The Story
The Fox and the Duck
A clever fox is at the wheel of a fabulous boat. He is totally in control with books, maps, a loudspeaker, a scuba set, his coffee mug(!). And he is travelling over the tumultuous sea. But he is confident and cunning, and he is driving with purpose. He is a keen observer and he responds to obstacles with agility and speed. But there are some things he is not paying attention to. He hasn’t noticed that his boat actually isn’t that great, or that his map is quite old, or that his books are about rivers. He hasn’t even noticed that his coffee is cold! And he definitely hasn’t noticed the duck attached to his boat by a very fine red string.
The duck is happily floating in the air above the fox and his boat, looking down at the scene. He has a different perspective, he can see things the fox hasn’t yet noticed and perhaps will never notice if he doesn’t slow down. The duck doesn’t want control of the boat, he just wants to offer information that might be helpful. The duck would like to talk to the fox, but the fox is so focused on his task, so busy, he’s not listening. So the duck floats above.
All of a sudden, the fox stops his boat. He looks around. Fog is setting in. Now, where was he? Which direction does he need to travel in? He looks left. Then right. He can’t see anything except endless water stretching out in all directions. Panic starts to set in. He’s lost. And alone. And look at that. His books are about rivers. Well, that’s not very helpful. He takes a sip of coffee. Cold. Disappointing.
He thinks.
Then, from above, a flutter of wings. The duck. That’s a welcome surprise! The duck slowly looks around and starts moving. He seems to have clarity and perspective. The fox shrugs, takes another sip of cold coffee, he may as well follow…
