mansuetude
[man-swi-tood, -tyood]
1. mildness; gentleness:
the mansuetude of Christian love.
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“Gently now, gently.” Gail said. Her soft Irish accent matching her
words. Her hands guided Linus’ as he
worked the mild soap into the squirming duckling. “She’s sensitive. If you’re too rough, you’ll hurt her.”
“Sorry.
Linus said. He was having trouble concentrating
on the animal. Gail’s hand on his was
more than enough of a distraction.
It was
not like Linus had any real interest in cleaning animal. There were many places he would rather have
been. But there he was, taking care of
an animal that was doing its best to wriggle free of his hands. Gail had somehow managed to convince him to
join the volunteer group.
She had
not tried very hard to do so though. He
did not even have to think about how she had done so. It was her voice. There was power in her words. Her Irish accent was soft and smooth. Sensual almost. If all she had was that voice, it would be
enough for him. As it was, she was also
very beautiful, which made it even harder to ignore her requests. But it was her voice that was the clincher in
most cases.
“Alright,
that’s the way to do it.” She said happily.
The words sent shivers down Linus’ spine. “Now just wash it off, and she’ll be ready to
head out.”
“I
think this one doesn’t care if she’s all sudsy.” Linus said as the duckling
kicked and struggled.
“I’m
sure she does. She just doesn’t know you’re
trying to help her is all.”
“I’m
trying to be gentle.” So much so that he
was amazed that the soap covered animal remained in his hands at all.
“You
are, but you still can’t tell her why you’re holding her. And some animals just don’t like being held
is all. She’ll calm down once she’s all
clean and on her way.”
Just as
Gail said, once Linus had managed to get the soap off the duckling and it was
released, it waddled off as quickly as its tiny feet could carry it. It was a struggle not to laugh at its journey
back to the water.
“So,
what now?” Linus asked.
“Now? I hope you’re not trying to skip out. We’ve still got lots to do here. Here, take this one.”
Gail
handed him another duckling. Linus took
it hesitantly. The moment it was in his
hands it acted up. It flapped its tiny
wings and squawked as loudly as it could.
It was still young, so much of the effect was lost though.
“I don’t
think these guys like me.” Linus said.
“Oh now
don’t say that.” Gail said with a twinkle in her hazel eyes. “Just give him some time to get used to
you. Here, let me show you.”
Linus
handed the bird to Gail. It immediately quieted
down, settling into her soft hands. It
looked at Linus, like it was staking its claim on the young woman.
“There,
you see?” She said. “All it takes is a
gentle touch and he’s all right.” Gail started to hand the duckling back to
Linus.
“Why…why
don’t you work on that one and I’ll start with a different one.”
“Suit
yourself.”
Linus
scooped up another of the black, sludgy ducklings, being careful to handle it
as carefully and gently as he could. It
didn’t take well to him. He looked at
Gail while wearing his thoughts about the treatment on his sleeves. Gail just laughed at his struggles and encouraged
him to keep trying. Her words, and her
voice, at least got him trying to clean the ungrateful baby bird. Even with Gail around, he knew I was going to
be a long day.
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Animals just like some people more than others. Nobody knows why, but they do.
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