Duckling Story: Maiden Voyage, The Commencement, Maiden Flight…or Fall, Leap - June 10, 2009

Ellie blinked in the bright morning sunshine. The nest seemed somewhat roomier than usual- she then realized that Mother was calling; from outside the nest! Ellie’s siblings awoke to the sound of Mother’s voice and huddled towards the entrance with curiosity. “Come on now, we don’t have all day,” she called cheeringly. “Go on now,” she encouraged at their bewilderment, “Jump! It’s time. You can do it.” What?! Ellie found herself overwhelmed with doubt. There was no possible way: She was barely 24 hours old, she had suddenly developed and inexplicable and firm fear of heights, the ground was certainly not suitable for landing, Ellie considered herself not the least bit graceful, the list continued. It was simply too daunting a task-she could not bring herself to do it. She motioned for the more eager of her siblings to go ahead of her, sighing at their graceful, confident dives. Hyrum noticed her hesitation and waddled his way to her with great alacrity. “What’s the problem?” he inquired. “I…. I can’t do it Hyrum. I just can’t. It’s too scary, too intimidating, too… too much.” Ellie let her thought trial off with a quivering sigh. “Preposterous!” Hyrum returned with a grin. “No really,” Ellie protested earnestly, “I mean what if I fall wrong, and look ridiculous and…” “Ellie,” Hyrum interrupted, “first of all, there is no wrong way to fall and were all going to look ridiculous. None of us have any idea what we’re doing. As for the fear, I think it adds a sort of thrill to the whole thing, don’t you?” Ellie’s brow remained furrowed in doubt. “But what if I fail Hyrum- truly, tremendously, terribly fail?” “Then things can only go up from there!” Hyrum laughed. He then turned serious. “Ellie,” he began gently, “it is better to fail in doing what may terrify you than restrain yourself only because you couldn’t face the prospect of stretching yourself. You’ll never recognize your potential or become aware of what you are fully capable of unless you take some risks. And if you fail, you fail. It will only make success even sweeter.” Ellie searched Hyrum’s face, as if to make certain that what he said was true. Finding her fears subdued, and empowered by Hyrum’s words, Ellie found herself at the entrance of the nest. She and Hyrum were the last to leave. Hyrum glanced in her direction. “Ready? Of course you are!” And with that he made a daring leap into the open air. Ellie followed suit. The ground became a blur and the wind drowned out any sound. It was one of the most peculiar experiences Ellie had had, and supposed she ever would have, in her life. She braced herself for the abrupt landing. Her little body then almost immediately slammed onto the leaf blanketed forest floor, and much to her surprise, bounced back up to where, slightly disoriented, Ellie found herself on two feet. Hyrum rushed over to her, simply ecstatic. “Now wasn’t that an incredible thrill?” he exclaimed. “Simply exhilarating.” Ellie found herself saying. And indeed it had been- an oddly terrifying, yet marvelous experience. She felt as though she could accomplish anything. “Come along you two!” Mother sang. “I knew you could do it, a stunning fall!” she whispered to Ellie with a wink, “It wasn’t that bad now was it?” Ellie positively beamed. “Off to the pond! Come along now!” Mother directed as she made her way to the front of the group. And with that, Ellie found her place near the end of the line with Hyrum, who said they were off to something called swimming a go. “Bring it on,” Ellie thought to herself, “I can handle that.”


Lindsay’s Note ( or I suppose you could call it an author’s note but that sounds a bit presumptuous): Lately, I have found things that deal with potential inspiring- sunrises, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, new seasons, the hummingbird babies that grew up right outside Sadie’s window, clouds, rain, a blank sheet of paper, the robin chicks I watched one morning, Barbie movies and songs, the list could seriously go on for who knows how long. Just about anything at this stage of life has a ring of potential in it. So when I saw the clip (click on "clip" to watch it)of ducklings jumping out of a tree in my Government class during AP week, I felt like I could relate to them, as I too am about to take the plunge into something of which I have absolutely no idea what will happen or what to expect. To pinpoint how I feel through this story was a bunch of fun for me. I hope you will enjoy it as well!