and feed ourselves very
        
        
          easily."
        
        
          "All ducks look
        
        
          alike, so what kind of
        
        
          differences are there
        
        
          between them?" won-
        
        
          dered Ahmad.
        
        
          "We do all look alike,"
        
        
          agreed the duck: "But there
        
        
          certainly are a number of dif-
        
        
          ferences between the various
        
        
          kinds of ducks. Male ducks have
        
        
          shinier feathers than females. This is an impor-
        
        
          tant protection for the female as she sits on her
        
        
          nest to hatch her young. Because of her dull colors, her enemies
        
        
          can't see her, and she is much safer as she sits there. The female
        
        
          duck's dull colors that blend in with the background make her dif-
        
        
          ficult to spot even from a close distance."
        
        
          "So, what happens when an enemy comes near the nest?"
        
        
          asked Ahmad.
        
        
          The duck explained: "The male ducks draw attention to
        
        
          themselves by using their colorful shiny feathers in order
        
        
          to draw the enemy's attention away from the female in
        
        
          her nest. When an enemy approaches the nest, the
        
        
          male immediately flies into the air, making a lot
        
        
          of noise and doing everything he can to drive
        
        
          the intruder away."
        
        
          At that moment Ahmad saw some baby ducks swimming in
        
        
          the water. He was amazed that they were so small and could
        
        
          swim so well. He asked: "How do these baby ducks learn to swim
        
        
          29