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The Ladder-backed Woodpecker: Pecking for Glory

The ladder-backed woodpecker rapped furiously at a fencepost, convinced it was hollow and hiding a banquet. Woodpeckers are optimists by nature; to them, every clunk is just a drumroll before dinner.

 

Tap-tap-tap. No bugs.

Tap-tap-tap. Still no bugs.

Tap-tap-tap. Now the neighbors were looking out the window, wondering if the HOA had hired a percussionist.

 

The woodpecker, however, considered this a triumph. “If not food,” he thought, “at least I’ve been heard.” And he doubled his tempo, playing his own applause.

 

In the end, the fencepost remained stubbornly empty, but the bird went to roost feeling he had delivered a concert worth attending.

 

Moral:

Sometimes you don’t find the grub, but you still get the gig.

 

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Uploaded on August 20, 2025
Taken on May 16, 2025