The Transformation

Today, the prompt was a duck that became a dragon!




Amy swam. It was her favorite thing to do. She loved gliding through the pond with barely a flick of her legs, feeling the water and wind in her feathers. Her brothers thought she was silly. They thought the pond was too small, and swimming tiring. They always begged their mother to let them explore. "One day," She would say, "when you're older." They would moan and groan, and look longingly at the forest, saying, "If only I was something else! If I was a blue jay, I could fly wherever I wanted. If I was a cat, I could stalk through the forest. If I was a dragon- If I was a dragon, I could go anywhere in the whole wide world!"

Amy always laughed at their dreams. "Why would you want to be anything but a duck? Ducks are the best! Bluejays are trivial, cats are bossy, and dragons- Dragons are the worst of all! They smoke up the sky and burn down trees, they're big and heavy and cumbersome, they're mean and greedy and stupid, and most of all, they're ugly!" Feathers are the way to go, she thought, as she splashed across the little pond. Sleek and pretty! Fur is ugly, skin is ugly, and scales- scales are ugliest! Her thoughts grew meaner and meaner, insulting all sorts of animals (But dragons the most), when suddenly, they were interrupted. By an ugly little lizard! 

"Excuse me!" It said in a squeaky voice. "Could you pass me that leaf? It's really important, but I tripped and dropped it in the river, and I can't swim!"

"Pfft,” Amy said dismissively, “you can't swim? How stupid! Lizards. What are they good for? Nothing at all. Can’t even swim, what a joke...” And so she continued on her way, leaving the lizard on the bank, reaching desperately for his long-gone leaf.

The next day, as Amy passed that same spot, she saw a glint of color on the bank. She pulled herself out of the water and waddled up to it. It was a curious circlet, made of silver, gold, and purple amethysts. She studied it for a bit, then decided it must be a crown. She awkwardly picked it up with her wings and settled it on her head. It fit! Now everyone will know that I’m the best! She thought triumphantly. Ducks were always meant to rule!

Amy smiled and turned around, knocking down a tree with her tail as she did so. What? She looked down. Everything was so tiny! She was taller then the trees! Her feet were half the size of the pond! She squinted down at the pond, so small now, and saw a dragon looking back at her! She gasped and stumbled back, squashing more trees as she did so. So did the dragon in the pond. Then, with a growing sense of horror, she realized that she was the dragon.

She reached her strangely agile arms up to her head, and groped around for the crown, sure that it was the source of her troubles. There was no crown. She looked back into the pond, and saw scales of silver and gold and purple forming a crest around her head. She sat down, stunned, and began to laugh. What my brothers wouldn’t give to be in my place right now! Then she heard a squeaky voice by her tail. The lizard!

“You have shown nothing but scorn for other creatures and other skills, so I’ve turned you into a dragon! Once you’ve learned to respect-” Its well-rehearsed speech was cut off as Amy brought her foot down on it, killing it instantly. Stupid lizard. Stupid lizard! “Stupid lizard!” She roared, her new dragon voice carrying the sound far. “I will get revenge by killing all lizards! All reptiles! And then, I will kill myself! For life is not worth living if you can’t live it as a duck!” She turned, eyes glowing red, searching for the next victim of her supremacist rage.