Canada Goose and goslings Yellowstone                       click to enlarge

Here it is, the day I’ve been dreading. Mom says today we go into the river. Boy it looks cold. Dad says if we don’t go in a coyote will eat us, but he’s always saying stuff like that. I haven’t even seen a coyote. We saw a small foot once just laying in the grass and Mom and Dad got all weird and sent us into the high grass while they ran around flapping their wings and making lots of noise but I didn’t think it was a coyote.

I told them I didn’t think I was going in. I thought I would just wait awhile until I was a little bigger. Dad says I’m going in come hell or high water whatever that means. How you gonna be a goose if you don’t go in the water, he asked, but I’m rethinking this whole goose thing if that what is it takes to be one. Mom says there’s nothing to it you just fall in bob around a little, make your feet go back and forth like you’re walking and that’s it. You’re a goose. I’m not so sure, I’ve seen them swimming and they can swim really fast. How am I gonna keep up. Did you see the size of their feet. They’re like humongous. I’ve only got little feet, no way I can stay with them. What if I get swept down the river, how’re they gonna find me. I’ll get eaten by a coyote for sure then. This is turning out to be a really stupid idea. I’m not going.

Whoa…Dad just picked up sis with his beak and totally flung her in the river. Holy man, she’s bobbing though and there she goes swimming right behind Mom. Ok, OK dad I’m going, really, I just want to ease in sorta, don’t push. Alright then, this isn’t so bad. I don’t know what sis was so scared about, this is a piece of cake. Ha! I got goose written all over me.