Ducks

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Long ago, when all animals spoke the same language, the Duck and the Rooster were good friends. One very hot day as they were traveling along the road, the Rooster said to his friend, " Duck, I am sure thirsty and tired. What do you say to us stopping and finding a drink?" The Duck, an agreeable bird, replied, " That’s an very good idea! But since there is no stream nearby, how about us working together to dig a waterhole so that we can have a good drink?" The Rooster, happy to have stopped traveling, quickly nodded his agreement to this plan. As the Duck scratched and dug into the earth, the Rooster strutted about, flapping his wings and shaking his red comb, and crowing. The Duck, after awhile, looked up from his efforts and said, " Don’t you think that digging and scratching the dirt to make a hole would help get us a drink faster my friend?" The Rooster lied, "I am working as hard I can," for in truth, he was a lazy bird and felt that he was too well dressed to dig in the dirt. The Duck, hot and thirsty, said nothing more but went back to work. The Rooster, a little ashamed of his friend’s words, decided that the least he could do would be to strut a little more, flap a little faster, shake his fine red comb a little more and crow a little louder. The Duck looked up after digging a while longer and said angrily, " I could use some help digging!" But the Rooster so intent on looking busy, continued to crow and flap his wings while he strutted. The thirsty Duck just quacked and went back to work. Finally, cold clear water began to bubble up from the hole in the ground. The lazy Rooster said greedily, "Let me have a drink for I am powerfully thirsty." The sorely tried Duck began to quack loudly, " You ought to be ashamed. You let me do all the work of digging for this water and never helped at all. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Gods in Heaven sent down a thunderbolt to strike you for being so lazy. All that crowing and flapping and strutting didn’t fool me." At this the Duck took a long deserved drink of the cool water. The Rooster while he waited for his turn to drink, thought about what his friend had said. When it came time for him to drink, he looked up towards the Heavens first, just to be sure that he wouldn’t be struck by a thunderbolt. In fact, before he ever takes a drink now days, he still looks up.