“Ting Ting” The Duck

Quna, Funa, and Sona were three friends. They were small ducks who lived in a shallow pond.

Quna was a white duck. Her beak was golden yellow, and her feet were the same bright color, which made her look very beautiful. She was well aware of her beauty. She would swim a little and then flick her tail proudly. When she drank water, she dipped her beak into the pond, filled her mouth, and then lifted her head toward the sky. The water could be seen sliding down her white neck. Everyone in the pond thought Quna was extremely beautiful.

Flocks of bulbuls and pigeons often flew in from far away. On their way back, impressed by Quna’s beauty, they would send her grains as gifts. Quna accepted them with pride, as if she deserved every bit of admiration.

Funa was also small and lovely. She had light gray spots on her lower wings and similar spots on her head. These markings made her look even more charming.

Sona’s beak was also golden yellow. Part of her head and neck was brown, while the rest of her body was deep green. She did not look bad at all, but when Quna and Funa were around, Sona did not appear as pretty as they did. Quna and Funa always kept Sona with them because her presence made them feel even more beautiful by comparison.

As they walked or swam together, Quna and Funa often teased Sona.

“Look,” Funa said one day, pointing ahead, “even that parrot sitting far away is watching us. You’ll see, he will surely throw a piece of guava toward us.”

Sona looked at the parrot with longing eyes. In her imagination, the parrot flew over with a piece of guava and tossed it to her, saying, “Here, eat this, my kind-hearted little duck.” Sona smiled at her own thoughts.

Suddenly, a pebble fell into the water and broke her chain of imagination. The parrot was still sitting on the branch. Then he actually flew and threw a piece of cut guava into the part of the pond where the three ducks were swimming.

“This is for the very white and light gray duck,” he said, pointing toward Funa.

Quna felt a moment of disappointment, but she was used to praise and quickly recovered. Sona, however, felt deeply hurt. A strange sense of inferiority surrounded her, and she lowered her beak closer to the water’s surface.

Funa became very excited. Holding the guava in her beak, she began circling happily around a patch of greenery, shaking her tail and singing:

“I am a duck, ting ting,

A lovely duck, ting ting…”

While singing and dancing, a string lying near the grass got tangled around Funa’s foot. She tried to free herself by shaking her leg. All her weight shifted onto the other foot, which could not bear it. With a loud splash, Funa’s face fell into the water. The sudden dive was too much for the little duck.

Quna and Sona rushed forward and pulled the string from both sides until it came loose. Funa lifted her face out of the water. It had turned slightly red from being submerged for too long.

Quna suddenly burst out laughing. Seeing her, Sona also laughed. Funa became angry. Unable to say anything to Quna, who was sharp-tongued, she turned to Sona and mocked her appearance, making cruel comments about her dark and uneven colors. Both Quna and Funa laughed at Sona.

Tears filled Sona’s large eyes.

“My color may not be white,” she said softly, “but I am a duck just like you. My beak is the same as yours, and I can wag my tail while walking too.” She demonstrated by walking playfully.

But Quna mocked her again, saying that Sona only got food because she stayed with them and that no one liked dark-colored ducks.

Sona replied calmly, “Crows are black too, yet they have the same right to live in this world as green parrots. They eat, drink, and live just like everyone else.”

Quna and Funa ignored her words and began singing proudly again. As they danced, both of them became tangled in the same string near the grass. This time, both their faces were stuck in the water, and they struggled to come out.

Seeing them in trouble, Sona quickly moved forward. She grabbed the string with her beak and pulled, but it slipped away. Then she firmly placed her foot against a piece of wood stuck between the stones at the bottom of the pond. Using all her strength, she pulled the string again. This time, it snapped.

The string left marks on Sona’s beak, and a little blood appeared. Quna and Funa finally lifted their faces out of the water, exhausted and shaken. The unexpected dive had brought them back to their senses.

They went to Sona and gently touched their beaks to her neck.

“You are a duck, ting ting,” they said softly.

“A very lovely duck, ting ting.”

Both of them apologized to Sona. From that day on, the three ducks lived together happily. They walked side by side, wagging their tails, and no one ever mocked Sona’s color again. In pleasant weather, the whole pond echoed with one song:

“We are ducks, ting ting,

Very lovely ducks, ting ting.”