A warm spring morning for most starts with the rays of sun and the calls of the birds and the cool air of night shifting to a warm breeze. For one however, the morning always starts much earlier. In the dark before sunrise, a lone duck, larger then all around it, awakes to a child’s laughter. And every time when this duck looks around, it is always alone. The duck, wishing to meet the girl who laughs in its dreams, sets off to find people.

As the day continues, the duck searches for the girl and every time It finds others in need. And like itself they are also searching for something. Some have to look for reeds to fashion new baskets, others search for food along the banks or in the shallows. Others have to cross the river which the duck calls home. And all of them the ducks passes, it helps in one way or another. But the duck recalls a time when it didn’t.

The morning stretches on as the duck helps those in need and eventually comes across a young girl with pink hair. The duck recognises the girl and heads toward her. She waves from the bank to signal she is in need of help, so the duck goes to help. The girl tells the duck she would like to cross the river, so, the duck obliges. Halfway across the river, the girl starts to talk.

“Thank you mr duck. You truly have changed since I last seen you.” The little girl says with a smile. “You use to be so greedy and ungrateful when you were a person but it seems my curse worked wonders.”

This causes the duck to reminisce on its past. As a person, the duck truly did nothing but hurt others until it met this little girl. When the duck was a man, he cheated many out of what they earned in the name of ‘helping the people’. And when people chose to go back, he hid behind his walls so they couldn’t get him. He had been greedy and was punished by a curse that was laid upon him when he tried to trick the young girl. At first, the duck was lost. The change jarring but he eventually learned to live life as it now was. But he didn’t change initially. After the curse, the duck still sought to be rude and greedy to those around it which caused it nothing but strife now that it couldn’t hide and be protected. So, the duck decided to try helping others. And as time passed, the duck found how much better it was to help then hurt.

As they reached the opposite bank, the girl hopped off and hugged the duck before speaking once more.

“I think its time you can now choose.” The duck looked confused at the girl before she continued. “I believe you have learned your lesson by now. Would you like to return to being a human? Or stay as you are?”

The duck was surprised by this sudden choice before thinking it through. And the longer he thought, the more he wished to be able to help more people in more ways. So, the duck asked to become a human once more. So he could help fish with the fisherman, collect reeds with the weavers, and make boats to help cross the river.

“You truly have changed to be a better person dad.” The little girl smiled as the magic of the curse vanished