The Tales of The Yellow Duck

The Egg Bandit Part 2

2007-04-04T13:28:00.000-05:00

When we last left the Yellow Duck, the Egg Bandit had just stolen his eggs and run away. The Yellow Duck finally pinned him down and removed his mask. He was shocked at who the Egg Bandit was!

The Egg Bandit didn't answer.

"Why did you do it?" the Yellow Duck asked again, confused.

"That wasn't very nice," Ms. Fish scowled. "You broke all our eggs."

"Yea," Toad said, glaring at the Egg Bandit. "You should go make us all new eggs. "

"I'm sorry," Pinkie the duck said, hanging her head low. "I didn't mean to ruin your eggs."

"But why did you do it?" the Yellow Duck asked. "We didn't do anything to you!"

"Because you didn't invite me to your party," Pinkie said, her lower bill trembling. "I was upset. You hurt my feelings."

"You hurt our eggs!" Ms. Fish cried.

"But Pinkie, you never let me invite you," the Yellow Duck said. "You interrupted me and told me you were going out of town."

"You were going to invite me?" Pinkie said, smiling happily. "Really?"

"Unfortunately," Toad mumbled. The Yellow Duck frowned at him and turned back to Pinkie.

"I really was," he said. "I wanted you to come to our Easter party."

Pinkie looked down at her feet. "I'm sorry I interrupted you," she said. "I wouldn't have ruined your eggs if I'd come to the party. I'm sorry I ruined everything."

"You didn't ruin everything!" the Yellow Duck said, smiling. "Come on! We can finish the egg hunt and have some cake and candy!"

The friends ran back to the Yellow Duck's backyard and began to play. They had a egg hunt, a egg rolling contest and the Yellow Duck's mom read them a story. Then they had some cake and punch, and they each had a few pieces of candy.

"This was a great day," the Yellow Duck said, chewing on some chocolate.

"It was," Pinkie agreed. "Thank you for inviting me even though I ruined your eggs."

"It was my pleasure," the Yellow Duck said. Together, they watched Toad and Ms. Fish over who had the prettiest egg.

Happy Easter to everyone! Watch your eggs--the egg bandit could be coming to see you soon!

The Yellow Duck and the Egg Bandit

2007-03-27T15:01:00.000-05:00

The Yellow Duck decided to have a Easter party. His Dad would hide Easter eggs for him and his friends to find, and they would eat his Mom's special bunny cake. There would be plenty of jelly beans and other yummy treats. He was excited just thinking about it.

At school, the Yellow Duck invited Toad and Ms. Fish to his party. Pinkie overheard and asked what they were talking about.

"A Easter party on Saturday," the Yellow Duck said. "Would you--"

"Well, I'm going out of town on Saturday!" Pinkie said loudly. "To my grandparents. I'm going to hunt eggs there."

"That'll be fun," the Yellow Duck said. The bell rang and they went to class.

Saturday, the day of the party came. Ms. Fish came over wearing her best Easter dress and bonnet. Toad came over wearing an Easter suit, which lasted for about ten minutes before he'd shed various pieces all over the Yellow Duck's house and wrinkled his fresh shirt. His mother was horrified.

"Is it time for the Easter egg hunt yet?" Toad asked happily, bouncing up and down in excitement.

"It is!" the Yellow Duck's father smiled. "Come outside, kids, and get ready to hunt."

The three friends lined up excitedly.

"On your mark, get set, go!" his father cried. The three friends set off looking for the eggs. They looked and they looked. They looked some more. They looked through the trees, the bushes and even on the roof. There were no eggs to be found!

"Dad," the Yellow Duck said in a confused voice. "We can't find any eggs!"

"Why they're everywhere!" his father cried. "See they're right--wait a minute. That's not right!" His father searched around the yard for several minutes. "All the eggs are gone! Where could they be?"

"Who would have stolen eggs?" Ms. Fish asked.

"Ahhhahah!" a voice cried. "I have stolen your eggs! You'll never get them back!"

They turned to see a creature wearing a colorful egg mask and pink cape standing next to the gate in the backyard.

"Who are you?" the Yellow Duck cried. "Why would you steal our eggs?"

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you invited people to your party!" the person cried. "I am the Egg Bandit! I steal Easter eggs! And I'm stealing yours now!"

"Duh," Ms. Fish said snidely.

"Get her!" Toad cried, chasing after her.

