Lucky Duck

I dashed to Morrisons, dashed home and all but fell off the bus as it was one I wasn't used to and I nearly missed the stop.  The shopping hadn't been bad, actually.  Lots of people were being very nice.  I felt in a very calm and happy Christmassy mood.

As I wandered along the very busy dual carriageway back to my home I wondered why the cars were slowing down randomly.  I couldn't work it out.  There were all sorts of backlogs growing.  This part of the dual carriageway is actually extremely busy, between a crossroads with traffic lights that is always jammed and a roundabout carrying a lot of industrial traffic as well as the normal car traffic out of the city.  Backlogs are not good.  Especially if those backlogs are caused by a duck.

I could hardly believe my eyes.  There was a white duck, quacking like mad, wandering around the inside land near the central reservation without a care in the world. It was quite a size, and I suspect some cars were slowing down in consideration for their car should they hit the quacker rather than the duck itself.

I am a complete failure with this sort of thing.  I have no idea where to start with a duck.  I have especially no idea where to start with a very large, possibly depressed duck who is a lot bigger close up than you would think.  There was no way I was going to attempt to pick that up.  Apart from anything else, it was probably stronger than me.

When the traffic lights caused lulls and gaps in the traffic I tried to dash out and chase it back to the beck that was running alongside the road.  The duck was not co-operating.  It flapped, quacked and dashed back to the part of the road nearest the central reservation at every opportunity.  Typical of any animal I have dealt with, it didn't actually get on the central reservation, where it would be safe.  You could bet your tail feathers it wasn't going to be that co-operative.

Just as I was about to give up and leave before I either saw duck pate or a pile up, someone sensible pulled up behind the duck in a very large practical looking thing.  I suspect they were either farmers or perhaps vets or something similar because they managed to round up the duck and grab it in short order.

I do envy people who can just get things done.  They asked if I knew whose duck it was, and I said I hadn't a clue, so they said they would deal with the bird.  I don't know if the duck was about to be stuffed or was about to be rescued, but at least it was away from the risk of being squashed. I would take that as a happy, Christmas Eve ending.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS ALL