THERE WAS AN ITCH in Duane’s feet when he awoke one fine cold morning at the beginning of autumn. It wasn’t a scratchy itch that could be relieved with a paw. It wasn’t a rashy itch that required C.C.’s medical opinion. No, this was a curiosity itch, which meant that it was a day for exploring, no two ways about it. So after a breakfast bowl of berries, Duane was out of his cave, following where his curiosity led.
“Good morning,” Duane said to his closest neighbor, the musk ox.
The musk ox was deeply engrossed in his reflection in the pond, turning his head to one side and then the other. Since making his acquaintance, Duane had soon realized that spending hours studying himself was the musk ox’s favorite activity.
“Hmm? Oh, hello, Duane.”
Like the polar bear, the musk ox had come into the Very, Very Far North from somewhere else, and he had chosen the large open field as his home. The pond within the field, with its amazingly clear reflective abilities, made a big impression. However, as the days grew colder, in the mornings ice was starting to form on the pond’s surface, which later cracked and distorted the view. The musk ox was not happy about this.
“I’m off to do a little exploring,” Duane announced. “I’m going to cross the river below the Rocky Ridge and see what there is to see. Would you care to join me?”
The musk ox spoke in a low voice, stretching his words out from time to time. There are those who would say he sounded snobbish or haughty or self-important. I will leave it to you to form your own opinion. “Will this be a social excursion, Duane? Will we be hobnobbing?”
Duane sometimes had difficulty understanding the musk ox, who once explained that his formal education gave him an expansive vocabulary. Duane did not understand that part either. But the musk ox was never offended. He simply found other words to say what he wanted to say.
“Will we be meeting others?”
“Oh, I see.” Duane nodded. “I don’t know if we will. That’s the best part of exploring. You never know what may happen.”
From the musk ox’s expression, one might conclude that not knowing what may happen was the worst part of exploring. “I am currently not presentable for public viewing. I will accompany you to the river, but no farther.”
This was a compromise, and Duane was good at compromises. “Wonderful,” he said. “I will enjoy your company for as long as you can give it.”
But would he enjoy it? Over the past few weeks, Duane had discovered that the musk ox had few interests, and of those few, his top interest was by far himself. He loved to talk about himself, although often there was a hum of worry within his words. To prove this point, I need only to recount the first thing that came out of his mouth as he left his field with Duane. “These cold mornings are freezing up the pond and playing havoc with my reflection. The ice cracks and distorts it. I couldn’t tell if I was looking at something hideous or handsome. I do have my doubts when I cannot see myself.”
Duane had no reply. Although he reflected upon what he saw around him, Duane rarely looked at his own reflection. It wasn’t a concern. Duane never had doubts just because he couldn’t see himself. I am a polar bear, so I likely have polar bear features, he thought. And just by thinking that thought, it gave him another thought. I think, therefore I am a polar bear.
The musk ox mistook Duane’s silence for indifference. “You just don’t understand, Duane,” he said gloomily.
Duane nodded. He didn’t understand. Not really. There was so much he didn’t understand. But he felt that the musk ox needed some cheer, so he took a chance. “You’re always handsome,” Duane said reassuringly.
“Yes, that is kind of you, but—”
“Also,” Duane continued on boldly, “I think that since I have a name you can call me, which is Duane, then it is only fair that there be a name that I can call you.”
“Oh?” said the musk ox, taken aback by Duane’s unusually forceful voice. “What, er, what did you have in mind?”
Duane smiled. “Why, Handsome, of course. May I call you Handsome? It would make things so much easier.”
If the musk ox were telling this story, he would tell you that Duane’s suggestion left him gobsmacked, and that likely would have left you scratching your head like Duane and wondering what “gobsmacked” meant. It meant that the musk ox was stunned and speechless . . . for a few seconds anyway, until he found his voice again.
“Handsome. I would be referred to as Handsome?”
“Yes,” said Duane, “if that’s all right.”
The musk ox swallowed what appeared to be a large lump in this throat. “Yes, that would be acceptable.” And so from this point forward, I too will call the musk ox Handsome.
Duane and Handsome continued their trek in a much lighter mood, which suited Duane just fine. Paying attention to what is around you is really what exploring is all about. The minute you start worrying about whether you cleaned your breakfast bowl before you left your cave, you’ve missed something interesting right in front of your face. Light mood, positive spirit, bouncy steps, thought Duane. These are the ideal things to bring along when exploring.
Eventually they reached the Rocky Ridge that ran the length of the river. Looking down upon the water, Duane took notice of its great width. He imagined how excellent it would be for sliding across on his belly when winter came and the surface froze. But for now, he wondered if this was where he would part company with Handsome or whether he could coax the musk ox into continuing on as one half of their exploring team.
