. After, she took the small creature back into her jaws, and stood up with it.
“What’s wrong…Maggie…is it okay now?”
The St. Bernard jerked her head upward, her gray muzzle glowing in the twilight as she tossed the rabbit in the air, catching it with her teeth. The bunny’s whimpers returned momentarily, followed by a squealing that made the hairs on Eric’s arm stand straight on edge. It took a moment for him to realize what his dog was doing, but from the first crunch that came from Maggie’s mouth, he knew.
“NOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOO!! NOOO, LET HIM GO!!! DON’T DO THAT!! DON’T! DON’T HURT HIM!!!”
Eric started punching his dog wildly, beating her on the back and trying to force her to let go of the rabbit. His cries echoed in tandem with the screams of the little bunny rabbit, and the crunches coming from Maggie’s mouth as she chewed the rabbit repeatedly. After a few seconds, the rabbit finally fell silent.
Eric still beat on his dog, even after its prey was gone. Maggie continued chewing, more blood protruding from her mouth. Swallowing every last inch of the rabbit, eventually there was nothing left to gnaw on, and after a few seconds more, Eric finally lost the energy to hit his dog. His cries never lost their energy however, tears still staining his cheeks.
“No…why…why’d you have to kill him? It’s not fair…he was just a baby…just a baby…”
Eric laid down on the grass as the sky turned a darker blue by the minute. He cried repeatedly, unable to process what had just happened. Like most other children, he reacted the only was he could. He cried, and cried, and cried.
“It’s…it’s not fair…”
After a moment, Maggie laid down next to him. She propped her graying muzzle on Eric’s shoulder, softly whimpering into his shirt. It was quiet, but now the quiet was not the same as the tranquility that had preceded it. Now the crickets and birds were accompanied by the soft sounds of a little boy crying, and his dog trying its best to comfort him.
About the Author
Rubber duck cake - Baby Shower and birthday ducky cake ideas
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