A flock of geese had just landed at Hilltop Farm. It was the first flock of the autumn migration. The geese floated on the pond, cleaning their feathers and nibbling on weeds. But they all stopped what they were doing when Roz waved and said hello.
The robot never forgot a face, and she was certain she didn’t know any of these geese. But they seemed to know her. Before she even introduced herself, the lead goose squawked, “Is your name Roz?”
The robot stared at the goose. “Yes, it is.”
“And you can speak the animal language?”
The answer was obvious, but Roz politely said, “Yes, I can speak the animal language.”
“Do you, by any chance, have a goose for a son?”
“Yes, I do!” said Roz. “His name is Brightbill.”
At that, a voice blurted out, “The stories are true!” and suddenly the flock was smiling and fluttering over to the robot. When the commotion settled down, the leader explained, “All along our migration we’ve heard rumors of a robot who can speak with animals, who has a goose for a son, and who is trapped on a farm. That sounded ridiculous to us, but here you are!”
The flock was absolutely delighted to meet our robot. They lounged around the pond for a couple of days, chatting with Roz whenever she came by, and then they continued flying south to their wintering grounds.
Another flock of geese arrived, and the same thing happened all over again. Roz welcomed them, they were delighted to meet the legendary robot, and then the flock continued south. Then it happened again. And again. Before long, the coming and going of delighted geese was just another part of the robot’s autumn routine.
Straggling behind the others as usual was Wingtip’s flock. When Roz saw them splashing onto the pond she felt something like hope that they might have news of her son. Sadly, the geese had no news to report. And as the flock took off, and left Roz behind, she began to question whether she’d ever see Brightbill again.