The World's Gone Crazy

Theme #62: Swan

Word Count: 268

World: Alternate Universe

Genre(s): General, Humor

Rating: K

Warning(s): None

Audrey never realized she had such a weakness for baby animals until the day she first held a tiny Swamee-Swan in her hands.  He looked at her with inquisitive eyes, chirping at random moments while his mother looked on in amusement.  Every once in a while, he would jump off and go play with some random rock or whatever it was that had his attention, but he always found his way back into Audrey’s gentle hands.  She wouldn’t have it any other way.

“These little guys are just precious,” she said, brushing the feathers on top of the baby’s head.  

Beside her, Once-ler shrugged.

“Well, I’m glad you like them at any rate.”

Audrey gave him an odd look.  “What?  Don’t you?”

“Sure I do,” Once-ler said, drawing himself to full height.  He kept talking even as he walked away.  “I like them just fine when they aren’t laying eyes in my kitchen appliances.”

“What?” Audrey said through a snort.  “Come on, that’s ridiculous.”

The baby squeaked, which usually meant he wanted to be put down again.  As Audrey lowered her hand to the grass, her eyes met that of the mother swan, and she bit down on her lip.

“You guys never actually did anything like that, did you?”

The mother swan and one of her friends glanced at each other, then started squawking and falling over in a way that look suspiciously like hysterical laughter.

When Audrey agreed to move in with Once-ler a month or so later, she brought her along her own dinnerware per his request.  She also brought a padlock just in case.