After a long, exhausting day at school, I always look forward to coming home and seizing my rare opportunity to do nothing but sit and read with a steaming cup of tea. It’s not something I can do every day, so when I finally get a chance to rest and do close to nothing, I find it to be a true delight.
On one particular occasion, I had just steeped my tea bag to create a rich, dark color and aroma, waiting for it to cool a bit. Deeming the cost to be clear and momentarily abandoning my drink, I absent mindedly went into the next room to find adequate reading material. Returning to reclaim my small cup of black tea, I was un prepared for the scene I was about to witness. I jumped nearly a mile in the air from the shock of discovering someone else dipping into my cup! Where on earth did he come from?!
Not the least bit disturbed by my entrance, he went right on slurping up the piping hot liquid without even pausing or raising his eyes in my direction. How thirsty he must have been! The way he continued to draw more and more of it into his mouth, you might think the cup itself had been bottomless! Unsure of how to proceed, I merely watched, figuring that if he had needed a drink that badly, I would hate to be the one to deprive him of proper hydration.
Walking around to the other side of the table in hopes of catching his attention so that I wouldn’t have to make the first move, I was surprise for a second time by another unexpected visitor!
Seemingly content to allow his friend all the tea he wanted, this other little fellow appeared to be thoroughly enjoying himself playing around on my spoon as if it were a see-saw. Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like it!
After an interminable length of time had passed, the first duckling finally took a deep breath, sated and full of caffeine. Opening his beak to explain, words failed him to explain exactly what had come over him, thefting my perfectly brewed cup of tea. I understood that it can be tough for critters to get enough of anything out in the wild, and an unguarded consumable is just asking to be taken.
Filling a seperate bowl with more water than either could ever finish in one sitting, I made sure they enough to drink before sending them on their way again. What a strange encounter, indeed!