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ONG, THE WILD GANDER by Vera Henry

ONG, THE WILD GANDER

By

Pub Date: Oct. 10th, 1966
Publisher: Lippincott

Last year, in Fly Away, Goose, a little girl wondered what would happen if she hatched a goose egg--and decided not to risk the heartbreak of raising and losing a wild pet; in Ong, a little girl hatches the egg and faces the inevitable loss. When the nearby swap is bulldozed to make way for summer homes, Holly finds one wild goose egg in a nest that the mother has died to protect. Taking it home, she persuades Jessica, the Plymouth Rock hen, to sit on the egg until it hatches. The gosling, Ong, refuses to emulate jessica but instead waddles awkwardly after Tavish, the old dog. His cheekiness captivates everyone but Mrs. Plumley, the stolid housekeeper, with whom he has a running--and pecking--feud. The discovery that he has wings comes as quite a pleasant surprise to Ong. His aerial acrobatics warn Holly that he may want to leave soon. When the wild geese pass overhead on their Southern flight--after Ong has narrowly escaped death from a hunter's bullet--Holly locks Ong in his pen. But his forlorn cries and the arguments of Her family persuade her to release him. Ong shoots into the air, repeating the call of the wild geese, and Holly resigns herself to awaiting his return the following year. Nice pastorale, nicely done, not unduly sentimental or coy.