14 rescued ducks meet a pond for the first time

The sanctuary is in High Falls, New York. Its crew realized the new ducks had never swum, which is a hard thing to say about a duck. So someone grabbed a camera, the ducks were gathered up, and everyone headed for the pond.

At the water's edge, the ducks stick close together, like a group of nervous preschoolers. Nobody wants to go first. They were built for this, and they don't know it yet.

Then they go down a little waterfall and into the pond. Getting wet is one thing. Staying wet is another, and at first the ducks are not so sure about any of it.

One duck settles the question by staying in. Floating there, the little duck seems to work out that the water isn't going to hurt. Someone at the pond says, "Wow." Then the brave one starts jumping around and playing.

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That is all the others need. They come running and drop in one after another, and soon the whole flock is swimming.

At the start, not one of them would go first. By the end, the pond is full of happy ducks. They took to it like ducks to water.