"Cock-a-doodle-doo!" Crowed the Rooster, as the sun began to rise over the farm. A warm breeze ruffled Ida's feathers, and she slowly began to stir from her nest. She sighed, 'Another night come and gone,' she thought to herself.

For Ida, the night was her favorite time of the day. It wasn't only the sleeping part that she loved, as if that was good enough, but she loved the night for its solitude.

Even though Ida was a duck and she lived in a flock of her own kind and other water fowl, she preferred to be on her own. And nothing, nothing in the rest of the world, made her mother angrier than that.

Ida's mother Sybil was the complete opposite of her daughter. She loved to gossip with the other birds on the farm, and flirt with all of the drakes, but her new found passion was trying to find all of her offspring mates for the upcoming breeding season.

Sybil had had four ducks in her last brood. Two boys, Wilber and Otis, and two girls, Ethel, and Ida. Ida knew that her mother loved all of them and was proud of them for their own qualities, but she also knew that Ethel was her favorite because she had very much succeeded in attracting the attention of several suitors.

As for her brothers, they seemed to have no brains whatsoever, but lucky for them the female ducks around the lakes' new favorite quality in a drake was how well they swam. So lucky for Otis and Wilber that their smarts had nothing to do with it, because though they couldn't quite figure out how fish seemed to always win holding breath contests, they were expert swimmers.

"Up, up, up!" Quacked Sybil, to her children, who lay sleepily in their own nests (Sybil had kicked them out almost a month ago to make their own nests, as it was getting just a tad crowded for all five of them.)

Ida sighed again, and unhurriedly began to preen her feathers, as her siblings sluggishly started to rise as well.

"We've got a busy day today!" Said Sybil in her sing song voice. "We're going swimming this morning!"

At once Otis and Wilber perked up, and shared a delighted smile. "All right!!" They shouted, high fiving each others' wings.

Ida also was intrigued. They rarely ever went swimming in the morning. Her mother always said it was much too cold then. But when Ida had been younger and had snuck out early just to see if it were true, she found the temperature quite to her liking.

"Swimming?" Whined Ethel. "This early, Mama."

Ida rolled her eyes at her sisters' attempts to once again avoid their daily swim.

"Yes, yes, yes." Declared Sybil. "But don't you fret, duckling," she said in a very sappy tone, as she often did with her favorite. "We're meeting a guest there."

Just as Otis and Wilber had, Ethel immediately perked up.

"Oh! Goody!!" She exclaimed.

"Oh goody indeed," muttered Ida.

Sybil gave Ida a stern look. "Ida," she quacked "I will not have you ruin this outing for your siblings and yourself. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal," said Ida.

"Right then," said Sybil. "Now before we go, give your mother a nice big hug."

And with that she drew them all together to a huge embrace, slightly squishing them all.

"Mom!" Complained Ethel. "You're messing up my fluff!!"

"Oh! Sorry dear, it's just I get so emotional when ever we go out looking for new mates."

"Yeah," grumbled Otis, as he padded down his feathers. "We know."

"All right," said Sybil, ignoring Otis' last comment, "We're off."

And Ida sighed once more as they began to make they way to the lake.