“Would you care to join me for a swim across to the other side?” Duane asked hopefully. “We’ve done so well exploring already.”
Handsome looked upon the river with something less than enthusiasm. “My family has never been big on aquatic sports. All that splashing about and watery muck getting caught in one’s fur . . .”
“Oh, I see,” said Duane with a touch of sadness.
Sensing Duane’s disappointment, and genuinely wanting to show some gratitude for his new name, Handsome added, “Otherwise, I’d be more than willing to continue on.”
Duane lifted his eyes. “You would?”
“Oh, yes,” Handsome declared, now getting carried away with his show of gratitude. “If not for the water, I would be with you each step of the way on this adventure.” Handsome realized how easy it was to make big generous pledges when he was not obliged to live up to them, so he went on. “I would climb mountains and traverse dangerous cliff paths. I would poke my head into dark caves and push over heavy boulders.”
That cheered up Duane considerably. “You really would do that?”
“Without a second thought,” Handsome declared. “In the name of exploration, I would do all those things and much more . . . were it not for the bit involving swimming.”
Such good news, Duane thought. “Well, in that case, let’s forget about swimming and instead continue exploring farther up to see if there is another way to get across.”
Handsome’s heroic face suddenly slumped. “Pardon me?”
“I had no idea that you were so passionate about exploring, Handsome. I suggest we go exploring for a very long time. To be honest, when we left this morning, I was hoping to be home for lunch, but now, after hearing you talk, I’d even be willing to skip lunch to explore some more.”
Handsome swallowed another lump in his throat before speaking. “You would?”
“Absolutely.” Duane nodded.
“But you adore lunch, as do I. It’s one of the things we have in common.”
“Along with exploring, so it would seem.” Duane smiled. “Isn’t this excellent?”
“Hmm,” replied Handsome.
With renewed determination, at least on Duane’s part, the two explorers followed the river upstream in the hope of finding a less splashy way across it. To Duane’s delight, there was a definite narrowing of its width, but to Handsome’s regret, the ground was climbing higher and higher as well.
“It’s getting steeper, wouldn’t you say?” asked Duane, excited at this new challenge.
“I, huff, huff, would, huff, huff, say so,” gasped Handsome, “if I huff, huff, could only, huff, huff, catch, huff, huff, my breath.”
“This way!” shouted Duane, far in the lead. “I hear something thundering and roaring above us! It could be a monster! Wouldn’t that be exciting?”
“Hmm,” growled Handsome.
The steep, rocky terrain forced them to leave the river and approach the loud noise from the side. After Duane plotted a route that Handsome would be able to manage, he stepped around a jagged corner, and there before him was not a monster but a tall, thin waterfall. The water crashed down from a stone lip high above. Mist rose from the pool below it, and the sunlight that pierced it created a double rainbow.
“You don’t see that every day, do you?” said Duane, marveling at the sight.
Handsome marveled too, but from a farther distance, leaning against a large rock while his tired legs steadied.
Duane was most pleased with how the exploring was going. Later, when he would tell C.C. about the great adventure, she would explain that the reason for the success was because it was a Thursday. “Scientifically speaking, Duane,” she would say, “all good things happen on a Thursday. It’s just basic physics.”
Handsome might have had a different hypothesis about Thursdays. He was exhausted and hungry and sweaty. He could only imagine how unpresentable he looked, but he purposely didn’t imagine it because the embarrassment would be too great. Enough was enough. The exploring would have to come to a close. A musk ox of his refinement cannot spend the day traipsing up and down, getting his fur all sweaty and unmanageable. Handsome cleared his throat. A stern speech was in order. “Duane, I must put my hoof down in no uncertain terms and insist that we return back to—”
The polar bear was no longer there.
“Duane?” asked Handsome, confused.
The polar bear was not elsewhere, either.
“Duane?” asked Handsome, concerned.
The polar bear was no longer anywhere.
“Duane!” Handsome shouted, fearing the worst.
“I’m up here!” Duane shouted back.
Handsome looked up and saw Duane standing high above, beside the waterfall, waving enthusiastically. “Hurry, Handsome! I have something wonderful to show you! If you were excited about exploring before, you will be even more excited once you climb up here!”
The musk ox stood silently beside the double rainbow. He had a slight twitch in his left eye. He looked up again at Duane, who was still cheerfully waving. Handsome tried to smile back, but his heart simply wasn’t in it. Instead, he mumbled something under his breath about creating a law to ban all exploring in his neighborhood, before sighing and finally heading up to join Duane.
