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“Hello! What’s your name?”
“My name is Mergatroid. Why do you ask?”
“I’m just trying to be friendly.”
“The only friends I have are my own kind, and they’re all gone — eaten by wolves and lions. I’m the only one left. For some reason the wolves and lions leave me alone. I’m getting up in years, maybe they think I’m too tough to chew on.”
“Do you get lonely without companionship?”
“Yes, I do. But maybe it’s for the best. Every time new geese come to the farm I become attached to them — and then come the wolves and lions. When one of them is taken it makes me sad for a long time.”
“So better lonely than sad?”
“Maybe. I’m not sure. It makes me so happy to have companions, perhaps it’s worth the sadness when they are taken.”
“Anyway, I don’t suppose you really have a choice in the matter. So how do you handle your loneliness?”
“I explore a lot. There are still places on the farm I haven’t been. And of course just feeding myself is a full-time job, as it always has been.”
“Are there any other things you do to alleviate loneliness?”
“I try to make music sometimes, but I’m not very good at it. I like to chase little girls and make them scream, and sometimes I like to bite someone, for excitement. I don’t mean any harm by it. Mostly it’s just play. But I have to bite hard enough to get a response, or else there’s no point in it.”
“I’ve been told that you haven’t bitten anyone for a long time. Why is that?”
“It’s because I feel depressed and isolated. And I don’t have the energy for making trouble anymore.”
“If you suddenly had a couple of new companions, would that energize you?”
“It would no doubt rejuvenate me to some degree. I would probably have a feeling of normalcy and happiness for a while. But I also suspect that I would drive myself crazy trying to protect them.”
“So….. if you were given the chance to have two new companions, would you welcome them?”
“Yes. I surely would be happy to have them. We must always choose to live as fully as possible, no matter what sorrows it may bring.”
“I thought you would say that. Is there enough food around here for three of you?”
“There’s plenty. We find all kinds of things to eat, in various parts of the farm. Especially though, around the pond.”
“I was talking with the pond just a few days ago. It told me it was delighted to have you use it for swimming.”
“We have a kind of special friendship.”
“There’s a little island in the pond where you sleep. Do you feel safe there?”
“Fairly safe. I sleep well enough there.”
“Don’t the frogs keep you awake with their chorus?”
“I love listening to the music of the frogs. It’s very soothing, and it makes me feel like all is well with the world.”
“It sounds like you have a pretty good life, except for the loneliness.”
“I try to convince myself that I can live without my own kind and still be happy. There are many things to be thankful for I love nature — except for the wolves and lions — and it can make me happy just to have the sun and air and water, and Earth to walk on.”
“I was talking with the sunflower recently, and it told me pretty much the same thing.”
“All the living things around me are flourishing and happy, and it rubs off on me.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I’ve noticed that you haven’t tried to fly for a while. You haven’t given up on flying, have you?”
“The truth is, I am perfectly aware that we farm geese are never going to fly. I only do it when younger geese are around. They see the other birds flying everywhere and wonder why they can’t do it also. I try to give them hope.”
“You’re very thoughtful, Mergatroid.”
“Only with my own kind.”
“You get along well with the dog, don’t you?”
“Oh, sure. We’re friends of a sort. But I’m not about to do him any favors.”
“What about the cats and the chickens? You get along with them, don’t you?”
“I sympathize with the chickens. They’ll never fly either. I’m wary of making friends with them because I know that sooner or later they too will disappear — into the stomachs of wolves and lions, no doubt. The cats are okay, and they seem to be able to take care of themselves. But they’re very private creatures, you know — more than I am.
“You, of course, don’t have to worry, the people here are vegetarian, but as you may be aware, some people raise geese to eat them.”
“I’ve heard as much. What a disgusting and unconscionable thing to do. Humans ought to be beyond such barbarity by now.”
“I’m afraid my species has a long way to go to reach its potential. They still go to a great amount of trouble and expense to kill each other, so I guess killing a goose doesn’t seem like a big deal to them.”
“They should be ashamed.”
“What are you hoping to have for dinner tonight?”
“There are some snails at the north end of the pond I’ve had my eye on. They’re my favorite dinner.”
“Snails are creatures too. Don’t you have any sympathy for them?”
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous!”
“I suppose you’re right. Anyway, it’s been a pleasure talking with you.”
“Likewise. By the way, do you think any little girls will be coming to the farm? How can I chase them if they won’t come?”
“Maybe they don’t come because they’re afraid of you.”
“Afraid of me? Why? I couldn’t hurt a flea.”
“But you could hurt a snail.”
“You don’t understand anything…..I’m going now.”
“See you in the funnies, Mergatroid.”
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