A Duck's Tale - updated with this morning's photo

This morning I finally saw Hansel and Gretel again ... they're a pair of gorgeous white ducks I've seen around the marina for years.

Yaaa, and this fairy tale came to me to explain their tale (as well as why they're always inseparable) ... hope you like it.

Once upon a time there was a young man named Hansel who lived beside the lake. Then one morning Hansel noticed a beautiful young girl standing on the opposite shore. He waved and to his surprise, she waved back at him.

Even though the lake was too wide to cross, too long to walk around, and too far for even their voices to carry across, each morning Hansel would nonetheless stand on his shore and wave across at Gretel. He tried shouting, "Hello!" each time he saw her, even though the wind carried his voice away before it could reach her.

But Hansel was badly smitten, and refused to give up because that far away vision of Gretel had found its way inside his heart.

Now there was a mean hag who lived among the weeds on the bottom of the lake, whose name was Aeges. Aeges was hateful and malicious, as hags most always are, and one morning Aeges heard Hansel on the shore calling out to Gretel, "I would give anything to be with you."

Puzzled, the mean old hag swam under the waves to investigate and see for herself who had captured poor Hansel's heart. Aeges followed Hansel's voice and roamed across the lake bottom until she came to the far shore where Gretel stood, staring across the lake at Hansel.

Then Aeges heard the girl say, "I would spend the rest of my life with him, if only I could."

The horrible hag was so outraged and furious that even the wind blew itself away. Ages was beside herself with wrath and said many oaths because she was so wicked herself ... and Gretel's beauty and innocence had captured Hansel's heart. And then to find out Gretel was also in love with Hansel only made matters that much worse.

So right then Aeges decided to curse them and their love forever.

"Fine," she snapped angrily to herself. "If you two are so eager to be together forever, then good! You shall have your wish!"

And with the snap of her slimy fingers she turned the two lovers into a beautiful pair of snow white ducks. Not sure what had just happened to his arms and feet, Hansel nonetheless lunged into the water and began to swim madly, paddling as hard as he could toward Gretel, while at the same time Gretel lost no time swimming from her side to meet Hansel halfway.

Which is just what they did. And to the old hag's surprise and disappointment, Hansel and Gretel were delighted to finally be together, and have been inseparable ever since.

You may be asking yourself, "Why did the hag choose to turn Hansel and Gretel into ducks?"

Remember that Aeges was a wicked, cruel and spiteful hag ... and was perfectly aware that ducks can never touch hands, kiss ... or hold each other in an embrace.