Going kwackers Traditional Cache
mishlaughton: Sorry due to an accident with my knee I can no longer walk more the 50 foot, so I can no longer maintain my caches. Sorry mishde+3
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(micro)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
You will need a pen to sign the log, sorry no signature badge for the FTF
There once lived a very ordinary duck family, and Mama Duck had been waiting a long time for her eggs to hatch. Then came the day when six chirpy ducklings began to let everyone know they had hatched.
But there was one egg that was bigger than the others, and it didn't hatch right away. Seven? Mother Duck said, I don t remember seven eggs. There wasn t time to think about it because at that very moment the seventh baby bird began pecking at the shell.
A strange looking duckling with grey feathers - instead of yellow - gazed at a worried mother.
As the ducklings grew Mama Duck was concerned, This seventh duckling can t be mine. It is not pretty like the rest this one is clumsy. These words were said to herself for she was ashamed to think that she could consider this bird an ugly duckling.
It was true that the grey duckling wasn't pretty, and he did seem to eat more than his brothers and sisters. In fact he was outgrowing all of them.
As the days went by, the poor ugly duckling became very unhappy. His brothers didn't want to play with him because he was so clumsy, and other animals laughed at him.
Mama Duck did her best to encourage the Ugly Duckling, "I love you, Son, but sometimes I wonder why you are so different from the others?"
Well, this didn t help the duckling feel better at all. Sometimes at night he would cry. He was sure that nobody wanted him. Why am I different from my brothers and sisters? Why can t I be the same?"
There came a day when the ugliest of ducklings ran away. He would ask other animals - "Do you know of any ducklings with grey feathers like mine?" But even these animals didn t seem to want to be around such an ugly duck.
"We don't know anyone as ugly as you."
The ugly duckling refused to give up and kept walking and asking if anyone had ever seen other birds that looked like him.
As he approached a new pond, a pair of large geese warned him: "Don't stay here! Run away while you can. There are men with guns around here!" The duckling was sorry he had ever left his brothers and sisters and especially his Mama.
Then one day, the Ugly Duckling spotted an old cottage.
He spotted a woman who must have thought he was a goose because she grabbed the duckling and placed him in a hutch. I hope it lays lots of eggs!"
Of course the lady couldn t see well or she would have known that the duckling was not a goose and that it would not be laying eggs.
A nearby hen was not happy with the Ugly Duckling, If you don't lay eggs, the old woman will be very unhappy!"
Then a naughty kitten said, "Perhaps you will become a Sunday meal." The poor ugly duckling was so scared that he lost his appetite.
When the woman noticed he wasn t eating she said, "If you won't lay eggs, at least hurry up and get plump!"
Why won t anyone love me!" moaned the duckling as he thought how unpleasant life was.
Then one night the Ugly Duckling escaped. But, like before, he was all alone. He ran as fast and as far away as he could. When the morning sun shown brightly once again the Ugly Duckling found himself in a small lake surrounded by reeds. "If nobody wants to accept me for who I am then I will hide here and I will never leave."
The Ugly Duckling found some food and began to feel a bit better. One day he saw some very beautiful birds flying over the lake. These birds were large and beautifully white in color. They had long skinny necks and yellow beaks. The Ugly Duckling couldn t believe how beautiful they were as they headed south for the winter.
"If only I could look like them, just for one day!" said the duckling. Winter came the poor duckling began to look for food in the snow, but the snow was just too deep and it was just too cold the poor duckling fell to the ground thinking the end had finally come.
Bu there was a kind farmer who spotted the duckling and took care of him during the long, cold nights of winter. Perhaps it was the love the farmer showed to the bird that gave the Ugly Duckling hope that things might get better.
When the warm days of spring arrived the farmer smiled and said, It s time to go now, you have grown so large that you ll do fine on your own.
The duckling walked to the water s edge and looked into the small lake. Who is that? he gasped. The reflection of himself in the lake looked like something he d seen before, but he couldn t quite remember where.
Then, the large white birds returned to the little lake and stopped for some rest as they headed to their homes in the north. When the duckling saw them, he almost cried because he realized for the first time that he was not a duck. Hello, he called.
The swans came near and smiled at the duck that was not really a duck.
"Where have you been hiding?" They asked warmly.
"It's a long story," replied the young swan, still surprised at how different things suddenly were.
Although he hesitated for just a moment, the other swans encouraged him to swim with them. He began to swim proudly with his fellow swans. One day, he heard children on the shore say: "Look at that beautiful young swan! He's the nicest looking one of them all!"
Perhaps it s not so bad to endure being an Ugly Duckling when you finally discover you were created to be a Swan.
THE END
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ybbx jurer gur gebyyf yvir