The Yellow Duck Goes Trick-or-Treating

"I get to go trick-or-treating!" the Yellow Duck cried.

"We know," Ms. Fish and toad said at the same time.

"You've been saying that all day," Ms. Fish said, yawning.

"But we get to go trick-or-treating!" the Yellow Duck exclaimed.

"It's not that big of a deal," Toad said. "We go every year."

"Not that big a deal!" the Yellow Duck was shocked. "Not that big of deal!"

"Here he goes again," Ms. Fish commented.

"It's the biggest deal! It's the only day of the year we get to go around wearing costumes and collecting candy! For one whole night, we get to run up and down the streets carrying pumpkins and wearing elaborate costumes. How is that not a big deal?"

"We're excited," Ms. Fish said. "Just not like you are."

Not even his friends disdain could dampen the Yellow Duck's enthusiasm. He could hardly eat his dinner, he was so excited. When it finally became dusk, the Yellow Duck pulled on his costume. He put on his big white shirt, his eye patch, and his head scarf. He placed the sword on his side with a big red sash. He was now officially a pirate.

"Aar!" the Yellow Duck growled, jumping in front of his mother. "I be needing my bucket for trick-or-treating."

"Now Yellow Duck," his mother said sternly. "Remember to always carry your flashlight and stay with me and Toad's mother. No running and don't eat any candy until Toad's mom and I can check it at the house. Never point your sword at anyone."

"Ok," the Yellow Duck sang, his tail wiggling. He was impatient to begin trick-or-treating.

The group set out down the Pond, with Ms. Fish dressed as a princess and Toad as a bump on a log. Ms. Fish was being pulled along by the Yellow Duck in a wagon, and she complained everytime they hit a bump. The Yellow Duck was too excited to notice.

"Trick-or treat!" they cried at the first house. Sir Owl opened the door and held out a bowl. Inside the bowl were squirming bugs. Toad was absolutely delighted!

"Caramel covered flies!" he exclaimed. "My favorite!"

Even though the Yellow Duck and Ms. Fish didn't like caramel covered flies, they thanked Sir Owl politely.

At Miss Fox's house, she was offering chocolate dipped bird wings. The three friends said thank you politely and decided they would trade them with some other trick-or-treaters.

The last house they came to was Sally the Salamanders. When Sally opened the door, the three friends could tell she was upset.

"Sally, what's wrong?" the Yellow Duck asked.

"Someone stole all my candy," she sniffed, "And my Mom doesn't have anymore. She gave it all to the trick-or-treaters."

The Yellow Duck looked at Toad and Ms. Fish. They both nodded at him.

"We'll share our candy with you," the Yellow Duck offered.

"Really? Are you sure?" Sally looked much happier.

"Sure," the Yellow Duck said. "We'd love to."

The three returned to the pond and divided up their candy. They gave most of the caramel covered flies to toad and Sally, and the chocolate covered bird wings to Ms. Fish. The Yellow Duck took most of the candy fishes, while Sally and Ms. Fish wanted the gummy guppies.

At the end of the night, the Yellow Duck put all his candy next to his bed and his mom came to kiss him goodnight.

"I'm very proud of you for sharing your candy with Sally," she said. "You're a sweet trick-or-treater."

That made the Yellow Duck's tail wag a lot. He fell asleep dreaming of candied fish and trick-or-treating.

The Yellow Duck Decorates for Halloween

Now that the Yellow Duck had his costume, he decided it was time to decorate the pond for Halloween. He decided to meet up with Ms. Fish and Toad to go buy some decorations. So, he put on his shoes and began to waddle off to the pond.

When he got there, Ms. Fish and Toad were arguing about Halloween costumes. The Yellow Duck listened to them for a little while and interrupted.

"I have a good idea!" he said cheerfully. Toad glared at him, still annoyed that Ms. Fish didn't like his idea of going as a vamp-toad.

"What?" Ms. Fish snapped, still annoyed that Toad said her idea of a ballerina was stupid.

