Our New Car
We want to make our contribution to the environment and we just picked up a new car that produces, not uses, gas. It gets 53 Km to the bale and we will never have to worry about a speeding ticket. Unfortunately, there are a few drawbacks. Our cow baggie and poop scoop will have to be very large, odours can be a problem when the wind is in the wrong direction, it will take over two days to reach Digby and for some unknown reason we were refused valet parking services last week when we arrived at the Neptune Theatre. Whenever we use the MacPass Gate on the Halifax Bridges other motorists display their lack of courtesy by honking their horn or by giving us the finger up salute.
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posted by Bob Burke at 11:40 AM
2 Comments:
WHY THE WOOD DUCK HAS RED EYES
This story was told to me by a Sioux Indian. When I asked him if it were a true story, he said, "It must be true, because wood ducks all have red eyes."
Many, many years ago, in the old times before even the Indians were in this land, a big spider started out on a long journey. On his back he carried a bag filled with food. Now, after several days of traveling, the bag was empty. The spider was very hungry. As he went along, he tried to think of some way of getting food.
By and by, when he was walking up a little hill, he saw a pond on which many kinds of ducks were
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swimming. There were black ducks, redhead ducks, pintail ducks, and a wood duck.
"Ah, ha!" thought the spider, "how nice a good fat duck would taste!" As he sat watching the ducks, he felt more hungry every minute. But he did not know how he could catch a duck!
At last he thought of a fine plan. He knew that ducks are very curious birds and always want to find out about anything new or strange.
He gathered a great deal of dry grass and filled his bag with it. Putting his bag on his back, he went toward the pond. As soon as the ducks saw the spider with his load, they all began to quack, all asking at once what he had in his bag.
"Don't trouble me," said the spider. "Don't ask questions. Just stop your noise, and I'll tell you. I've been sent to carry a bagful of new songs to a place a long distance from here."
Of course that answer made the ducks all the more curious. They quacked more loudly than ever and asked him to sing one of the new songs. But the spider told them he could not do that, because some of the songs were "medicine" songs and had magic power. If he opened his bag and took out. a song, it might be a medicine song. This, would be bad for them all, he said.
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One song, he told them, always brought on a tornado, and before it was sung a strong, tornado-proof lodge must be built. Perhaps, he said, this might be the song on top in the bag. So it would not be wise to try to take out a song.
As he talked, the spider kept walking about the pond as if in a great hurry. But the ducks were so curious to hear a new song that they did not notice that he was just going round and round. They kept following him, quacking and begging him to sing. At last he stopped, as if out of patience. "If you must have a song, I'll take a look and see which one is on top," he said. Then he opened the bag and made believe he was looking inside.
"Just as I thought," he told the ducks. "The first song is the tornado song."
Then he told them that if they wanted to hear it, they must all help build a strong lodge of willows and mud. "It will have to be very tight," he said, "with only one small door. Then we shall be safe when the song brings the tornado."
When the lodge was built, the spider told the ducks to go inside and shut their eyes. It was a magic song, he told them. If any duck kept its eyes open while the magic song was being sung, its eyes would turn bright red.
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After all the silly ducks had gone into the dark lodge, the spider went in, too, and shut the door behind him. Then he began to sing. But as he sang, he swung his war club and began knocking the ducks over their heads.
He had killed two or three ducks when the wood duck decided to take a peep. He wanted to see what was happening. '
"Quack! Quack!" cried the wood duck, when he saw what was going on. "The spider is killing us. Run away, brothers, before he knocks you on the head."
The spider stopped singing and rushed at the wood duck. But the wood duck was small and very quick. He slipped between the spider's legs and got away. While the spider was chasing the wood duck, the other ducks ran from the lodge.
The eyes of the other ducks did not change color. But the wood duck had opened his eyes while the spider was singing. Ever since that day, the wood duck has had red eyes.
Hi Genny! Hi Bob! it is great to see you online. Glad to see everything is going well. Cool story too. Cheers!
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