On my drive to work this morning, I had just turned off Mount Zion Road onto the entrance ramp to Route 30 when a gaggle of geese decided to cross the road in front of my car. As I slowed down to let the critters pass, I got to thinking about two of my favorite books starring geese.
In "The Snow Goose," the wonderful Paul Gallico uses World War II as a backdrop to tell the story of a peasant girl and a reclusive hunchback who are brought together when the girl finds a wounded goose.
The book was published in 1941.
A movie was made from the book some time ago, and I believe Richard Harris played the hunchback.
The book was recently reissued for a whole new generation of young readers.
I love this book, but be forewarned -- this is a real tearjerker.
The other book is "Father Goose."
In it, William Lishman tells his story of adopting a gaggle of geese and, with his ultralight plane, teaching them how to migrate.
Lishman's story was a segment on "20/20" some years ago.
It's feel-good reading that will bring a smile to your face, as those geese did to mine this morning!
Wasn't there a movie about a little girl who raised orphaned geese and taught them to migrate with her plane?