"Watch your suit!" his mother called. Toad ignored her and kept running, the Yellow Duck and Ms. Fish trailing after him. The Egg Bandit ran faster and faster. Toad ran just as fast, panting as he caught up to his heels. The Egg Bandit turned around and gasped, and tried to run faster. Finally, Toad bounced and pounced on the Egg Bandit, who fell and dropped her bag of eggs. Eggs burst from the bag and rolled all over the lawn.

"Oh no!" Ms. Fish cried. "He ruined our eggs! He should pay!"

"I'll never pay!" the Egg Bandit snarled. "I'm the Egg Bandit! You can't worry me!"

"I'm going to take off his mask!" Toad said, reaching for his face.

"You can't de-mask me!" the Egg Bandit cried, turning from Toad's hands. "I'm the Egg Bandit."

Toad grabbed ahold of the mask and pulled it off the Egg Bandit's head, smiling triumphantly. When they saw who was underneath, they gasped.

"You?" the Yellow Duck cried. "Why did you do it?"

To be continued...............

The Yellow Duck decides to plant a tree

2007-03-20T15:20:00.000-05:00

The Yellow Duck was eating an apple one afternoon when he felt something hard and crunchy in his mouth. He spit it out into his hand and stared at it. Among the chewed up chunks of apple lay several seeds.

"I didn't know apples had seeds," the Yellow Duck said.

"Duh," Ms. Fish said. "That's how Johnny Appleseed planted all the apple trees up north. He went through the whole country sprinkling seeds, which grew into trees."

"That's just a legend," Toad scoffed. "No one could plant that many trees."

"You think these seeds would grow?" the Yellow Duck asked.

"They might," Toad said, squinting his eyes at them. "You could throw the chewed up apple in the hole for fertilizer."

"I think I'm going to try and plant them," the Yellow Duck said. Ms. Fish rolled her eyes.

"Apple trees don't grown here," she said. "It's San Antonio. It's too hot and there's bad soil."

"Well, I'm going to try anyway," the Yellow Duck said, sticking out his chin stubbornly.

"Suit yourself," Ms. Fish said, rolling her eyes. She went back to painting the side of her bowl pink.

The Yellow Duck dug a hole in the soil around the pond and dropped several of the apple seeds in. He filled the hole back up and covered the top with some mulch he found under a bush. Then he used a watering can to water the seeds. Then he sat and stared at his hole and waited. And waited. And waited some more.

When his mom finally came looking for him, the Yellow Duck had fallen asleep.

"Are you ok?" his mom asked, shaking him awake gently.

"Yes," he said. "I just wanted to see if my tree would grow."

The Yellow Duck's mother smiled. "It takes a little longer to grow trees than that," she said gently. "I'm sure in a few days, you'll see some results. Why don't we go home and have some supper?"

"Ok," the Yellow Duck agreed, allowing himself to be lead from his trees. When he returned a few days later, a small green leaf had sprouted.

"Look!" he cried, motioning to Toad and Ms. Fish. "My tree is growing!"

"Wow!" Toad cried. "I can't wait to eat apples!"

"I can't believe it's growing," Ms. Fish said, forgetting to be sarcastic.

The Yellow Duck grinned and posed, placing his rock on a leg. "Just call me Duckie Appleseed," he grinned.

The Yellow Duck searches for a Pot of Gold

2007-03-13T16:16:00.000-05:00

"St. Patrick's Day is coming up," Ms. Fish said as she worked on her green hat. "Is your hat ready?"

"Why do I need to wear a hat?" Toad asked, as he ate some raisins.

"Everyone needs a green hat for St. Patrick's Day," Miss Fish said as she glued more glittery four leaf clovers to the edge. "Otherwise, you'll get pinched."

"No, you just wear green," Toad argued.

"A green hat!" Ms. Fish said, sticking her nose in the air.

"I think you can just wear green and not get pinched," the Yellow Duck said gently, as Toad pumped his fist in the air victoriously. "I don't think it has to be a hat."

"Fine," Ms. Fish sniffed. "I'll be the only one with a cool hat."

The Yellow Duck got up from his perch on his log to get some grapes for his backpack. One his way over, he tripped over something small and hard.

"Ow!" he cried, rubbing his throbbing foot. "What is that?"

"It's a pot!" Toad exclaimed, rushing over to look at it.

"A pot of gold!" Ms. Fish dropped her hat to rush over to the pot. "It's mine!"

"It's not yours, he tripped over it," Toad said, glaring at her. "Don't be greedy."

"It's mine because I called it first!" Ms. Fish argued. She really wanted the golden pot.

"Greedy."

"Selfish."

"We'll share it," the Yellow Duck said, sighing at their behavior. He picked up the pot to look at it. It was the size of a small cooking pot and had a lid. Someone had polished it so it was a bright gold.

