Approx. 378 words
©1999 by E. Kitson
Southward
Thanksgiving
Turkey
By
E.
Kitson Southward
The spring Texas morning dawned cool and beautiful the day I pecked my way into the world. I have many brothers and sisters, some older and some younger than me. We all received excellent care; food and water was always available, so everyone grew plump very quickly. All but me; I did not grow as quickly nor did I get as large as the rest of the flock.
Over the course of growing up, I learned that I had been born on a turkey farm that was raising us for Thanksgiving. Since I did not know what Thanksgiving was, I started asking questions. I soon learned that none of my brothers or sisters was too swift of thought, so I sought out an old bird that had been here a couple of years.
He explained to me that Thanksgiving was a day the humans celebrated something… he didn’t know what. To be one selected for this celebration was supposed to be a great honor… he didn’t know why. All he knew was, anyone selected never returned to the farm.
When I asked him why he had not been selected, he told me that he had been once. He explained that someone thought he was such a strong, magnificent bird, that he should be presented to the President of the United States. The President gave him a Presidential Reprieve and he returned to the farm to become the father of many sons and daughters. That satisfied my curiosity and I worked very hard to become as strong and magnificent as the old bird was.
When the time of selection came, I was humiliated beyond belief. No one even looked at me! I strutted back and forth in front of them several times. One man even pushed me aside to get one of my sisters. After the selection was over and everything was quiet again, I went to my old friend and exclaimed, “I have worked so hard to become strong and beautiful—I was ignored, bypassed, not selected! Why?”
The old bird fluffed his feathers until he was half again his normal size and said, “You silly bird; it’s because you’re a duck!”