In the beginning, there was Mr. Duck and Mrs. Duck.
They endured a year of chicken rule before being briefly released from the chicken yard along with my first set of chickens. But, soon, they were re-confined to the chicken yard because….
….of the pekins. The six ducklings needed a mama and papa. A duck family.
No duck ever likes to waddle alone.
Then came more and more chickens.
And even more ducklings.
Altogether, I hatched three of Mrs. Duck’s eggs in my incubator.
But eventually the chicken yard was crowded and the pekins were all grown up, so…..
….off they went, to the duck pond.
Mr. and Mrs. Duck stayed in the chicken yard to raise the new ducklings. Their very own babies!
Only a funny thing happened on the way to becoming one big, happy duck family. Mr. Duck despised, loathed, and abhorred those three ducklings. Perhaps because the tyranny of chicken rule had shrunk his heart two sizes too small. Or perhaps because those ducklings were……boys? Mr. Duck could barely tolerate them. Not near his precious missus! Around and around the chicken yard he chased his own offspring.
Meanwhile back at the Bermuda Triangle aka the pond, those six ducks were slowly disappearing.
They couldn’t come back to the chicken house at night because the young chickens and ducks were shut up in there. They had their own little duck house, but they didn’t grow up in that duck house and they refused to sleep in there at night. My older chickens, who were already free-ranging, were happily roosting at night with the barnyard animals, so they were safe. But the six pekins–
Where did they go? There was never a feather to be found. Had they been killed, snatched at night, or had they simply, sadly, run away to the river?
One day there were five. And one day there were four. And one day, finally, two months after their arrival to the pond, there was one.
One sad, lonely duck. Because you know that no duck likes to waddle alone.
I vowed never to put ducks on the pond again if they couldn’t come back to spend the night in the chicken house. (I’m planning a second chicken house for the spring that will be for confined babies so there will always be a chicken house available for the free-rangers.)
While the pekins were disappearing, the young chickens and ducks were growing up, and were finally grown up enough for a big graduation. Mr. and Mrs. Duck, their three now-grown ducklings, and the chickens burst into the world. Mr. Duck was so happy to be out of the chicken yard!
He and Mrs. Duck go one direction during the day on their romantic adventures while their three offspring go another, not meeting again till they go to bed at night in the chicken house, which is all the time Mr. Duck can tolerate them.
Meanwhile back at the pond again…. The lonely duck quacked and quacked. And have I mentioned….it’s a girl? She knew there were other ducks…..somewhere. She could hear them. I worried about her. She wouldn’t leave the pond. I knew, just knew, that soon, very soon, she, too, would disappear. (Have you ever tried to catch a free-ranging duck?)
But then Mr. Duck’s heart, once shrunk two sizes too small, nigh burst out of his chest, and apparently Mrs. Duck’s heart is two sizes too big. He and Mrs. Duck went down to the duck pond and they took that lonely pekin under their wings. They showed her the chicken house and she showed them the pond. They make sure she tucks into bed at night safe and sound in the chicken house, and together, Mr. Duck and his two ladies, they have romantic adventures all day long.
Because no duck should waddle alone.
“Especially,” Mr. Duck said, “if it’s a girl.”
“By the way,” he added, “I’m the king of the world.”
And then they all lived happily ever after.
The End.
Remudamom says:
Poor little ducks. I lost 40. Coyotes and snapping turtles. Since I don’t like them in the chicken house that’s it for me and ducks.
On August 29, 2009 at 3:47 am
Nana says:
We only ever had two ducks…Laurel and Hardy (sex indeterminate)…then we couldn’t find them, and later smelled an awful smell. They were dead under the house – together. Not torn up or eaten, just dead. Since there was a convenient crazy lady next door that simply LOOOVED to stir up drama (later identified as a Borderline Personality Disorder), we blamed their demise on her. It worked for us at the time. That was pretty much it for us and ducks too.
On August 29, 2009 at 4:25 am
Tracey in Paradise Pa. says:
What a great saturday morning tale.Have a great weekend!!
On August 29, 2009 at 5:09 am
Kara says:
Lovely duck tale!
On August 29, 2009 at 5:20 am
monica says:
Good morning! Mr Duck must be very happy! (every mans’ fantasy: a threesome! LOL :yes: :yes: :yes: )
I am now ready to look for jobs again, as soon as I get more coffee.
On August 29, 2009 at 6:02 am
Rose in VT says:
And the moral of that story is that even a duck is a hound dog at heart!
On August 29, 2009 at 6:21 am
Lynda Dunham-Watkins says:
What a heart warming tale! You are good, girl!! LOL
On August 29, 2009 at 6:27 am
C says:
I’m afraid Mr. Duck is like all the other “misters” in this world. Cynica, I know.
Great story! I loved every word of it. C
On August 29, 2009 at 7:36 am
Claudia W says:
I’m still sad for the other five. Hopefully, they all decided to go on an adventure and are having a swimming good time down the river!
On August 29, 2009 at 7:56 am
.Nancy in Iowa says:
What a tale! And now Mrs. Duck has someone to help with the housework.
On August 29, 2009 at 8:56 am
trish says:
Mr. Duck is quite the rascal now isn’t he?????
On August 29, 2009 at 10:06 am
Barbara says:
Awwwww! A happy ending. You romance writer, you! 😆
On August 29, 2009 at 11:01 am
cranberry says:
Oh I Adore a good ending! Nobody wants to be the only one. Company is good. :snuggle:
On August 29, 2009 at 11:14 am
Angie says:
One has to wonder if Mr. Duck would have been quite so charitable had the pekin been a boy.
On August 29, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Deb. says:
awe, those baby ducks are so cute. if I had a pond I would surely get a couple. but it would totally break my heart if they came up missing. nice duck tale LOL…
On August 29, 2009 at 1:55 pm
catslady says:
I hate not knowing but at least you can think they just went on an adventure. Except for 3 permanent ferals of 12 years, I have taken care of many others that stay for months, even a year or two but then hopefully they just traveled on. Only one time did one come back the following year because he was hurt, but when healed, he went on his way.
On August 29, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Beth Brown says:
Love your tales!
Beth in PA
On August 29, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Runningtrails says:
What a great tale with a happy ending!
On August 29, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Estella says:
Love the duck tale!
On August 29, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Jodie Zoeller says:
OMG ROFLMAO!
On August 29, 2009 at 11:43 pm
Colleen says:
With the exception of the missing ducks and what could have happened to the poor things, this story is funny. Great pictures. I want farm animals!
On August 30, 2009 at 7:02 am
SuzieQ says:
How sweet!! :fairy:
On August 30, 2009 at 3:07 pm
Shells says:
PLease Please please tell me you are going to publish a childrens book of farm stories …. I would read this story to my little friends and let them decide where the ducks from the pond were going .
On August 31, 2009 at 10:43 am
Barb Childers says:
Once upon a time, when I was a wee girl (1950s) and I had a wagon load of Easter ducklings to haul around our fenced yard, I decided the ducks would like to stay in the tent that my two older brothers had erected in the backyard. So I opened the tent flaps and let them waddle in. Then I decided the tent needed windows, so I cut pieces out of the tent sides to give the ducks some air and light. This was good, even though it was the tent my father had brought my brothers back from WWII, because baby ducks can create a lot of ducky doo doo. I don’t know what happened to the ducks or the tent, but both disappeared. End of story.
On April 22, 2010 at 7:58 am