Cleo Reincarnated: From Dog to Duck and Back Again

Chapter One: Don't Call Me Pattie

I wish I wasn't a dog. I wish I could be anything else but a dog. Anything else.

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Cleo woke up to the sound of caterpillar noises.

"What the duck?" she exclaimed, throwing up her paws in fright. But wait! They were no longer paws - now they were little flippy things that looked like pieces of cheese. What was going on?

Cleo looked around herself and realized that her paws were not the only thing that had changed about her being. She had fluffy yellow fur in replacement of her tan fur. She was sitting on clear blue water that reflected the sky of a summer day instead of the lying in the dungeon that was her kennel. In front of her was the edge of a pond, and on the edge of said pond lay a bush, and ON THAT BUSH lay a caterpillar.

"Sup boiz," the caterpillar said in caterpillarian.

"I am a girl," Cleo said angrily.

"Sup gorlz," the caterpillar said.

"I am not plural," Cleo said, voice cracking the whole way through. She was still getting used to duck language. Oh yeah, about that - Cleo had discovered that she had turned into a duck. #plottwist

"Fine," the caterpillar said, huffing. "HOWDY." He pulled out a cowboy hat and did a little wiggle.

"I AM NOT A COWBOY EITHER," Cleo roared. She pulled out a top hat and said, "I am a dapper duck."

"Nobody asked," said the caterpillar.

Cleo started to cry.

Why was being a duck so hard? She wanted to be a dog again, even if that meant she could never eat that rich, dark, delicious chocolate! At first, she was ready to tell the caterpillar to duck off, but then, she saw the most handsome duck she had ever seen.

"Who is that?" Cleo questioned.

"Patricio," the caterpillar said. "He is the baddest duck in the pond. Everyone is in love with him, even us caterpillars. Sigh. If only he would notice me..."

Cleo ignored the cowboy caterpillar and swam up to Patricio. She had taken Flirting 101 for puppies in elementary school, so she was sure she could swoon this charming fellow.

"Hello, who are you?" Dang it. She had messed up the pickup line. She had meant to say - hello, you are looking paw-some, but gotten flustered by the duck's gorgeous feathers. "Bye," she said, swimming away in despair.

"Wait!" Patricio said. "Come back! I wish to see your beautiful face once more."

Cleo turned around romantically, the wind blowing through her feathers. "Really? You want to see an ugly duckling such as me?"

"The only ugly duckling in sight I see is Moe."

"Who's Moe?" Cleo asked.

Moe teleported to the group. "Hullo," said the duck named Moe in a British accent. "I like the color red. What about you?"

Cleo said, "I hate you."

Moe cried and waddled away.

She turned back to the handsome duck with beady eyes. "I am in love with you."

Patricio bit his lip. "You can call me Pato for short. All my side chicks do."

"Okay, Pattie," Cleo said, batting her eyelashes.

"I SAID PATO NOT PATTIE," Pattie screeched. He ran up to Cleo with a knife and pulled out her feathers one by one until all that was left was skin - bare, pink, and shriveled skin.

After this, Cleo swam away, crying once more. Why did she always have to fall for the bad boys?

She didn't fall asleep for a long time, but as she did, she thought to herself, I wish I wasn't a duck. I wish I could be anything else but a duck. Anything else.

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This was supposed to be a serious story. I don't know what came over me.

What do you think will happen to Cleo next? Will she gain the adoration of the beloved Patricio? If you're actually reading this, leave your comments down below. B)