Fairy Tales from the Barrens: Gosling on the Pond

There is a perfect little pond in the Barrens where the water reflects the verdant greens of a June forest and the azure blues of a summer sky.

A little bird is there, a gosling or a duckling of some kind, sailing around on the end of the pond. It is healthy and happy and full of beans!

There is a girl who goes to the pond with her camera. She goes to enjoy the circles and reflections on the pond, but often she sees so much more.

She found the little bird one day, and it seemed to be alone, and she worried about it. So the next day, she went back to check.

And the patterns and the circles were on the pond, and they were bright green, shot through with the pretty colors of summer flowers.

"Who will watch over this little bird?" the girl asked, to the waiting sky.

A turtle climbed up onto a log at the far end of the pond. "My family and I will watch over this bird," said the turtle. "We have a pretty good view from here."

Loud rummaging sounds came from the leaves along the left side of the pond. Who could it be?

It was an Eastern towhee, with bright orange on its sides. "I am pretty busy checking for snacks, but in my free time, I can watch over this little bird," said the towhee.

The little bird stood on a rock and took a bath. It raised its back foot in a yoga position. It smiled for the girl with the camera, who was snapping away, as she always did.

A catbird came and perched in the tree overhead. "Is that a gosling or a duckling?" cried the catbird. "What is it doing here? Where is its family?"

It craned its neck for a view. "That's a pretty small bird," said the catbird, "but it seems like it has lots of moxie. My family and I will watch over this little one."

A beautiful orange fritillary flittered along, tasting the mud at the edge of the pond. "I am puddling, puddling, puddling," said the butterfly. "I don't have a lot of time for other things, but I've gotten special orders from the Great Beyond. "

The butterfly continued: "This girl's beloved sister sent me a special message this morning. I've been sent to watch over this little bird." And with that, the butterfly fluttered away, but not far, and there it stood sentinel.

The little gosling floated along on the quiet green waters, safe in the brushy area along the pond.

The girl had to leave, so she whispered a quick prayer: that the little bird would be safe, that it would be watched over by all of the loyal animals of the pond.

"We're your family now," she said to the little bird. She blew the gosling a kiss, and she left the beautiful green woods for home.

Follow me for this and other fairy tales from the Scotia Barrens.

My soundtrack song is this one: Kate Siberry and k.d. lang, with Calling All Angels.


P.S. I'm not sure what kind of bird this is, but it is clearly a duckling or gosling of some kind. My best guesses are: Canada goose or wood duck. And yes, all of the creatures mentioned in this story came by the pond on this day, as did I. Whether they agreed to watch over the little bird or not . . . well, what do you THINK would happen on behalf of the Scotia Barrens' favorite Disney princess? *wink*