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| By the Bega River |
It is July! One would think it would be hot and sunny but, no, it is stormy and cold. It had been like this for three days straight. Right now at the crack of dawn the storm had turned into hail and rain. The hailstones are almost as large as Penelope's eggs. Everyone is worried and depressed. Penelope could not find much food in the rain and was fighting with her husband, Philip, because there is little else to do. I hate fights and I don't like being worried. So I decided to lighten the mood a bit and out of the blue suggested going to India. Cawlin became very excited and shouted "Come on everybody! Let's leave now! What are we waiting for?" He flew out to the river landing on a piece of driftwood that floated out into midstream.
Without much thinking I launched myself behind him calling to the others. Penelope and Philip came with me and Athena shouted she'll catch up with us tonight. As we floated down the Timis-Bega Channel I started to make plans. We had to reach the Big River, which people call the Danube, and then the Black Sea.
Just now I saw a dam. We flew over it and then a tiny island appeared. We stopped to think and plan. I made a cave-like opening in the tall grass where we could spend a few days. If we were to survive in these waters, we first needed to learn tricks from the local birds. Looking about I found a new friend, Narcissa. She is the Bega duck who understands me. She had escaped from the same duck farm, and has survived the winter by the Bega. She taught me how to eat the small clams that are too hard to crack. You take them out of the water and wait a bit till they open up. She wants to see more of the world and decided to come with us. I wonder if it's my wit and charm that attracts her. Or if it is the promise of seeing the world. Perhaps a bit of both. Maybe I'll never know. I won't ruin a working relationship by asking, but I am glad to have another team-mate. For now I will stoop to write that Narcissa is a practical duck, who is also stunningly beautiful. She is white like me and has the nicest wings that could very useful in the long trip ahead.
To be continued. Learn more about Narcissus' adventures in my next blogpost. Note that the text is written in collaboration with Prof. Jayashree Balakrishna and with Dr. Ruxandra Bondarescu, i.e., Jaya and my mother. Jaya writes most of the poems. I add a few lines to them here and there. I write some of the prose with help from mom, and we all edit everything. The pictures are taken by me on my camera. This will be our next book. The book will have drawings, which I will make when all the chapters are in place.Edward