"Let's decorate the Pond for Halloween!"

"Yea!" Ms. Fish and Toad shouted, forgetting their annoyances. "Lets do!"

"What should we do for decorations?" the Yellow Duck asked.

"I can call my friend Sarah the Spider, and she can spin us some creepy cobwebs!" Ms. Fish said, already pulling out her seashell-encrusted cell phone.

"That's a great idea!" the Yellow Duck said. "What else can we do?"

"We can go to the Farmers Market and get some pumpkins!" Toad said excitedly. "Then we can carve them and make spooky faces!"

"I'm going to make mine look like a princess," Ms. Fish said smugly.

"That doesn't surprise me," Toad rolled his eyes.

"What else?" the Yellow Duck asked, before they could start arguing again.

"We could get some sheets and some stuffing and make some ghosts to hang from trees!" Ms. Fish said, beginning a list.

"And, we could get some glow-in-the-dark skeletons," the Yellow Duck said happily. "Some of them even make spooky noises!"

"Would your Mom take us to the store this afternoon?" Toad asked.

"I bet she would if we all asked her," the Yellow Duck said, growing more and more excited by the minute. "Let's go ask!"

The trio began to scurry down the road as fast as the could. Ms. Fish was rolling along in her bowl with wheels, Toad was hopping along in his brand new sneakers, and the Yellow Duck was waddling as fast as he could go.

"Mom!" the Yellow Duck bellowed. "MOM!"

The Yellow Duck's Mom appeared, smiling as she looked at them. "What's the big rush?"

"Will you take us to the Halloween store so we can buy decorations for the Pond?" the Yellow Duck asked, tail feathers wiggling. The Yellow Duck's Mom looked down at the three pleading faces.

"Oh, I suppose so," she said.

"YEA!" the three of them cheered. They hurried off and buckled up to go to the store.

When they got back, the trio immediately set to decorating the pond. They placed their pumpkins by the waters edge on top of some tall rocks. Sarah the Spider came over and spun spooky cobwebs all over the trees and bushes. The Yellow Duck hung a plastic skeleton in the tree that danced and made a howling noise.

"It'll be the noisiest skeleton on the block," he grinned.

Toad hung ghosts from the trees, while Ms. Fish placed a broom and a witches hat on the ground to make it look like a witch had been there. After working for a long time, they stepped back and admired their work.

"Awesome!" said Toad.

"I need a nap," said Sarah the Spider.

"It looks perfect," the Yellow Duck said. "The pond is ready for Halloween. Now we just have to wait one more week!"

The Yellow Duck Needs a Costume

"Halloween is coming up," Ms. Fish said. "What are you going to be?"

"I don't know," the Yellow Duck said, scratching his head. "What are you going to be?"

"I'm going to be a princess," Ms. Fish announced.

"Why am I not suprised," Toad, who lived in a log next to the pond, said.

Ms. Fish looked offended. "Look!" she exclaimed, pulling out a box.
"This is the stuff for my costume! See, this is a crown-" she held up a crown made of seaweed and cat-tails, "and this is my wand!"

This time, she held up a branch that had been covered with grass and had a rock tied on top of it. "And this is my beautiful dress!" Now she pulled out a plastic bag that she had cut fin holes out of and covered in glitter. As soon as she pulled it out of the box, glitter began to fall off and float through the water. Toad and the Yellow Duck were not impressed.

"Princesses don't have wands," Toad said, laying on his log. "They have specters."

"No, that's wizards," Ms. Fish argued. "If you're so smart, what are you going to be for Halloween?"

"A bump."

"A bump?" the Yellow Duck asked.

"A bump."

"Why are you going to be a bump?" Ms. Fish said. "That's the stupidest costume I've ever heard of."

"I'm going to be a bump on a log, " Toad said, grinning proudly. "I think it's quite clever."

"It's a terrible pun," the Yellow Duck said.

"All right, what are you going to be?"

