The Yellow Duck Goes to the McNay

"You have to go with me to the McNay museum today," Ms. Fish demanded, pointing at the Yellow Duck and Toad.

"Why?" Toad asked suspiciously. The last time Ms. Fish demanded he go somewhere, he'd wound up at Disney Princesses on Ice.

"Because they have an exhibit called Once Upon a Stage I want to see," Ms. Fish said primly. "So you have to go with me."

"That sounds girly," Toad said, narrowing his eyes. "I don't like girl stuff."

"What is it about?" the Yellow Duck asked.

"It's a bunch of paintings and stage sets that are based on fairy tales," Ms. Fish said excitedly. "They've got costumes and paintings and games! It looks like fun!"

"It sounds interesting," the Yellow Duck said thoughtfully. "I've never been to the McNay."

"It's beautiful!" Ms. Fish squealed. "You'll love it."

"What kind of games?" Toad asked. He didn't want to be stuck playing dress up or tea party. He would get cooties that way.

"I don't know," Ms. Fish admitted. "But we need to get ready! My mom is going to take us in twenty minutes!"

"This better not be a girl thing again," Toad grumbled as he packed a snack of peanut butter and flies. However, when they got to the museum, they were pleasantly surprised. There were lots of pretty paintings everywhere, and the three worked very hard to stay quiet. They had to be careful to not touch anything or shout too loudly.

When they got to the Once Upon a Stage exhibit, even Toad liked it. There were tons of designs and costume set things from real theaters. Toad looked at an illustration Salvador Dali had drawn, and looked confused.

"This looks a bit wonky, don't you think?" Toad asked. The Yellow Duck was busy looking at an exhibit based on the Wizard of Oz.

"It's nice," the Yellow Duck said. "I just wish we could touch the pictures."

The three friends were quiet on the way home as they thought about the pictures they had seen.

"I liked them," the Yellow Duck said. "I think I'm going to go home and read my fairy-tale book again. I forgot some stuff."

"I'm going to announce Sleeping Beauty," Ms. Fish announced. "Because I'm a princess."

"Princess of a looney bin maybe," Toad muttered. Ms. Fish stuck her tongue at him in response.

"What do you want to do next week?" Toad asked the Yellow Duck.

"I think next week we should decorate the pond for Christmas," the Yellow Duck said. "I've already got a plan in mind...."

Check in next week to read The Yellow Duck Decorates for Christmas

The Yellow Duck Celebrates Thanksgiving

Toad came bouncing up to the pond happily. "Guess what?" he cried.

"What?" the Yellow Duck asked. He had never seen Toad look this happy.

"My mom got the biggest turkey in the store," he bragged. "We'll have the best Thanksgiving ever."

"Well, I don't eat turkey," Ms. Fish sniffed. "It would just go straight to my fins."

"If you don't eat turkey, what do you eat?" Toad challenged, wrinkling his nose. "Seaweed? Ew."

"As a matter of fact, my mom makes a wonderful seaweed wrap with croutons and algae," Ms. Fish said. "It is simply delicious."

"That's nasty!" Toad said, gagging. "Ewwww!"

"Like your mother's fly deviled eggs are any better," Ms. Fish shot back. "Talk about disgusting."

"Hey, now, everyone's got different recipes," the Yellow Duck said. "I'm sure ya'll wouldn't be interested in our turkey fish."

"There's a turkey fish?" Toad looked very interested. "What's a turkey fish?"

"It's a fish that lives underwater with big fins like feathers and gobbles," the Yellow Duck said.

"Really?" Ms. Fish quit flicking water at Toad. "Cool!"

"Let's make something for Thanksgiving," Toad said, flopping on his favorite rock. "I'm bored."

"What do you want to make?" the Yellow Duck asked. Then he had a brilliant idea. "I know! Let's make placemats!"

"Placemats?" Toad said. "I was thinking more of rocket launchers."

"No, placemats would be so pretty," Ms. Fish clapped her fins together dreamily. "We could decorate paper with shells, rocks and cat-tails...it would be gorgeous!"

When the Yellow Duck saw the scowl on Toad's face, he quickly interjected, "You could press leaves and bugs and make a mini- jungle." This excited Toad, who loved anything to do with bugs.

"Yea!" Toad squealed.

The three friends took three sheets of paper and got to work. The Yellow Duck dipped his feet in yellow and orange paint and walked all over the paper. Then he used some leftover feathers to create miniature turkeys made from his footprint. "My mom will love this!" he said proudly.

Toad captured several bugs and tapped them onto the paper, where they were still wiggling. "Hold still!" he scowled. When he saw the Yellow Duck and Ms. Fish looking at him, he made a face. "I like a moving exhibit," he said defensively. "Can you imagine eating dinner and looking at moving bugs? That's a lot cooler than dead ones."

