To preface this tale, let me first mention that I believe there can be many metaphors taken from this story. Rather than indicating the parallels that I myself have found, I would like to hear the implications that you have discovered from it. So, please feel free to share any analogies you find. Now, without further ado...
The Tale of the Duck
Once upon a time...there was a duck with a dilemma. Unlike the other ducks of the pond, she had a ring around her head that attached her beak to her chest. Because of this, she was unable to extend her neck in order to feed from the bottom of the pond. The ring was bright green, and when she caught a glimpse of it, she would paddle as fast as she could to get away from it, but it would follow her. The duck felt it was safest to remain close to the bank of the pond. One day, some kind-hearted girls came with some bread to feed the residents of the pond. Noticing the poor ducks predicament, they tried to catch her in order to rescue her from her bondage. The duck maintained her distance.
Lacking the tools necessary to catch this duck, the two girls left in search of others to help them. After failing to recruit the local Animal Rescue, they rounded up the maintenance crew of the apartment complex in which the pond was located. Using two long poles, one with a net at the end of it (intended for cleaning a large pool) and the other with a hook, the rescuers tried to capture the duck. 
By this time, a group of young children in a playground on a hill above the pond became curious as to what was going on by the pond. Gathering along the fence, they watched. Realizing the need for the duck to be rescued, they sought a way to help as well. At first, they offered crackers to entice the little duck. Sensing the urgency, they began to quack in unison, hoping that this would bring the duck closer to the net. 
The duck was quick (or so she thought), and soon caught on to the people's plot to catch her. She kept herself safely in the middle of the pond, surrounded by her male duck companions. Not even the crackers would lure her to the edge. Two methods of thought were in play. To liberate the duck, the two girls tried to entice her with crackers, in order to gain her trust. The maintenance crew, on the other hand, attempted capture by scaring the duck from one end of the pond to the other, cornering her in order to save her. Both attempts were failing miserably.
Feeling discouraged, the group called the fire department. Soon, the team of rescuers had grown in size and gained more tools, but still had not captured the duck. Gathering around the pond, they tried cornering the duck, but she would stay just out of their reach. 
A few times, she would wander too close to the edge, and just about be snatched up in the net, but then she would fly to another part of the pond. The team of fire fighters, though known for being successful in rescuing kitten from trees, offered little help in catching the scared little duck.
I am afraid this tale has an unfinished ending. The duck could not be caught and released from her bright green confinement. The group of liberators was forced to leave the duck alone in hopes that it would eventually wander once again to the side of the pond. Until then, there was nothing they could do.