"I wonder what's inside," the Yellow Duck said. He was nervous to open the lid.

"I don't know," Toad breathed, looking at the lid eagerly. "Open it."

"Yes, open it!" Ms. Fish cried. "I want my share of the coins."

"I don't think you're supposed to open it," the Yellow Duck said. "I don't know if we should. I'm sure it would belong to someone. Maybe we should turn it into someone."

"Who?" Toad asked. "Finders, keepers. It's ours now. Besides, who's going to come looking for it?"

"I am!" a shrill voice cried. The friends whirled around to see a small little man with a red bushy beard and green jacket and pants. He was glaring at them intently and carrying a wooden walking stick.

"Is that what I think it is?" Ms. Fish gasped.

"Are you a leprechaun?" the Yellow Duck asked.

"You bet I am!" the Leprechaun said. "That's my gold! Give it back!"

"We don't have too!" Toad said, grabbing the pot. "If we find it, it's ours! Legend says so."

"Keep your eyes on him!" Ms. Fish cried, glaring at him. "If you watch him, he can't move."

"That could be true," the leprechaun said, glaring back.

"What's your name?" the Yellow Duck asked.

"Julius," the leprechaun said.

"Julius!" Ms. Fish cried. "That's not your real name! That's not Irish! Tell us your real name!"

"How do you know that's not my real name?" the leprechaun asked.

"Because it's not Irish!" Ms. Fish snorted.

The leprechaun ignored her. "How did you get my gold?" he asked.

"I tripped over it," the Yellow Duck said.

"You didn't even follow the rainbow?" the leprechaun said, disappointed. "That's annoying."

"Nope, just tripped," the Yellow Duck said cheerfully.

"Can I have my gold back now?" the leprechaun asked.

"That's not how this works," Toad said. "It's our gold now."

"Well, if you don't give it to me now, I'll just come back for it," the leprechaun said.

"I'm not scared of you!" Toad cried, ready to fight.

The Yellow Duck rolled his eyes. "Here," he said, handing the leprechaun his pot.

"Why'd you do that?" Toad cried.

"There went my dream bowl," Ms. Fish sighed, clearly annoyed.

"Thanks!" the leprechaun grinned. "Since you were such good sports, I'm going to give you all a token." He reached into his pocket and pulled out three golden four-leaf clovers. "They're real," he said. "For you to remember me by."

The three friends looked down at their clovers. When they looked back up, the leprechaun was gone.

"That was nice of him," the Yellow Duck said.

"I wonder what was in the pot," Toad asked.

"I guess we'll never know," Ms. Fish said. Clutching their clovers, the three friends headed home. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The Yellow Duck takes Cooking Classes

2007-02-19T16:49:00.000-06:00

When the Yellow Duck went to the pond that afternoon, he couldn't help but laugh. Toad was squatting over two round stones with a spatula in one hand and a fork in the other.

"What are you doing?" the Yellow Duck laughed.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Toad said snidely. "I'm cooking scrambled eggs."

Five eggs sat on the stone. The Yellow Duck laughed even harder. "You didn't even crack the eggs! And you need milk to scramble them!"

"You don't know anything about cooking," Toad said, eyeballing his rock. "I wonder how you make the heat go higher."

"I do too know about cooking!" the Yellow Duck protested. "My mom taught me how to make scrambled eggs, toast, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich."

"You're both idiots,"Ms. Fish yawned. "I can cook in my sleep."

"What can you cook?" Toad growled as he tapped an egg gently. To his horror, a fine crack appeared.

"I can make seaweed salad, seaweed bread, duckweed muffins and stewed leaf and rock soup," Ms. Fish replied haughtily as Toad hopped around in vain trying to scoop up the egg now oozing down the rock.

"That doesn't sound appetizing," the Yellow Duck said.

"You don't sound very appetizing," Ms. Fish retorted.

"That didn't even make any sense!" Toad said, rolling his eyes. He checked the back of the rocks to make sure they were plugged in.

The Yellow Duck had a brilliant idea. "What if we take cooking classes?" he asked excitedly.

"I don't need cooking classes," Toad said, as he delicately tried to coax one egg back onto the rock.

"I'm a master chef," Ms. Fish primly replied. Toad lost hold of his egg and it fell to the ground, splattering him in the face.

He looked up at the Yellow Duck with yellow yolk running down his face. "It might be a good idea," he muttered. "Where would we take cooking classes?"

"Ms. Cow teaches them by the old barn," the Yellow Duck said. "We could sign up and start on Thursday!"

