How Often

Donny, the duck, lived on an island in the high north. Instead of quacking and waddling, he hopped and quocked. Curious about everything, he loved to hop around the island to discover places. Hopping and quocking with glee through the woods, the islanders always knew his whereabouts. Donny had his quirks but so did the others who lived there. A good day consisted of hopping through the leaves, splashing through mud puddles, stopping to quock to his friends just to see how they were getting along.

He loved talking to Charlie. Charlie would pop up to tell a story with a lesson. Then, there was Train. Talking to Train might last a few hours because he inched along. Donny wasn’t sure why Train moved slowly, only that trains tired at times from no coal and pulling a caboose. Sometimes while talking to Cowboy, Donny dreamed life would be fun as a cowboy, wearing a hat and chaps and spurs. Cowboy never knew this because he never stayed with Donny long enough to get to know him. A howdy and a yippee-ki-ay was enough for Cowboy before he moved on or got moved on by his high-legged ride.

Other days, Donny hopped down to the lake and spent time with Boat. Boat never went in the water. This puzzled Donny but it made it nice because if there was no one else to talk to, Boat was always there.

There were times the thought crossed his mind but never long enough to think deeper about why he thought it, but he realized Bird was always on the ground when the two met. Donny never saw Bird flying, and he assumed this a coincidence. But hearing Bird chirp was fun anyway and if a good harvest of worms had been collected, Bird would share them.

Of all his friends, Donny loved talking to Dolly best of all. Dolly appeared normal enough, but she seemed sad, and Donny loved cheering her up. Donny didn’t know why she was sad, and he never asked because he didn’t want to bring up bad memories.

Time passed slowly on the island. Once in a while, someone new came. Donny didn’t know why, they just appeared during the year.

Exploring one day, his curiosity compelling him and getting lost as he sometimes would, Donny noticed his friends missing. Of course, winter had arrived and the day before had delivered a snowstorm. “Maybe they are warming by a fire,” he thought. Then, he heard someone shouting and he hopped to see who the voice belonged to. When he came to a clearing, the snow was swirling. On the ground, he saw globs of jelly, Charlie’s hat, one of Dolly’s bows, and ostrich feathers. Then, he turned and stared at the entrance sign to the island. Lighted by a red glow, it read:

The Island of Misfit Toys

Saddened, Donny wept.

“He came to his own homeland, yet his own people did not receive him” (John 1:11, JSB).

How often this repeats.