Troubled feathers flock together
NIMI KURIAN
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When Mrs. Kohli left her coop that morning, little did she know of the adventures that lay ahead.
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"Hmmph!" snorted Mrs. Kohli, packing her suitcase. "Another hen in my coop!" Mr. Kohli shuddered. He never realised that his bit of news this morning would create so much havoc. All he said was that he had overheard Mr. Farmer tell his wife, "I think it's time we got a new hen in the coop. Mrs. Kohli seems to be done!" Of course, he never did tell her the last bit!
She tied her scarf and walked away. She walked and walked taking little notice of where she was heading. Suddenly she heard raised voices. The ducks were fighting. Then, out of the lake jumped a pretty young duck and waddled off.
Mrs. Kohli said, "So you had a fight too, eh?" Soon, Mrs. Kohli was telling the duck all her woes. After which the duck decided to tell her story.
"I'm Priyanka Ducka. I want to enter the beauty contest to be held here next month," she paused. "You think I am pretty?" Mrs. Kohli nodded.
"That's what I thought too. But my mom will have nothing to do with that. She says only bad ducks do such things. If I can't participate I don't want to live here either." They walked on in the heat of the afternoon. Suddenly a loud wailing broke the stillness. Startled, they looked around and could find no one. The wailing continued. Behind a bush stood a strange creature. Two spindly legs, a fat feathered body and a long, long neck at the end of which was an ugly face.
"If I looked like that, I too would be wailing," said Priyanka.
The creature looked down and two big tears rolled down almost drowning them.
"I am so homesick. I want to run away from this farm. This place is ghastly."
"Oh is that all? Join us," said Mrs. Kohli.
"But who or what are you?" asked Priyanka.
Three friends
"I am Esther and I am an ostrich." Introductions done, the three of them traipsed off. As evening grew, they worried about what they would do for the night. Just then they saw a truck.
"Let's take a ride," suggested Mrs Kohli.
Mr. Fox, the driver, asked, "What can I do for you ladies?"
"Can you drop us at the nearest town?"
Mrs. Kohli and Priyanka hopped into the cabin, but Esther had to go to the back. Relaxed and with the cool evening breeze blowing in their faces Mrs. Kohli and Priyanka fell asleep. Meanwhile, Esther had finished singing all the songs she knew (which was just three) and decided to have a chat. She poked her head into the cabin and heard the driver.
"Duck roast! Chicken curry! No. I think Tandoori Chicken and Duck curry. What about chicken cutlet and duck fry? What about the big one? Maybe I'll just salt it and dry it in the sun. No... I have to find a recipe."
Esther felt cold with fear. She nibbled Mr. Fox's ear.
"What... !" exclaimed Mr. Fox. Esther persisted and the noise woke the other two.
"He plans to kill us. We need to escape," cried Esther.
Mrs. Kohli and Priyanka joined in the fray. Squawking and cawing, they fluttered into his face. Mr. Fox was no match for three birds. He lost control of the truck and drove it off the road. Getting out, escaped into the night.
"What do we do now?"
"We roam the world in this truck," said Mrs. Kohli.
"We don't know how to drive," said Esther.
Mrs. Kohli smiled as she jumped into the driver's seat. "You don't live on a farm all your life for nothing," she said.
"What do we do for fuel?"
"I have a plan." Weeks later many towns and villages reported that fuel was missing from their petrol stations.
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