L'il Survivor Braves The Giant Human

L'il Survivor was quacking up a storm all morning. The loud quacklarations got the human up early in the morning to find out what was wrong. L'il Survivor stood stretched up to her full height like a Runner Duck, and approached the human, chest heaving each time she took a breath for the next series of loud quacks. None of the other ducks were around.

The human wondered if a raccoon had attacked again, and went looking for dead bodies. Although Uncle Ralph's two brothers and Tuxedo are all missing, there were no dead bodies today, either in the fold area nor next door. The human did discover one of the Muscovy sisters sitting on a late season nest hidden in a thicket of ivy. Now that one of the young drakes had moved next door, they were making one last effort this year to make progeny. Mr. Alpha Interloper also migrated next door, so this nest might bear late season mixed species ducklings for the Muscovy sisters. They set all their last hopes on this clutch of eggs. Satisfied that there was no trouble from raccoons, the human returned inside the house. L'il Survivor continued quacking loudly at the foot of the stairs.

The human again went out and marveled at L'il Survivor's courage. L'il Survivor had so much chutspa that the human was quite sure she would turn out to be a drake. The human remembered how she had evaded the head-squeezing killer by disappearing under the murky pond water, and how hard it was to catch her when she was just a wee duckling. L'il Survivor strutted around at Mr. Interloper's side for a while as his favorite, and sometimes even led the whole flock. She also mastered a lot of respect and care from the members of the flock. L'il Survivor overcame her fear and walked right in front of the human, eye to eye, and loudly announced her issues. When the human entered the duck fold, L'il Survivor didn't run away like most other ducks do, but stood her ground. That's why the human thought she would become a drake. But all this loud commotion make L'il Survivor sound like a female.

Normally, ducks have yellow bills and drakes have greenish bills. L'il Survivor's bill is black. Normally female ducks make a big fuss quacking loudly, while drakes sound like they are murmuring. The human always gets the impression that the ducks are dissatisfied wives nagging and ragging while drakes placate them murmuring, "Yes dear, you are right dear, anything you say, dear...." But today L'il Survivor sounded like a complaining wife, not a murmuring drake. Her feathers, although nearly all black, are dull and boring, like female ducks tend to be. Therefore, the human strongly suspects that the one survivor of the 11 July ducklings may be female.

On the second round of investigation, the human found ample drinking water and grain in the feed trough. Perhaps she was complaining that the pond was too dirty. So the human drained the pond and refilled it with fresh water. Still the loud brouhaha persisted.

On the third investigation, the human thought L'il Survivor might be ill. Cringing in a corner, L'il Survivor allowed the human to pick her up without a struggle. The human inspected her all over for wounds but found none. Her feet didn't appear injured or swollen. Her flight feathers were just starting to grow in, and she had a beautiful mandala of brown and black feathers on her chest. L'il Survivor lay supine on the human's lap without complaint as the human did a careful inspection. Then the human clutched L'il Survivor to her chest to share heartbeat and breathing, and determine if she might have a fever. L'il Survivor's heart rate and breathing slowed down while the two beings from different chordate classes remained quietly in repose. No, the human concluded, L'il Survivor was not ill.

It was especially odd that the rest of the flock was nowhere to be seen. Usually, they surround L'il Survivor in order to protect her. But here she was, remaining in the nursery fold alone quacking up an unrelenting pandemonium. The cacophony lasted two days but the cause remained a mystery. By the third day, things were back to normal.