Happy the Duck

[DaveJohnson 0]

"Happy the Duck"

The story of the duck that bit David's finger off and his quest for acceptance.

By Lt Jg David Johnson

Dedicated to Ms. Pat Nichol. My 4th grade teacher who gave me a love of small animals, especially ducks by having them in our classroom. And, who more importantly taught me to do the right thing

 

It had only been a few hours since he had hatched but, "Happy," the duck had already managed to explore the whole cargo bay. After hatching and climbing out of the container his egg was in he had waddled around looking for his companions. But, they we're nowhere to be found. For you see, Happy was a smaller, slower duck than most and he was a few minutes younger than most of his fellow ducks who we're now causing chaos aboard the decks of the USS Republic. Happy looked around at all the containers and bulkheads that surrounding it. He let out a loud, "QUACK!!" He was disappointed at what he saw. There we're no ponds, no other ducks and most importantly no food. So he decided to explore the rest of the ship and try to find something to eat as well as his fellow ducks. Though the Cargo Bay had been sealed off that didn't stop Happy, who was determined to show that he could be just as good as the other ducks, for a duck has to earn his place in the group before being accepted. After a few minutes of searching, Happy found an open Jeffries tube next to the door and waddled inside. For most humans it was a very cramped space but Happy easily waddled through in just a matter of minutes. As he approached the other side he saw that the hatch was closed. But that didn't stop Happy, who was determined to show that he could be just as good as the other ducks, for a duck has to earn his place in the group before being accepted. He pecked and pecked, and pecked some more at the hatch until at last…the seal broke. Happy pushed the door open with his beak and jumped out onto the deck. Now that he was out of the cargo bay, Happy waddled along the deck looking at all there was to see. But, again to his disappointment there we're no ponds, no other ducks and most importantly NO FOOD. Happy had been waddling around for about 15 minutes when he finally met someone. But, it wasn't a duck, it was a man. The man was very tall with black hair and a frustrated look on his face. Happy saw that he wore a yellowish orange uniform with two pips on the collar. One was shiny and the other black. Happy wanted to introduce himself so he let out a loud, "QUACK!!" The man's expression didn't change as he still looked frustrated but it was obvious that Happy had gotten his attention as the man dove at him. Happy realized that the man was trying to grab him so he quickly waddled out of the way and down the hall as the man fell flat on his face and yelled something at Happy which he didn't understand. For you see, although Starfleet officers have a universal translator, duck language is not on it. Happy waddled and waddled and waddled some more until at last…he reached a dead end. There was nowhere to go, and then suddenly he saw the man coming around the corner. Happy didn’t know what to do, he thought that the man would hurt him, but, then the man did something he did not expect. He held out his hand towards Happy. Had Happy made a friend? Happy slowly waddled over to the mans hand and gave him a nice peck as a way of introducing himself. But something was wrong, the man yelled out in pain and drew his hand back. Before Happy could apologize the man had swiped up by the neck with his other hand. The man looked at Happy with an evil smile and said something. Happy realized that this man was no friend, and now the man had caught him. But that didn't stop Happy, who was determined to show that he could be just as good as the other ducks, for a duck has to earn his place in the group before being accepted. Happy knew that he could just slip out of the man's hand by pecking him as he had seen the way he reacted when he did it before. But, he wanted to do something to show that he was just as good as the other ducks, he wanted to be accepted. So he pecked and pecked, and pecked some more until at last….the man's finger came off. Happy fell to the ground and landed on his webbed feet the man's finger still in his mouth. The man slumped to the ground as well yelling out in pain. Happy had defeated the evil man, and he knew that all he had to do was bring the finger to the other ducks and he would be accepted. But as Happy looked at the man he noticed something. Tears we're coming down the man's cheeks. He was crying. Happy couldn't believe it. He realized that though the man may have been evil on the outside, inside he was different. So, Happy decided to give the man back his finger. He dropped it and waddled away. Happy knew that the other ducks might not believe that he had defeated the evil man without his finger. But, Happy wasn't just any ordinary duck. He may have been smaller and slower than the other ducks. But…that didn’t stop Happy, who was determined to show that he could be just as good as the other ducks, for a duck has to earn his place in the group before being accepted. And, maybe, just maybe, Happy's act of compassion would earn him that place, and get him that acceptance. For you see, it doesn’t matter what kind of a duck you are, so long as you do the right thing, which is exactly what Happy did.

 

THE END

QUACK!!

Edited August 1, 2006 by DaveJohnson