In the end, that's what they decided to do. When Thursday came, the three friends found themselves face to face with a bowl, a spoon and several ingredients.

"This looks complicated," Ms. Fish admitted.

"Should we leave?" Toad asked.

The Yellow Duck wasn't sure.....

To be continued........................................

The Yellow Duck gets a Valentine

2007-02-12T17:03:00.000-06:00

The Yellow Duck was putting his valentines in Toad and Ms. Fish's Valentine Day mailboxes when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Pinky, the new duck in his class. Pinky was a pretty duck, with big blue eyes and soft pink feathers. The Yellow Duck had no idea what to say to her. He wasn't very good with girls. Well, he was friends with Ms. Fish, but Ms. Fish wasn't really a girl. Not a duck girl anyway--she was just Ms. Fish.

"Hi Pinky!" the Yellow Duck said awkwardly. "Why are you here? I didn't know you knew I hung out at the pond."

"Some of the girls in class told me," she said shyly. "I wanted to bring you a valentine."

"Oh, thanks," the Yellow Duck said, taking it from her. He felt bad. He hadn't gotten her a valentine outside of class. His mom had made him give everyone in the class valentines, but this was different. This was an extra valentine outside of class, and he didn't have one for her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't get yours yet," he lied, shuffling Ms. Fish's and Toad's Valentines behind his back. "I didn't see anything I liked at the store."

"That's ok," Pinky said, smiling shyly. "You can give it to me tomorrow."

"Why not Wednesday?" the Yellow Duck asked, feeling nervous.

"Because then I'll have it before Valentine's Day, so I can open it Valentine's Day morning!" she exclaimed.

"Oh," the Yellow Duck said, confused. "That's good." Pinky batted her eyes at the Yellow Duck as Toad and Ms. Fish walked up. "I just loveeee Valentine's Day," she cooed, as the Yellow Duck turned red. "Don't you?"

"I guess," the Yellow Duck said, embarrassed. "I can't wait for my valentine tomorrow!" she grinned. Then she turned away and flounced out of the pond. The Yellow Duck stared after her, wondering what he was going to do about a Valentine. Then he heard Toad and Ms. Fish laughing at him. He rolled his eyes.

"Come on guys," he said. "It's not like that. She's new."

"I can't wait for my valentine!" Toad mimicked as he skipped around the pond. He giggled as he bounced up and down on his log. "Yellow Duck's in love! Yellow Duck's in love!"

"Yellow Duck's in love! Yellow Duck's in love!" Ms. Fish sang along.

"Guys, come on," the Yellow Duck pleaded. "It doesn't mean anything."

"Don't be stupid," Ms. Fish said. "She walked over here to give you a valentine. She likes it."

"I walked over here to bring you valentines," the Yellow Duck said as he dropped them in their boxes.

"That's different," Ms. Fish said. "We're your friends. She likes you."

"She does not like me!" the Yellow Duck bellowed.

"Then why are you so annoyed that we say she does?" Toad asked pointedly. When the Yellow Duck didn't answer, he giggled happily. "Love," he sang. "The Yellow Duck's in love."

The Yellow Duck sighed as they kept teasing him. He had no idea what to get Pinky for a valentine.

That night, he went to the store with his mom and picked out a card with a teddy bear on it. "Girls like teddy bears," he thought. "She'll like this." He went home and signed the card, then put it in his backpack to take to school.

At school the next day, Pinky came running up to him.

"Do you have my valentine?" she asked.

"Right here," he said, handing her the card. She beamed and kissed him on the cheek. "See you later valentine!"

The Yellow Duck stared at her in shock as she skipped off and heard Toad cackling behind him.

"I told you she loved you!" Toad bellowed. "I told you!" He laughed manically as he held his bulging tummy.

"Well," the Yellow Duck said. "At least I have a valentine. I suppose you're stuck with Ms. Fish." And with that, he sauntered off, smiling. Toad quit laughing and thought for a minute. "Hey," he said. "That wasn't funny at all. That's just gross." He stared at the Yellow Duck's retreating back and hopped to his feet. Toad ran after the Yellow Duck, yelling, "Wait! Be my valentine instead! I don't want any girls! We'll stick together, you and me! We don't need any valentines!"

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Yellow Duck goes to the Rodeo

2007-02-05T16:34:00.000-06:00

"Wow!" the Yellow Duck said as he looked around. "This place is great! There's tons of rides, lots of games, food and best of all, the rodeo!"

"I like the mutton bustin," Toad said. "It's my favorite part."

"I like the barrel racing," Ms. Fish said snottily. "It only has girls."

