When the doorbell rang no one expected the surprise Mother found as she opened the door. Nestled in a basket on the front step was a round, yellow ball of fluff. It had two black, shiny beads for eyes and a bill that constantly poked into everything. It was a little baby duck—a present from an unknown friend.
Neither Mother nor Father was very happy about this gift. They both knew that baby chicks and ducks are often mishandled when given to small children. But to Susie, their three-year-old daughter, this present was just for her. From the moment the little duck came into the house, all of Susie’s toys were forgotten for this tiny bit of quacking life.
Much to the surprise of her parents, Susie was very gentle with the soft, fragile body of the duckling. So it didn’t take long for the duck to show that Susie “belonged” to him, too. Wherever she walked he waddled along right behind her. When she would run, in his hurry to catch up he would fall over himself with loud quacking that demanded, “Wait for me!”
Susie spent hours that first day cuddling him, talking to him and showing him her toys. She showed story books, dolls, and blocks to the small duck which was nestled by her side quacking contentedly. Trying to make him understand, she would bend over with her nose to his bill, explaining everything. He seemed to answer by stretching his little neck and making little quacking noises. Sometime during that first day the yellow ball of fluff got a name—Waddles!
Mother and Father did not really want to keep this fluffy gift. From the beginning Father insisted it should go to a pet store or a farm. They decided to keep it only for one day.
It was raining the next morning. This made it easy to delay taking Waddles out to Grandmother’s farm. Every day after that for a week some reason seemed to come up for waiting to get rid of Waddles. Finally, it was decided that he could stay.
At last Susie had her first playmate. There were no children her age living nearby, so Susie and Waddles did their exploring together in the high-fenced backyard. It was amazing how a funny little duck could so quickly and completely take over what at times had been a real job for her parents—keeping track of a three-year-old.
The two friends chased butterflies, built castles in the sandbox, played hide-and-go-seek among the shrubs and lawn furniture, or just sat in the sun “talking” to each other.
As the summer wore on, Waddle’s yellow down was replaced with a thick coat of gray feathers marked with black. He grew larger than most ducks and was quite a sight as he waddled proudly about the yard.
Waddles was about two years old when Susie’s baby sister, Carol, was born. Carol was brought home from the hospital and placed in the crib. Susie and Waddles had been watching the new arrival for a few minutes when Susie asked, “Where are her teeth?”
But it was Waddles who was the biggest surprise. Except for different ways of quacking, he had never made any other sound. Now, he suddenly beat his large wings against his sides, let out a trumpeting honk, and sat down beside Carol’s bed! With that one wild honk, Waddles was telling the world that he was now an adult. He was now going to take on a new job — protecting the new baby. From that moment Waddle’s attention switched from Susie to Carol.
This loss of a friend was very hard for Susie at first. But starting to kindergarten and a new family moving into the neighborhood with a little girl her age, helped her over the problem.
Waddles began guarding Carol whenever she was put in the backyard. No one, except the family, could go in the yard without being attacked by Waddles. This included the local dogs and cats and even the milkman. The yard belonged to Waddles when Carol was being guarded.
One Saturday afternoon all the neighborhood children were in the yard for games and a picnic lunch. After they left, Susie had to go inside to take a nap. Carol was placed in her buggy in the backyard to take her nap. Mother went back into the house, and Waddles took his usual place underneath the buggy in his “guard position.”
Five minutes later the phone rang. A friend down the street said, “I just saw a dog turn into your driveway, and it looks like a mad dog to me!” Rabies had broken out among some of the dogs in the town. Whenever a stray dog was seen in the neighborhood, everyone was sure it had rabies.
Thanking her friend, Mother hung up the phone and then thought, “The back gate!” She hadn’t checked it to make sure it was closed after the children left. Frightened, she hurried for the yard. Before she reached the back door she heard, for the second time in her life, that loud, wild honk from Waddles!
Bursting through the door, Mother saw something she will never forget. Not three yards from the baby buggy was an ugly, shaggy dog with a swollen head, red, wild eyes and foaming mouth. Flying at him was Waddles, wings outspread, neck stretch out, and beak snapping and cracking like a gun! Grabbing Carol, Mother ran back into the house and called the police.
Mother couldn’t see the fight going on in the yard, but she could hear it. The blood-chilling growls and the thrashing around told her that the shaggy dog and Waddles were fighting all over the backyard.
Mother knew there wasn’t anything she could do. She hoped that Waddles would realize his danger and fly up on something out of reach before it was too late. But all the time she knew he wouldn’t. Waddles simply would not stop fighting until his enemy was driven out of the yard. This time, however, the enemy didn’t have enough sense to run, no matter how much he was beaten.
The pain-filled squawks and barks gradually lessened, as did the sound of the fight. Then, all was quiet in the backyard. The police arrived, and there was a muffled pistol shot. One of the officers came to the back door and said, “I want you to see a sight you will never see again.”
The backyard was in shambles! Chairs had been upset, flowers and shrubs were beaten down, even the buggy had been overturned! In the open gateway, with a wing tip touching the fence on either side, lay Waddles. Just beyond him in the driveway lay the dog’s body.
“The dog was almost dead when I got here,” said the officer. “I don’t think the bullet was really necessary. Your duck had really torn him apart!” Then looking down at the still warm but motionless body of Waddles he added, “He protected his own, didn’t he?”
Yes, Waddles had “protected his own.” Somehow he had managed to hold on until he had driven his last enemy out of his backyard. He had given up his life to protect his little world and the ones he loved.
Doesn’t this story describe what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for each of us? He gave up His life that we might be saved and have everlasting life. The Bible says that “when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” Romans 5:66For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6). Each of us is “without strength” when it comes to doing anything about our sins. Just as Carol would not have been able to fight against the mad dog, we cannot do anything about our sins. We need someone to help us, just like Carol did. The Lord Jesus Christ saw that we were helpless and died to save us. His love for us was so great that He suffered on the cross for the sins of everyone who will believe in Him. “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.” Matthew 18:1111For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. (Matthew 18:11). He did this because He knew we were on the way to hell, a lost eternity. He wanted to rescue us from that terrible punishment. He has already done everything that is needed for us to be saved. All we have to do is believe.
Do you believe that you are a lost sinner “without strength"? If you do, why not ask Him to wash your sins away and be saved right now. “The Lord is... not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:99The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9).
ML-08/09/1987