Within two months Lazarus the duck had grown into a happy young person, curious about everything and everyone. Life was a constant merry-go-round of nice activities, such as swimming and eating, eating and being cuddled, short walks and eating. ("I do love eating!" she says.)
Being a very social kind of person, Lazarus loved being anywhere where the action was. Car journeys with Malin were a favourite, as so much interesting things were going on. Parties were the best, as inevitably a treat would find its way into her beak. Life as a young tweenager was good!
Yet good things rarely last... The fluffy yellow down had stayed on until now, but slowly real feathers emerged - and with that the certainty that Lazarus is a she. As we all know the teenage years can be difficult, and poor Lazarus was no exception. She developed a syndrome called Angel Wings, where the wings stick out instead of folding onto the back. Poor little girl had to spend two weeks in corrective bandage to make her wings grow right! She hated every minute of it.
Luckily, after two weeks, the wings were stronger and straighter and it was time to look at the future. A lonely duck is an unhappy duck, and so Lazarus started asking for a companion. "I mean, humans and dogs are alright, but not the same as me are they?" she said. Shortly afterwards she enrolled on duck Tinder, and lo and behold what a handsome man she found there:
Goliath the great was looking for a way out. He was destined to end up in the pot, but didn't feel at all ready for it after only having been around a short summer. "Perhaps I will find a better destiny for myself?" he thought, and quite happily took the plunge of moving in with Lazarus on first date. Lazarus wasn't equally keen to begin with, but seeing Goliath keep away Luna the pesky cat (who suddenly had lost interest in chasing ducks after clocking the size of her new neighbour) she thought it might be worth a shot.
Within days they had formed a solid alliance, and soon enough Lazarus and Goliath were like any old couple, quacking away at each other constantly. Sometimes arranged marriages apparently do work, and especially so if both partners share the same key interests.
So this is the story of how I ended up with two ducks in my gardens. It wasn't my plan, but what can you do? It's a quack life after all.
