Chapter 14
Nina sat on the quilted blue bedspread, cradling the peeping gosling, while Sophie hovered about, anxious as any new mother. ‘That’s Odette,’ said Sophie. ‘Like in the cartoon Swan Lake. She’s the youngest.’
‘How can you tell them apart?’ asked Nina, bewitched by the small marvel in her cupped hand.
Sophie gently extended the bird’s leg. ‘See? She has a bit of a bent toe. They’re all different.’
‘There’s no doubt about it,’ said Nina. ‘These are magpie geese – the first born at Billabong in eighty years.’
‘Poppi told me they were swans.’
‘No, no,’ said Nina. ‘These babies are much more special than swans. Are they eating?’
Sophie nodded. ‘They like me to feed them. Watch.’ Sophie put a pinch of chick crumbles between her thumb and forefinger and tapped the gosling’s bill.