The Yellow Duck thought, and thought. He thought so hard it felt like his feathers would pop right off his head. But still, he couldn't think of anything.

"I have no idea," he said. "What do you think I should be?"

" A policeman!" Toad shouted.

"A prince!" Ms. Fish squealed.

"A fireman!" Toad bellowed.

"A wizard!" Ms. Fish screeched.

"A superhero!" Toad hollered.

"The Pond President!" Ms. Fish called out.

The Yellow Duck shook his head. He rubbed his wing over his feathered head.

"I don't like any of those," he said, disappointed. "I wish I did. I just don't know what I want to be."

"We could go to a costume shop," Toad suggested.

"Yes!" Ms. Fish squealed. "I'll fill up my bucket and you can wheel me along in the wagon."

"I'd have to check with my mom first," the Yellow Duck said. He waddled home as fast as he could and asked his mom if she would take him and his friends to the costume shop.

"Not today dear," she quacked. "We can go tomorrow."

The Yellow Duck was disappointed. He slowly waddled back to the pond, dragging his web feet along the dirt.

"What could I be?" he wondered to himself. "What would be a good costume?"

He saw his friends playing in the distance. Toad had built a small ship and was sailing around as Ms. Fish tried to splash waves onto his boat. The boat was just the right size for the Yellow Duck to get on. All of the sudden, it came to him! He was so excited he waddled over to the pond as fast as he could.

"Hey!" he shouted. "I know what I want to be!"

"What?" Ms. Fish and Toad asked enthusiastically.

The Yellow Duck posed dramatically on top of a log and said, "I want to be a pirate."

"A pirate?" Ms. Fish asked, looking disgusted.

"A pirate!" Toad shouted, looking delighted.

"A pirate," the Yellow Duck said, looking proud of himself. "I'm going to be a pirate."

So the next day, the Yellow Duck and his mom went to the costume shop. They got a big white shirt, an eye patch, a head scarf and a fake sword for the Yellow Duck's costume. He was very excited. He could barely wait to go trick-or-treating! He laid out his costume in his room, wiggling in happiness.

"Only two weeks left," he said happily to his teddy bear. "And then I won't be the Yellow Duck, I'll be Captain Yellow Belly, the terror of the high seas! Aye aye!"

The teddy bear stared at him with big button eyes.

"You can be my first mate," the Yellow Duck said happily. "First Mate Teddy reporting for duty!"

It was going to be a long two weeks........

The Yellow Duck Visits Fiesta Farm

"I've ridden a horse!" bragged Ms. Fish, as she leaped over a lily pad.

"You have not," the Yellow Duck argued. "You're a fish. You can't even leave water. In fact, you've never left this farm."

"Have so," Ms. Fish stuck her head out of the water. "I did too. I went to Fiesta Farms yesterday and rode a horse."

"How did you ride a horse?" the Yellow Duck scoffed.

"In a bucket," she replied haughtily.

The Yellow Duck swam to the other side of the pond. He stepped up to the bank and shook the water off his feathers.

"I don't believe you," he said. "And I'm going to prove you wrong! I'm going to Fiesta Farms right now to talk to them!"

When the Yellow Duck got to Fiesta Farms, he was determined to find out if Ms. Fish was lying. He stormed into the barn where he was greeted by a nice lady.

"Did Ms. Fish ride a horse yesterday?"

The lady looked surprised. "Well, I'm not sure. What did she look like?"

"Orange and scaly."

The lady nodded her head, a serious look on her face. "Could you tell me a bit more?"

"She has a black spot on her tail and wears pink lip gloss."

The lady nodded, her eyes twinkling. "Yup, she was here."

The Yellow Duck's eyes bugged out. "And she rode a horse?"

"Yup. One of our riders held her in a bowl. It was a trick stunt."

"What's that mean?" the Yellow Duck asked.

"It's something we did to be silly," she explained.

The Yellow Duck felt a little better that Ms. Fish only rode a horse because it was silly. He looked around and saw lots of animals. He saw several baby pot bellied pigs, two small horses, one big horse, goats and sheep. He even saw other ducks.

