My poor babies…I ache to scoop’em and tuck’em safely under my wings. I even take a step forward. But I back away remembering mother’s mantra:
” Let’em fail”.
“Let’em fail, until they learn how to succeed. They all will in their own time.”, mother had said.
I stay away unable to watch them floundering. One of my babies succeeds first, way before the others. I want to check who it is. I even bend down to sniff his scent. But I don’t , recalling my mother’s second mantra: “Keep count of ’em , not the score”
— end —
The below video would explain my story.
—end —
This 100 word story was written in response to a 100 word photo challenge posted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields each week. PHOTO PROMPT © Luther Siler
Click on the ‘blue frog’ below to read other amazing takes on the same photo prompt:
Roots & Water 
This is too cute!
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I found this cute too. More than that I found the mother duck’s patience admirable.
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Mama was very wise and I especially liked the line “keep count of them and not the score” filing that away to remember as I try to guide my brood.
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Thank you. That’s my guiding principle generally but now and then we all need reminders that Nature provides us bountily.
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cute! I liked this one
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Thank you.
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Wise mama! Loved this.
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Thank you Kimberly
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Patient mother duck there.
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She appeared patient but I wondered what inner turmoil she may have gone through…
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Dear Ansumani,
Cute story from the mama duck’s POV. Charming.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks Rochelle. The pciture immediately reminded me of these ducks.
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i enjoyed reading this story. you nailed it.
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Thank you! I took several tries to “nail it” 🙂
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This was extremely good. I think you surpassed yourself this week and I loved the ‘count not score’ line. So very well done.
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Thank you Sandra. Coming from experienced writers like you , it’s such a high compliment and I value this feedback.
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Ahh, I love how this can equally be applied to children as well as ducklings!
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Thank you Claire. I don’t think human parents apply this mantra consistenly though- many times we prop them up instead of letting them stand on their own.
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Yes – good in theory, but very difficult to actually do.
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“Keep count of em, not the score.” What a wise mantra for mama and papa ducks….and mamas and papas too. Made me smile over my morning coffee 🙂 Interesting, mine is a different tuck on ducks….and as my husband said, “That’s not a picture of a duck! If it’s a duck, it’s the wierdest one I’ve ever seen!” It’s all in what the viewer sees — or perceives! 🙂
Enjoyed this!
C: Thought at first about changing the line ““Let’em fail, until they learn how to succeed. They all will in their own time.” to “Let ’em fail, until they learn to succeed…..” but I’m not really sure. I like the “rhythm” of it without the word “how”….but in reality….the meaning is in the “how.”
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Yes, everything is in our perception. Thanks for the constructive crit – I can see your point about the rhythm. I wanted the mantra to be simple and sound “good” but also wanted to bring the full meaning ,as you say the learning “how” to succeed” is the critical message. That’s why I separated the “mantra” portion and repeated it again for continuity in the dialogue:
” Let’em fail”.
“Let’em fail, until they learn how to succeed. They all…”
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The video is very cute! I agree with the others on many points, especially the idea of keeping the count, not the score. An original take on the prompt!
C: I’m finding the voice difficult to keep consistent in my head. The contractions ending with ’em lend themselves to particular accents which aren’t reflected in other words. I know this is hard to do without making it difficult to read, and it’s not really a huge problem.
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Thank you ! About the constructive crit on the voice: Mama duck has a split-personality … 😉
I do see that point about voice – it was a trade-off between having a “mantra” type slogan and making it easy to read.
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Cute – they have to learn to waddle on their own two feet eventually!
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and then learn to fly …so much to teach 🙂
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Great video!
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The credit for the video goes to the youtube user who uploaded it 🙂
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Still a great video 🙂 And I like your story inspired by it.
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Oh the count not score line… terrific line.. and it worked even if it’s not ducklings… 🙂
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Thanks Bjorn.
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I sat here cheering them on, so lovely! Well done!
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Thanks Yolanda.
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Very well done. This was our philosophy and we raised two amazing young men.
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Thanks Tracey. Good to know that it’s a tried and tested philosophy on humans 🙂
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and ducks apparently
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A hard thing to do for any mother. Good mantras.
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Thanks Irene. It’s hard indeed.
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Wise mama. My motto is somewhat similar “Try and try again, if you don’t succeed – blame someone”
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Your motto seems wiser : “Blame someone”
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A wise mother. It’s hard watching your little ones struggle and fail, but it is the only way they’ll become self-sufficient. More parents should heed this advice.
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Try telling this to a “tiger” parent 🙂
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Great take on the prompt. I love these duckling videos.
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Thanks Joseph
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Very wise mantra from the mama. One I’ve been trying so hard to follow! Excellent take on the prompt.
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I love the inspiration for your story!! How cute was that? I had to watch to the end. It was cute how they moved back and forth together and how the last two hopped at the same time and missed together. Great story!
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Needs no expanation. Very clever and wise story.
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What a delightful interpretation of the prompt. Well done indeed.
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I really liked this.
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How cute. There’s always one who trails behind isn’t there. What a good mother. Well written, Ansumani. 🙂 — Suzanne
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How lovely you story is! So perfectly phrased, and very poignant. Yes, it’s hard to let them fall, and let them fail, but it’s so important to learn from falling and failing!
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