
“Philip, you need to talk to the seagull again.”
“I’ve tried, believe me. He just likes hanging out with us.”
“He’s very nice, but he’s not a swan and we can’t give him what he needs,” said Mona.
“I don’t want to hurt his feelings. Maybe you should try again.”
“We are not gulls,” she said.
“He knows that. I think he’s just lonely.”
“We can’t play the games he does. We don’t dive for stones that we drop from great heights. We are BIG birds. We don’t play. We don’t have playful personalities. Gulls are gregarious and love to have fun. We are sedate and silly isn’t part of who we are.”
“I agree. But silly is for geese, my love, not for seagulls. Admittedly, the stone dropping game didn’t go as planned,” sighed Philip.
“Hi,” said, said the seagull. “What are we going to do today?”
“Float around, and nibble at things,” said Philip. “That’s pretty much what we always do.”
“I know.” asked the gull. “That’s what we did yesterday.”
“It is,” said Philip, kindly. “We will probably do it again tomorrow.”
“Will we will fly around now and then, in between the nibbling?” asked the gull, hopefully
“I doubt it,” said Mona. “But you can do that.”
“No, that’s okay. I’ll just hang out with you,” said the gull, softly.
“Look, my friend,” said Mona, sweetly. “You may stay with us as much as you like, as long as you like, but we cannot do the things you do. We are not seagulls. We are different than you. Can you find other gulls to play with? Even for a little while, so you can have fun and be happy?”
“I’m happy being with you, but I know what you’re saying. Am I a bother?” asked the gull.
They both said, “Absolutely not,” at the very same time.
“But we want you to be happy and we can’t provide what you need,” she said, sadly.
The seagull floated closer. “I know that. We are the same but different. I can’t be a swan, it’s not in my nature.”
“Exactly,” she said. “That’s not a bad thing, it’s just the way things are. I admire your agility and fun-loving nature, but no swan can fly straight into the sky, drop a stone and dive after it, catch it, then do it again.”
The gull nodded. “I saw some of my kind on the beach, stealing food from the humans who sit on the ground.”
“Swans would never do that,” said Philip. “Get close to humans, I mean. That’s just one more difference between us.”
“Can I still visit?”
“Yes. Everyday,” she said. “We want you to have a fun, so play with the other gulls, then come and tell us about your day.”
The gull nodded, took off, did some fancy tricks, for their benefit, then flew toward the beach.
“They really are great acrobats,” said Philip, watching him go.
“Indeed,” she said. “But some differences cannot be overcome.”
“They cannot,” he said, “But it must be fun to do what they do.”
“Yes,” she said, swimming toward the shore. “I’m sure it is.”
Photo: Pixabay
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