THE GREAT DRAKE

Is he big. . . powerful. . . swift. . . faster than the flashing light that runs from black clouds?"" Superman! No, ""The Great Drake comes!""--to lead a dumb flock of talking waterfowl north for summer. This, you see, is a parable of Leadership, and when the long-awaited Great Drake arrives looking like ""a crippled fowl of undetermined and questionable species,"" the faithless, winged masses take off on their own--oblivious of such dangers as hail, wind, blizzard, and hunters. Luckily, however, the over-the-hill Great Drake has a protÉgÉ: ""Go, Noble One. Find the flock. Guide them to safety. Fly high. Fly swiftly. And do not look back."" Yes, a new Great Drake is about to take command, even though being a Leader is an ""ordeal"" of responsibility involving Hearing Voices and Being Selfless (""His life belongs to the flocks""). This juvenile-scriptural mini-mishmash might seem at first flock to be a chip off the old Bach (R. Bach, as in J. L. Seagull and Illusions), but it's really more like a flocked-up version of one of those dull WW II air-force movies, complete with noble death scene (""If you love me, go. . .""), loyal and adoring service wife (the White Swan), and militaryese (""The Snow Geese are to be commended for their comprehensive reports""). Only recommended for bird-lovers who treasure the memory of Great Drakes like Patton, Peron, and Mussolini.