Sitting Ducks

 

We were both tired of paddling, so we were just letting the current ease the canoe downstream.  Every now and then we had to duck.  The branches along the edge that were hanging over the water would smack us if we didn’t.

Occasionally, a fish would jump.  We think they were trying to catch the passing bugs that were flying just above the water.  We didn’t see anyone else on the river but we could hear voices.

        Just around the bend we could see a bridge up ahead.  We could now tell where the voices were coming from.  We think they were kids, armed with water balloons.   We were about to get bombed.  There wasn’t going to be any way to avoid it.  Then, just before we were within range, I carefully stood up and pointed to the kids on the bridge, while at the same time, I looked off to the right and yelled, “They’re on the bridge.”

        My plan worked.  The kids on the bridge thought for sure we had friends on shore.  They took off running.  I sat back down, and we picked up our paddles to scoot further past the bridge.

        Little did we know, the rest of the kids were standing on the shore just on the other side of the bridge.  They all had a clear shot and we got soaked.