NOT SO UGLY

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

In the window of St. Clair's in Brattle Square, there are 26 stuffed baby ducklings, each bearing splendid ribbons about its middle and the insignia, Made in Japan, neatly plastered to the webbing of one foot. I feel compelled to report this happy news to you.

As you will readily understand, the ducks have been provided to aid us in our celebration of Easter. Now, a certain element among us may proclaim that there is something wrong in this. Purists may object, on theological grounds, to the intrusion of Eastern paganism in our more or less Christian spiritual life--saying that ducklings, bunnies and the like are nowhere officially authorized as part of the Christian ceremony--but, as any child will tell you, this is a too parochial outlook, not to mention stuffy. Doubtless, a wild-eyed anti-vivisectionist or two will maintain that man herein berays himself as the greatest predator of them all, and these souls should be cautioned not to castigate themselves for what comes naturally. Others will say that live ducklings would have been more fun for our children to play with, but mothers and fathers, I suspect, will prefer this all new, noiseless, mess-free, more durable variety.

A note on quality: I have examined one of the ducklings, and the workmanship is superb. It was put together with precision, so as not to destroy the original fluffiness, and the eyes were replaced with most realistic buttons. It must have been made by some marvelous machine, cleverly designed for the mass production of untold numbers of beribboned quackers, uniformly stuffed, gaily decorated, the whole extraordinary conception executed with consummate skill. An inspiration to us all at Eastertime. Christopher Reed.