Chapter 46: Chapter 612: The Kindergarten Bus
One of the swan babies seemed to be getting sleepy from the sun!
It let out a soft chirp, bent its head backward, and nestled it under its mother's wing, falling asleep right there.
Qian Keke watched enviously, "Wow, falling asleep right on mom's back, that must be so comfortable. It's like a swan feather blanket."
Tang Xiaoxin's eyes lit up, "It looks so cozy! What a happy family."
After the swan parents swam away, a grayish-brown mandarin duck came down to the water from the shore.
It was accompanied by over a dozen ducklings, their feathers blackish-brown with yellow cheeks.
Though small, they looked much more agile than the swan babies!
They ran quickly, not waiting for their mother to enter the water. Eagerly, they dashed in, kicking up a trail of water like arrows shot from a bow, covering several meters in the blink of an eye.
"Charge, ducks! Let's go play!"
Then the group started swimming leisurely in the water.
Tang Xiaoxin exclaimed, "Wow, they're so fast!"
Qian Keke, watching the lively ducklings, joked, "Maybe they have turbo engines installed!"
She suddenly frowned, feeling something was off.
After thinking for a while, she said, "Wait, why is there only one mandarin duck? Where's their dad?"
Seeing the swan parents, one leading and the other guarding, with clear division of labor, she felt puzzled.
Tang Xiaoxin laughed, "Don't you know? Male mandarin ducks are notorious for being unfaithful. They only care about romance, not raising kids! After mating, they leave, and the female is left to incubate the eggs and raise the ducklings."
Qian Keke was shocked, "Aren't mandarin ducks supposed to symbolize love?"
Looking at the female mandarin duck, she felt a bit sad, "It must be tough for her, raising so many kids alone! And there are so many! 1, 2, 3..."
After counting for a while, she realized there were 12 ducklings!
As they strolled along the Waterfowl Lake, they saw many families with children.
A proud swan walked ahead, its head held high, seemingly heading to the opposite lawn.
Behind it, five fluffy little cygnets followed in a neat line, like a row of dumplings, their tiny feet pattering to keep up with their dad, their chubby bodies swaying adorably.
Behind them was the smaller swan mom, making the family look orderly and amusing.
Nearby visitors couldn't stop laughing and taking photos, "Haha, those tiny steps are so cute!"
"A family should always stick together!"
"The swan parents are so loving, one leading and one guarding!"
Besides these bird families, there were human parents with their children.
A child, holding their mom's hand, watched the scene happily, "Mommy, look!"
The mom smiled, "Aren't they cute?"
She took the opportunity to educate, "See how the swan babies cross the road, following their parents obediently? We should also follow traffic rules and hold hands when crossing the road."
The child nodded thoughtfully, "Mm-hmm!"
Seeing the swan family approaching, Tang Xiaoxin quickly pulled Qian Keke aside.
Qian Keke was puzzled, "What's wrong?"
Tang Xiaoxin pointed to a nearby warning sign, "Look!"
There were new warning signs around the Waterfowl Lake, showing a silhouette of a goose with its babies, with a prominent triangle warning: "Swans are aggressive during nesting season, please keep a safe distance!"
As the swan dad passed the sign, he stretched his neck and pecked it angrily.
Who are you calling aggressive? Huh!
This is slander!
Qian Keke chuckled, feeling relieved, "Good thing you pulled me aside, they do seem a bit fierce!"
The family reached the opposite lawn, where the swan parents stopped to groom their feathers. The cygnets, tired from walking, squatted on the grass to rest.
Then they saw another black swan couple, but they had an unusually large brood of cygnets, over a dozen!
The tired cygnets tried to climb onto their mom's back, but it was already crowded with seven or eight others.
One cygnet swam around, looking for a spot.
Seeing a gap, it flapped its tiny wings and squeezed in.
Make room, make room! I want to get on too!
But the space was too small, and it got bumped off by a sibling's butt, sliding down the other side.
It looked very amusing.
"Hahaha, it's like a kindergarten bus!"
"It looks overloaded already!"
The swan mom turned her head, instinctively wanting to groom her feathers, but seeing her back full of little ones, she resignedly turned her neck back.
Tang Xiaoxin curiously asked a nearby zookeeper, "I noticed other swans have only five or six babies. Why do they have so many?"
The zookeeper smiled and explained, "They're not all theirs!
When black swan families meet, their babies often mix together. Some might follow the wrong parents, which is quite common. Sometimes, one pair ends up with all the babies, while another has none."
"Really?"
Tang Xiaoxin found it both funny and sympathetic!
Raising kids only to have them follow someone else, how tragic.
Watching these adorable cygnets, ducklings, and goslings felt heartwarming and healing.
...
After leaving the Waterfowl Lake, they headed to the wolf exhibit!
As they arrived, they saw a black and a gray wolf lounging together on the hillside.
The two wolves were, of course, Black Charcoal and Little Rain.
Little Rain lay elegantly on her side, eyes half-closed.
Black Charcoal lay on his back, head up, nuzzling Little Rain's cheek fur, whining softly.
"Darling, give me a kiss!"
He lifted a paw, trying to pull her head closer, opening his mouth to nibble her cheek.
A big, loving bite!
Little Rain, her face nibbled by Black Charcoal, turned her head away helplessly but couldn't escape his affection, as he nibbled from her neck to her head.
Tang Xiaoxin couldn't help but remark, "Black Charcoal and Little Rain are still so affectionate!"
Qian Keke agreed, "Every time we come, they're always showing PDA."
Below the hillside, the wolf pups played happily!
At six months old, they were already the size of large dogs, though their faces still looked young.
One black wolf pup, holding a bone, approached its sibling, seemingly showing off or provoking.
"Look at my bone! Jealous?"
Suddenly, it turned and bounced away joyfully!
Its body swayed left and right as it ran, looking a bit silly.
It stopped, looked back at its sibling, who finally gave chase!
The black pup jumped in place, wagging its tail happily, like a little colt, and ran further away.
The bone had little meat, but playing was pure joy.
The wolf pups frolicked and chased each other, running freely in the exhibit, across grass and streams. Seeing their joyful play, some adult wolves couldn't resist joining in.
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