"You're disgusting," Ms. Fish sneered. Then she proudly held up her drawing. "I put seashells and glitter all over mine. Mine is beautiful."

"Who are you going to give yours to?" the Yellow Duck asked Toad. Toad didn't look up as he continued sticking bugs to a page. "My mom."

"I don't know who I should give mine to," he said, looking confused. The Yellow Duck didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. He thought about it as he waddled home, eager to show his mom. Then he had a brilliant idea. He opened the door and walked in the house, calling for his mom.

"Mom!" he bellowed. "Come here!"

"What?" his mother said, looking exasperated.

"I made you and Dad a placemat," the Yellow Duck said. "You have to share it because I didn't want either of you to have hurt feelings."

"Aw, thank you," his mother said, giving him a hug. "That's awfully sweet of you. It's darling."

For Thanksgiving dinner, the turkey was served on the Yellow Duck's special placemat and shared between everyone. Happy Thanksgiving!

The Yellow Duck Meets Some Tiger Scouts

After his visit to the children's museum, the Yellow Duck reluctantly agreed to visit PrimeTime offices again. The Editor needed him to take some pictures for the SA Kids website, and he only agreed to come in on the promise that Miss Kitty would be hidden away.

"That cat doesn't like me," he informed the Editor. "I refuse to come if she's there."

The Editor assured him the cat would not bother him, and suggested he come through the back. The Yellow Duck liked that idea even less.

"I'll fall in the big barrels of ink again!" he protested. "I had a bath last week! I don't need another one for another two days!"

"Well, if you don't climb on the barrel, you won't fall in!" the Editor said.

"That's true," the Yellow Duck said thoughtfully. That had never occurred to him. "Can I bring my friends, Toad and Ms. Fish?"

"Sure," the Editor said.

Ms. Fish couldn't go, but Toad came along with the Yellow Duck to Primetime. The Yellow Duck's mom dropped them off and promised to be back in an hour. Toad and the Yellow Duck snuck in the back door, relieved to find Miss Kitty was not waiting. They waddled back to the offices and were surprised by what they saw. Five little boys and their moms were standing in the offices.

"What's all this about?" Toad asked, looking confused. "Why are they here?"

"I don't know," the Yellow Duck said. "Let's just get our picture taken and get out. If we hurry, we can get home in time to go swimming. It's warm enough today."

"Ok," Toad agreed. The little boys were all dressed alike, which confused Toad. He asked the Editor why they were all dressed alike.

"They are Tiger Cubs, which is part of Boy Scouts," the Editor said.

"Tigers!" Toad looked scared. "Tigers eat frogs!" The Yellow Duck rolled his eyes. After posing for some pictures, the Yellow Duck and Toad were wondering through the back of the offices around the printing press. The Yellow Duck was looking longingly at a barrel of ink.

"It's so messy, but so fun," he said ruefully. "I can jump to the top!" Toad bragged.

"No Toad! Don't!" the Yellow Duck cried.

But it was too late. Toad had began bouncing on the barrels, and had fallen into a barrel halfway in the pile.

"Help!" he croaked. "I'm stuck in the ink!"

"Can you help my friend?" the Yellow Duck waddled over to the workmen. "Please?

"It's that talking duck again!" Wally exclaimed.

"Is he stuck again?" a man yelled.

"No, my friend Toad is," the Yellow Duck exclaimed.

Wally climbed up a ladder and peered into the barrel. "Hey, it's a talking toad!"

As Toad was whisked away to be cleaned up, the Yellow Duck was met by the Editor. "Will you pose with the Tiger Cubs?" she asked.

"Sure," the Yellow Duck said. "As long as you keep Miss Kitty away."

The Yellow Duck posed for some pictures with the Tiger Cubs. They were very nice, and posed for several pictures.

The Yellow Duck said goodbye and waddled away. After Toad was cleaned up, they were picked up by his mom.

"How was it boys?" she asked.

"Better," said the Yellow Duck. "I didn't fall in."

"I did," Toad grumbled. "Someone should have warned me about those barrels."

"The Tiger Cubs were nice," the Yellow Duck said.

"Would you boys want to be in Tiger Cubs?" his mother asked.

"Hmmmm," the Yellow Duck and Toad thought. "Maybe. We'll think about it!"

Later that evening, the Yellow Duck wrote a note to the Editor:

Dear Editor,

Thank you for taking our picture. Toad is sorry he fell in, though sorrier you wouldn't let him make frog prints. We are glad Miss Kitty was away. Toad says he's not coming back soon- he may be a Tiger Cub himself! Can Tiger Cubs eat flies and bugs?

Always,

The Yellow Duck

The Yellow Duck goes to the SA Children's Museum

"I'm bored," sighed Toad.

"There's nothing to do," Ms. Fish whined. "It's raining outside and we can't go anywhere. My new shoes will get dry!"

