As I was staffing the Reference Desk on Friday afternoon, various people came up to us to let us know that there were two young ducklings alone in the park. Because of our location in the middle of the park and duck pond, we often get concerned comments about the ducks and geese. Suzi went out to investigate and saw that the ducklings had found the pothole on Paper Mill Rd., which had filled with water and were happily splashing in it. Realizing that they couldn't be left in the street, she ushered them out of the puddle and hurried inside to call for help. We have someone on staff who is very interested and active in animal rescue, and she knew just who to call. At around 5:00, Suzi and I left the building to find the ducklings and make sure they stayed safe until they could be rescued.

At this point, the ducklings were in the road just in front of the library. A mom with her children explained that the ducks had followed them all the way up from the playground! A crowd began to gather, as you couldn't pass up these adorable, yellow fluffy beings without stopping. The ducklings were so comfortable with people, our assumption was that they were an Easter gift and someone thought they'd be better off in the "wild." The unfortunate truth is that they wouldn't have survived. These ducks were too young, can't fly and couldn't protect themselves. So, we waited for help.

As we waited, an older woman emerged from the library. She decided that the ducks belonged in the pond and we were somehow endangering their lives. She insisted that the children were disturbing the ducklings, despite the fact that at this point, they were so comfortable that they had settled down to go to sleep. To all of our surprise, she scooped up one of the ducks and went running to the pond, shouting back that one of us should grab the other duck. We yelled back and repeated what we had been telling her all along -- that we were waiting for the "duck rescue man" to come and keeping the ducks safe until then. We asked her to bring the duckling back. She didn't listen. However, the duckling, when it realized that it had been separated from its sibling, came waddling back up the hill as fast as his little body could carry him. Reluctantly, the woman followed and continued to berate us for not doing right by these little ducks. You can't make this stuff up.

The parents surrendered to the fact that they were going to be hanging around until the rescue took place, and decided to unload their books into their car. One of the girls told the ducks not to do anything cute while she was gone -- this was an impossible task. Every little move was adorable -- as were their small human friends!

Soon, Patti (our graphic artist and animal advocate) arrived with a cardboard box and a towel, closely followed by the "duck rescue man." He couldn't have been nicer -- bringing duck food and allowing the children to feed them before he left. He assured us that the ducklings would be safe and happy-- it was a fairy tale ending!

My only regret is that when one of the children commented on how warm and cozy they looked when they were sleeping, I told them that's because they were covered with down -- like the down in their winter jackets and quilts. She came back quickly with, "I didn't realize they killed ducks to make those!" We immediately changed the subject back to cute ducky comments -- I'm just afraid that I traumatized the poor child!