Peck! Peck! Dreamily, I started to move, trying to break the walls of my prison that has enclosed me for way too long. With all the delicious yellow substance gone, there is only one way to go, out into a very strange world. Something is telling me that I must reach this outside world; something is telling me that my life is changing before my very eyes, forever; something is telling me that my life is just beginning, now. Hopefully, this strange and pointy nose that has pinched me for weeks can actually break my dungeon.

Yes! It's working! One more peck and I'm . . . Oh my! What is it? What is causing my eyes to hurt? What is so bright on the other side of my home? Suddenly, a bizarre cry poured out of my mouth. Peep! Peep! Then, out of the blue, I saw her. A beautiful goose rose from the sky, fluttering near my scared little beak, examining my soft little muzzle. Another peculiar noise floated on the air; an unusual honking noise escaped from her beak and stole into my ears. At first I was alarmed and started crawling back into my safe haven. She waited patiently until my fear wore off and I started pecking harder and faster to escape what I later learned was an egg. Gently, she helped me out my secure dwelling, hovering on a clear liquid surface. After what seemed like an eternity passed, I lifted my head. Now, I was born.

As a weak, little bird, I could do nothing but cry and eat for the next few hours. I emerged into a world with a bright blue sky and a sparkling shiny yellowish disk. Suspended on a little island in the middle of a lake lay my nest. I was the last of my family to hatch into the world, and therefore was the smallest.

Another massive creature joined the beautiful bird that had helped me out of my egg. I would refer to them often as mother and father. My father had a curious looking object in his beak which my other brothers and sisters went frantic over. Looking at me, my father bent his immense head and offered me the weird object. Bravely, I accepted and devoured the round entity which I later learned was a berry. Wow! It was the best thing that I have ever had in my life! The next thing I knew, I was gaping my tiny mouth open begging for another one, just like the rest of my family. Mom and dad smiled at each other and their new family. Now, I knew I was home.

The day wasn't over for me, though. My smart parents urged me into the water, knowing that I should get accustomed to swimming. My other siblings dove in without hesitation, as if they had done it all their lives. However, I wasn't that brave. Frightened, I crouched back into my egg, thinking I would drown if I put one foot into the water. My whole family tried to urge me into the water, but it didn't work. Finally, my mom soothingly rubbed her head on my neck and nuzzled me for a few seconds. Only then did I dive into the murky water. Now, I was swimming. My siblings formed a single-file line with my mother swimming in front while our dad swam in back. I swam closest to my father, for the fear of the water hadn't left me. Odd creatures watched us from a distance and later I recognized them as predators. After a few weeks, I started growing better and better at swimming and I swam right behind my mom. Also, we learned another technique in which you duck your head underwater and feed on objects like leaves, roots, seeds, weeds and even algae. Later, our parents would show us where to hunt for plants like marsh grass, berries, clovers, turf grass and cattails.

Soon, the other goslings (baby geese) and I ate almost continuously. When we were not eating (which wasn't very often), we would watch our parents take flight and wish that we could fly like them. Often, our parents placed us into something called creches. This is when a bunch of parent geese combine their goslings together and the baby geese are taken care of as a group. This was rather fun, because I got to meet goslings other then my siblings. Now, I was extremely happy.

 This pattern of life continued until late summer. That was when my father tossed his head up and down and made a long, deep honking sound, a sound that I had never heard in my entire life. Mom seemed to understand these calls and looked regretfully at her young. I approached her and started nuzzling her neck, just like when she nuzzled me just before I went on my first swim. This only seemed to make her grow sadder.

Finally, she started to take flight, but this time was different. Father beckoned us to follow her. One by one, each of my brothers and sisters tried to soar on their new wings like they had seen Mom and Dad do hundreds of times. Each one failed terribly. I was the last to try and I too plunged, head first, into the water just like my brothers and sisters. My parents grew a little alarmed at first because most geese take flight right away.

We waited another week before my family tried to learn how to fly again. This time, we were each successful. I can still remember taking my first journey in the sky. It was wonderful! On the ground, I started flapping my long wings, and the next thing I knew, I was up in the sky looking down upon the entire world. Trees and bushes materialized into ants. The wind blew softly on my face and I was one with the blue paradise called the sky. Now I was flying.