Toad stared at her like she was nuts. "You mean, they'll get wet."

Ms. Fish made a face at him. "No, dummy, they'll get dry. Since I live in water, my shoes get ruined when they dry. Duh!"

"Don't be rude!" Toad snapped back.

"You don't be rude!" she shouted.

"Guys, guys, come on!" the Yellow Duck said. "Stop arguing. We'll find something to do. We just have to think first."

The three sat silently, thinking to themselves.

"I know!" the Yellow Duck cried. "Let's go to the Children's museum!"

"Yea!" Ms. Fish and Toad cried. "Let's go, let's go!"

"Wait a minute," Ms. Fish thought aloud. "We can't go today. We'll miss storytime! Miss Tiffany's storytime is on Wednesday!"

"We'll just go back!" the Yellow Duck cried. Ms. Fish was so excited she jumped out of her bowl.

The three friends put on their rain boots and asked Toad's mom to drive them to the museum. After they got to the museum, they were so excited they didn't know where to go first. Everywhere they looked, there were cool things. A large trolley was in the front window. Toad hopped over and set behind the steering wheel.

"All aboard!" he cried. The Yellow Duck and Ms. Fish quickly scrambled aboard. Miss Fish's bowl was placed on one of the seats, and she swam around in circles.

"This is so exciting!" she cried.

After they had all had turns driving, they ran upstairs to investigate. There, they saw a giant plane that just begged to be flown. The Yellow Duck hopped in the pilot's seat and put on the special pilots hat.

"I'm going to be in first class," Ms. Fish said, relaxing in one of the first seats. "I'm the first mate," Toad said, sitting next to the Yellow Duck.

"Silly, only ships have first mates," Ms. Fish said haughtily, rolling her eyes.

"They do not," Toad argued. "I'm the first mate on this plane, so be quiet."

"Well!" Ms. Fish stuck her nose in the air. "I see how you treat passengers!"

After they played in the plane, they were stuck. There were so many exciting exhibits, they didn't know where to turn.

"Let's be in a bubble!" Miss Fish said.

"A bubble?" the Yellow Duck asked.

"Yea!" Ms. Fish said. "They have this exhibit where you stand on a circle and someone else pull a rope, and suddenly you're in a bubble!"

"I want to be in a bubble!" Toad yelled, hopping away.

"Wait for us!" Ms. Fish yelled. "Pull me!" She pointed haughtily at the Yellow Duck.

"Say please," the Yellow Duck reprimanded.

"Please!" she yelled.

The three friends had tons of fun in the museum. They had bubbles made and played in the Tot Spot. They pretended to use an ATM card and fixed a pretend snack in the Kids Cafe. Toad's favorite part was when he drove the front end loader. He really liked wearing the hard hat.

At the end of the afternoon, the three friends wearily returned to the pond.

"That was a lot of fun!" Ms. Fish said.

"A blast!" Toad said.

"I think I need a nap," said the Yellow Duck, looking sleepy.

"Me too," the other friends said.

After their fun day at the Children's museum, the three friends curled up around the pond for a nice long nap.

The Yellow Duck learns about Day of the Dead

When the Yellow Duck reached the pond, he was very surprised. Chewy the Chihauhau was building a small table that had pictures, toys and candles on it. The Yellow Duck was confused.

"Chewy?" the Yellow Duck asked. "Why are you building a table?"

"It's not a table, it's an alter," Chewy said.

"Ok," the Yellow Duck said, still confused. "Why are you building an alter?"

"Because it's Day of the Dead."

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

"Silly, everyone knows what Day of the Dead is," Ms. Fish said. "It's a holiday in Mexico where people honor the memories of people who have passed away. They light candles and create alters to honor their memories. It's always Nov.2."

"Oh," the Yellow Duck says. "That's a little strange."

"No, it isn't," Chewy said. "In Mexico, we view death as a continuation of life. It's another stage you pass through. So we build these alters and bring the person's favorite things and food and blankets, so they can rest comfortably while they visit us."

"Food?" Toad perked up. "What kind of food?"

"Here," Chewy said, passing out some candy that looked like skulls. "In Mexico, skeletons are used to celebrate this day. We make special bread and treats for the dead to eat."

"Like Halloween!" Ms. Fish said.

"It's kinda like that," Chewy said.

"Do you get to go trick-or-treating?" asked the Yellow Duck hopefully.

"No," Chewy said. "That's just on Halloween. We just visit the graves and pay our respects."

"Ohhh!" the Yellow Duck said. "I kinda get it. That's a nifty holiday. I'm glad you told me about it."

"No problem," Chewy said. "Anyway, I have to go get ready for it tomorrow. Hasta manana!"

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

"See you tomorrow," Chewy said.

"Oh!" said the Yellow Duck. "See you tomorrow then!"