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Nadia and
her duckling, Oscar, woke up to the sunshine on their feathers. “What
should we do today, Oscar,” Nadia asked.
“I want
to go to the beach,” he said.
“That's a
good idea.” She stretched and walked down the path with her duckling by
her side. “Should we go right now, or wait until later?”
“Let's go
to the pond and eat first. There's a lot of fish in the pond. When we're
full, we can go to the beach,” Oscar said.
“Very
well.” Nadia headed for the pond.
“How come
it's the same thing every day, Mama. We sleep and we get up and go to the
pond and swim. What about tomorrow?” Oscar flapped his tiny wings.
“Tomorrow
takes care of itself, Oscar,” Nadia said.
They
feasted on fish and then flew off.
An hour
later they landed in the sand. The waves rolled in, gently lapping at the
grains. Nadia took Oscar's wing and they walked along the beach. She
stopped and turned to look back. “Oscar, do you see what we're doing?”
The
duckling turned to the sea. “What, Mama?”
“We're
leaving footprints in the sand. Look at them. They stretch as far as the
eye can see, all the way across the beach,” Nadia said.
Oscar
giggled. He walked back and forth and around in circles, making
footprints. “This is fun, Mama. I'm making a design.”
Nadia
laughed at her son. She enjoyed his antics.
A wave
rolled in and washed away some of Oscar's footprints. “Mama, look what the
water did.” He pointed to the now smooth sand.
“Go and
make some more then, quickly.” Nadia shooed him with her wing.
Oscar ran
to the freshly cleaned sand and ran around making footprints, but no
sooner had he done so when another wave washed them away.
“Mama, it
did it again.” Oscar folded his wings in anger
“You need
to stay up here, away from the water. The sand isn't as wet, but you can
still leave your footprints,” Nadia said.
Oscar ran
up to where she stood. “Good idea, Mama.” He ran all over the sand and
then back to his mama. “Look how many I made.”
Another
wave rolled in and this time came clear up to their feet. “Mama! The wave
ate my footprints in the sand!” He fell to the ground and cried. “I want
them back.”
Nadia
picked up her duckling and cradled him in her wings. “This is the way
nature is, Oscar. The tide goes out and it comes in. The good thing is
that you can make more anytime you want to. Yes, they might wash away, but
you've got the power to make more and that's something you should be happy
about.”
Oscar
looked at his webbed feet and then grinned. “You're right, Mama. I can
make footprints in the sand any time I want. I will tomorrow.”
Nadia
flew toward the horizon with Oscar right behind her. “Yes, Oscar,
tomorrow's another day.”
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