A Voice From Beneath the Concrete
A white kitten crouched beside the iron rim of a neighborhood storm drain, lowering its ears toward the dark opening. Below the metal bars, two yellow ducklings chirped softly, unable to hop over the concrete ledge.
A mother duck paced back and forth across the asphalt, nudging her remaining two ducklings closer to the curb. She stretched her neck over the grate, clicking her beak as the kitten pressed its nose to the edge.
The white kitten pushed off the curb with its back legs and sprinted across the front lawn toward the open front door of a nearby house.
Calling for Reinforcements
Inside the living room, a woman sat reading on the sofa. The kitten leapt onto the couch cushion, reared up on its hind legs, and batted a paw toward the open doorway with an urgent meow.
The woman dropped her book onto the cushion and stood up instantly. Her eyes tracked the kitten as it bolted off the furniture and darted back across the hardwood floor toward the front porch.
She followed the cat down the wooden steps and out onto the sidewalk. The kitten ran several yards ahead, looking back over its shoulder until it reached the edge of the street drain.
Reaching into the Dark
The woman dropped to her knees on the asphalt next to the pacing mother duck. The mother bird stepped aside, keeping her two free ducklings huddled beneath her tail feathers.
Slipping both hands down through the curb opening, the woman cupped her fingers around the first trapped duckling. She lifted it gently upward and set the fluffy yellow bird onto the warm pavement.
She leaned deeper into the opening, reaching her arm down to scoop up the second duckling from the shadows. With both hands supporting its tiny wings, she lifted it out and placed it beside the mother duck.
Reunited on the Grass
The four ducklings chirped together in a tight circle before falling into a single file line behind the adult bird. The mother duck led them up over the concrete curb and into the soft green grass of the front lawn.
The woman sat down on the curb, resting her sneakers in the street gutter while she lifted the white kitten into her lap. She stroked the cat along its white ears and neck as the line of ducks waddled quietly through the grass beside them.
Know someone who loves seeing animals look out for each other? Share this with them.