The lady saw him watching the animals and asked, "Would you like to see all our animals?"

"Boy, would I!" The Yellow Duck said enthusiastically.

The Yellow Duck spent the morning having fun at Fiesta Farms. He petted bunnies, rode a miniature horse and played checkers with Easy the watch goose. He had so much fun, he forgot why he came to Fiesta Farms in the first place.

When the Yellow Duck got back to his pond, Ms. Fish was smirking at him.

"What'd the tell you?" she said smugly. "I can ride, can't I?"

The Yellow Duck smiled and said, "Yes, you were right." He jumped into the pond and he started to swim.

Ms. Fish was so pleased she did a few flips. Gloating, she said, "I bet I was the best rider there, wasn't I?"

The Yellow Duck smiled. "They said you were the silliest."

Ms. Fish sputtered and swam off angrily. The Yellow Duck just laughed.

After all, the nice lady at Fiesta Farms had said he was the cutest rider there.

The Yellow Duck and the Printing Press

The Yellow Duck had never been more excited. He couldn't believe his luck! He was in a room with an enormous printing press!

"Wow!" he yelled. "I wonder how many newspapers they print here!"

The Yellow Duck began to wonder around, looking in awe at the huge rolls of paper.

"That roll of paper is as big as a pond!" he whispered to himself. "Wow!"

He watched as rolls of paper were fed through the giant machine. At the end, solid sheets of newspaper came out and stacked on top of each other. He waddled over and delicately touched it with his wing. "Wow!" he said, jerking his wing off. "It's still hot. And wet!" The Yellow Duck's wing was now covered in black ink.

Ignoring his inky wing, the Yellow Duck scampered off to look at the giant rolls of paper. The rolls were stacked on top of each other as high as he could see. The Yellow Duck wanted to get a closer look. He stood on a box and reached as far as he could, stretching his wings as far as they would go. He still couldn't reach.

"Hmmm," he thought to himself. The Yellow Duck pulled the box next to a bigger box and stood up on it. He reached as high as he could, standing on the tips of his little webbed feet. He still couldn't reach.

"This is ridiculous," the Yellow Duck said, now clearly annoyed. He pulled both boxes up next to a tall barrel. He climbed both boxes and climbed on top of the barrel. He stood on top and reached as high as he could, wings outstretched. Then he heard a creaking sound.

"What-"

The top of the barrel collapsed and the Yellow Duck fell down into the barrel. Much to his dismay, the barrel was filled with ink! The Yellow Duck now found himself flailing about in a tall barrel of thick black ink. He flapped his wings with all his might, but he couldn't get out of the barrel. His feathers stuck to each other, covered in the thick ink.

"Help!" the Yellow Duck yelled, spitting ink out of his mouth. "Someone help me!"

He heard footsteps running over. Two shocked faces leaned over him. The Yellow Duck stared at them, annoyed.

"Excuse me," he asked. "Could you help me get out of here please?"

"Wally, there's a duck in the barrel!"

"Get serious!"

"Seriously, Wally, there's a duck in the barrel!"

"A duck in the barrel! A real one? Who put him there?"

"I fell in!" the Yellow Duck cried. "Can you help me out? Please?"

"IT TALKS!" the two men looked at each other in panic.

"Of course I talk," the Yellow Duck rolled his eyes. "Can I get out now?"

The two men were still staring at him floating in the ink.

"Is it magical ink, or a magical duck?" one whispered.

"Is it a trick? Is there a ventriloquist around here?"

"Should we touch him?" the first one whispered.

"This is ridiculous." the Yellow Duck rolled his eyes. "Fine. Quack quack quack quack quack!"

"I think it wants out!" one of the men scooped him out and held him dripping over the barrel. "Get me a towel, Wally!"

"Finally," the Yellow Duck shivered. "I'm very cold."

"Wally, it talked again!"

