Note: my twin brother and I often as children, went on holidays to our relatives' country farms and my brother reminded me of this escapade just a couple of days ago....

 When my twin brother Peter,  was about 8 years old he went to stay on my father's cousin's farm  in country Victoria. Life was very exciting for him there as it was so different to city living - here there were ducks, turkeys, hens, sheep, horses, and of course cows.

Naturally as is Nature's way there was also offspring to these various farm animals. Well one day Pete decided that the 4 baby ducklings he had made his own needed a home - he thought about it quite carefully. He found a wooden box which he turned on it's side and then hammered wire guaze across the front of it to make it completely duckling safe. He put straw in it's base and found a suitable water bowl

Once he decided that the box was fine for the ducklings and that they would be quite safe from any night marauders, he loaded his little feathered friends into it and staggered down to the river to place them near the water, under bull rushes, where they wouldn't get too hot or too cold and so the list of carefully thought out requirements went on........

It was evening by this stage and it was time for the eight year old to go home for his dinner and to get ready for bed.

The next morning Peter was up bright and early,  and of course the first thing he did was to rush down to the river to check out his ducklings in their new home by the river. To his utter shock there were no ducklings in the box - they were gone - but in their place was a very fat well fed black snake - in fact it actually had a bulging tummy where all Pete's dear little ducklings were now lodged!

The snake had seen the captive meal at some point in the night and got in through the wire netting and after indulging could not get out - in fact was stuck there until Peter raised the alarm and along came our cousin with his big shotgun. One blast and no more snake!

I guess what goes around still comes around..........

copyright a.a.gallagher 2008