However, I wasn't an expert on flying, at least at that moment. Flying takes a lot of practice to master, like any skill. So, day after day after day, I practiced long and hard with my parents and the other geese. I learned the how to make the "V" shaped flying formation and, most important, how to stay in formation and how to change positions. Also, I learned how to navigate by landmarks and even by the stars.

Finally, the summer started to get chillier and the winds started to turn a little crisp and icy. During this time, the geese started getting more and more aggravated. My parents looked at me in a glance that signaled that something extraordinary was about to happen. Then, various geese started ascending high into the sky, motioning for us to follow. The rest of the geese followed and we formed an enormous V-shape. Now, I was flying south for the winter.

With my flock, I flew thousands of miles, following the ancient route of our ancestors. Day and night we would travel, stopping at short intervals for food and water. At times, I felt like my wings would break off because I was flapping so hard.

How do geese do it? Flying thousands and thousands of miles each year just avoid a season called winter? How do they do it? I soon found out, though. The migration wasn't a choice for geese; it was a way of life. Birds have adapted through Mother Nature in such a way that if they didn't fly south each winter, all birds on earth would perish. Also, I learned that with teamwork and determination, anybody can do anything they want to.

After endless weeks, we finally reached our destination, what some call the south. It was a beautiful place where trees and plants flourished. It reminded me of home, when it was summer. Soon, my life turned into a continual cycle of flying short distances, eating and watching for predators. At that moment life couldn't get any better. Now, I was in the south.

Soon the time came again when the winds started to turn nippy and chilly. Again, our flock started to grow restless and all the now-mature goslings knew what was coming. Another immense flight took place again with the same V-shaped pattern.

We flew another thousand miles, flying during day and night, wind or rain and during cold and hot temperatures. We stopped at the same places, passed the same landmarks, and flew the same distance every day. This time, most of the younger generation knew the flight pattern and sometimes the adults would let us lead.

Once, the adults allowed me to fly in the front. I was exhilarated! Flying like the wind, bobbing along like silly toys. However, my moment of fame didn't last very long; I soon started to weaken and slowed the whole formation down. Replaced by one of my brothers, I staggered behind as one of the last in the group.

Rapidly, familiar landmarks came into view and I knew that we were almost home. In a few hours, I saw my old nest and the lake that I grew up in. Just as the flock was about to descend into our final destination, strange sounds rose on the air.

Boom! The sound surfaced again and I saw remarkable black specks fluttering around us in an awfully close manner. Soon, these black specks were everywhere; it was like I was swimming in a sea of black specks. Whenever these strange specks touched a bird, the brave and unlucky soul fluttered down into the maze of trees below. The older generation somehow knew what these black specks were. Later, I found out that they were bullets.

Geese started dropping out of the sky by the score. One of these bullets stabbed my right wing, and a painful cry yelped out of my mouth and I started to plummet down to the ground. Fortunately, the lake broke my fall and I swam near the little nest that my parents had built seasons before.

Hiding behind a bush, I saw the owners of these bullets, for they came into view only moments later. Five men emerged into the scene picking up the unfortunate geese that fell out of the sky.

They lay sick and dying, and I wailed mournfully when I saw the lifeless bodies of my parents roughly picked up by the wicked men. How could they do they do that? Why did it have to be my parents, why? What did my parents ever do to them? Don't they realize that these are the brave birds that incubated my egg for thirty nonstop days and nights? Don't they realize that they killed the geese that struggled for weeks and weeks to teach me something as simple as hunting for berries? Don't they realize that they killed off the geese that labored for months trying to teach me how to fly south? Don't they realize that they killed off the two geese that meant everything to me? Why? Why does God punish the good and reward the wicked?

Besides the pain I felt, another wail erupted out of me when I saw my older brother among the dead, the same older brother that replaced me as the leader of the formation! That should have been me! I should be the one choking and using up the last amount of strength left in my body. I should be the one leaving this world so young and so brave. That should have been me! I should be dead now! Instead, I am left to deal with the added grief of the death of my lovable parents and my brave older brother. Sad, cold and lonely, I searched the surrounding area for the survivors of my flock. I soon found them, weary and tired from the recent battle that they had just fought with life and death. Now, I was home.

With a heavy heart, I tell this story, still brutally wounded by the death of my brother and parents. The days never do get easier but I try to remember their bravery and dedication to life.