After a few more stares and several harsh glares from the now cold and annoyed Yellow Duck, the Yellow Duck had been cleaned off again. He had been given a bath in a sink and washed with Dawn, an experience that was so humiliating he pretended to fall in a dead faint until they were done. As soon as he was dried off, the Yellow Duck had stormed out of the office.

Later, the SA Kids editor received this note:

Dear Editor,

Thank you for inviting me to come see your offices. However, I'm afraid I can't return. I'm scared I'll fall in the big barrel of ink again. Also, Miss Kitty doesn't seem to like me much. If you see her, would you ask her to return my hat? T hanks.

The Yellow Duck.

The Yellow Duck Visits SA Kids

When the Yellow Duck learned he was going to be written about in SAKidsonline.com, he was very excited. He was so excited, he decided to visit the Prime Time newspapers office.

After putting on his green hat and sliding into his flip flops, he got in his orange car. The Yellow Duck drives an orange car that has cartoons of ducks drawn all over it. His friend, Mr. Frog, is an artist. Mr. Frog loves to draw, and draws everywhere he goes. His whole house is painted with a special paint that you can draw on. Then, after you're tired of the drawings, you simply erase them! After that, you can start all over again! The Yellow Duck loves going to Mr. Frog's house since it's always different.

The Yellow Duck drove all the way to PrimeTime's office on Judson Road. When he got there, he parked his car and waddled up to the door. Suddenly, he stopped.

A cat had thrown itself against the door, and was hissing at him. Her back was arched and her yellow eyes bore through the door meanly.

"This is my house!" the cat mewed loudly. "You can't come in!"

The Yellow Duck was not happy. He wanted to see where the magazine was made, and this cat was stopping him. He puffed up his chest and took another step to the door. The cat his louder.

"Go away!" the cat hissed. "Ducks don't belong at Prime Time. This is my home."

"What do I do?" the Yellow Duck wondered. Suddenly, he had an idea.

"Look!" he shouted. "There's a mouse!"

The cat was so distracted, she turned around the corner and ran. The Yellow Duck waddled quickly to the front desk.

"Excuse me," he said politely. "Where is SAKids?"

The nice lady pointed him in the right direction, and he waddled slowly to the back of the office.

When he got to the office, the Yellow Duck was a bit confused. He had imagined a busy office with large pieces of paper and editors pasting stories and pictures on them.

Instead, all he saw were some cubicles.

"This is boring," he thought to himself. "This doesn't look like an exciting magazine at all. People are just hunched over staring at computers and talking on phones. This looks like my dad's office. BOOORRRINNNGGG."

Suddenly, he heard a hiss behind him. The cat had rounded the corner.

"You!" she hissed.

"AHHH!" the Yellow Duck took off running down the hall, he skidded around the corner and waddled down to the exit sign.

"I can't let her catch me," he said, breathing heavily. "She'll make duck nuggets out of me!" He threw all his weight against the exit door. It wouldn't open.

He glanced down the hall. The cat was coming closer.

"You should know better to mess with Miss Kitty!" the cat cackled.

The Yellow Duck desperately threw himself against the door. Nothing.

He tried again. Nothing.

Finally, in sheer desperation, he dug his web feet onto the tile and pushed with all his might. The door opened!

Sliding through, he saw a glimpse of Miss Kitty's whiskers as the door slammed shut.
"Whew!" he thought. "I'm safe."

Hearing a loud whirring, the Yellow Duck turned around. Then, he gasped in delight.

"A newspaper press!" he gasped. "Now this is cool! I wonder how it works."


To be continued......

Stay tuned for the next entry, "The Yellow Duck and The Printing Press"

Welcome to the Tales of the Yellow Duck!

Welcome! SAKidsonline.com is proud to present the Tales of the Yellow Duck! The Yellow Duck is a fun, goofy critter that runs all over San Antonio and has wonderful adventures. Full of whimsy and fun, the Yellow Duck is bound to make both you and your child smile. So check in every week to see what the Yellow Duck has gotten himself into.........