"Remember, we have to be at the tent at 4 p.m.," Toad said nervously. "We can't be late."

"Why are you in such a rush?" Ms. Fish asked curiously. "You never care about being on time."

"I just don't want to miss the show," Toad said.

The three friends spent the early afternoon riding rides and eating cotton candy. They visited the petting zoo, where Toad got into a shouting match with a pig and Ms. Fish got into an argument with a cow, who thought Ms. Fish's bowl was her personal drinking water. After the morning of excitement, they headed to the tents to watch the rodeo begin.

Toad was twitchy with excitement and kept hopping up and down in his chair. The Yellow Duck grinned. "This is a lot of fun!" he said.

Ms. Fish made a face. "I can't believe that fat cow tried to drink me!" she groused. "It's going to take me two weeks to get the snot and slobber out of my bowl."

"So Toad, are you excited about seeing the concert?" the Yellow Duck asked. Toad didn't answer. He turned around to see Toad's seat empty. "Hey, where did he go?" the Yellow Duck asked. Toad would have never left before a show like that.

"Probably to go eat flies or bugs or something," Ms. Fish said in disgust. "The boy is always eating."

As the minutes ticked by, Toad didn't return to his seat. The Yellow Duck looked around worriedly as the rodeo began. After watching team roping and bronc riding, he grew very concerned.

"I'm worried about Toad," he said softly to Ms. Fish. "What if he's been kidnapped?"

"I couldn't worry too much," she said, her jaw dropping open. "He's right there!" The Yellow Duck looked where she was pointing and his eyes bulged out in surprise. Toad was in line with the kids waiting to ride sheep for Mutton Busting. He was wearing a jersey with a number on it and a helmet.

"Oh no!" the Yellow Duck cried. "Is he supposed to be down there? Is he going to get hurt?"

He stood up and waved his arms and yelled to get Toad's attention. Toad grinned and waved. Then he pulled on his helmet and got into position.

"Our next rider is Toad Green, number 17, on Bushy the sheep!" the announcer called. When the signal went off, Toad jumped on the back of the sheep. The sheep bolted and ran into the arena. Toad hung on with his skinny green fingers as he bounced around the sheep's back. The sheep ran into a wall and started running even faster. Toad became a speckle of green in white as the sheep circled the arena.

"He's literally crazy," Ms. Fish said in awe, watching as the sheep ran in circles. "He's absolutely nuts. Completely bonkers."

"I think we got the point!" the Yellow Duck said. He was worried about Toad.

"I'm surprised he's not sick," Ms. Fish said.

Finally, the sheep stopped, and a triumphant Toad slipped off where he laid on the ground. A hush fell over the crowd. After what seemed like an eternity, Toad stood up and lifted his arms in victory. The crowd roared, clapping and cheering. Toad grinned and hopped his way back to his seat.

"That was cool wasn't it," Toad grinned. "I rocked! That sheep was so fun! Wasn't that a great time?"

"You had me so worried!" the Yellow Duck said. "How did you arrange all that?"

"I just showed up and asked if I could ride, and they said yes," Toad said. "You should ride tomorrow."

"I think I will," the Yellow Duck grinned. "That seems exciting!"

"We have to come back tomorrow?" Ms. Fish whined. "I don't want any more slobber in my bowl."

"Then don't go to the petting zoo!" Toad said. The two began to bicker companionably as the three headed home. As they argued, the Yellow Duck grinned to himself. He couldn't wait to go mutton bustin.

The Yellow Duck Makes a Scrapbook

2007-01-30T10:08:00.000-06:00

When the Yellow Duck headed to the pond in the afternoon, he was surprised to see Ms. Fish sitting on the shore in her bowl with several papers and photos spread around her. Toad was perched on a tree limb watching her with interest.

"What are you doing?" the Yellow Duck asked.

"I'm making a scrapbook," Ms. Fish said. "Do you want to make one?"

"I don't know," the Yellow Duck said, sitting down to watch her. "What do they do?"

"You put some pictures on a page, like this," she demonstrated. "Then you paste some decorations on there, like this. Then you write what the pictures are about on this piece of paper. You can write how you were feeling, something funny that happened, things like that. Then, you paste them all on the piece of paper and put them in the book. Then you go on to the next one."

"That's fascinating," the Yellow Duck said, looking amazed. "How can I make one?"

"Just get some pictures and paper, and some decorations if you want," Ms. Fish said.

"I'm going to put crushed flies and mosquitoes on mine!" Toad boasted proudly. "I'm going to glue cockroach wings and dead leaves to the cover. Then I'm going to give it to my mom."

"Ew," Ms. Fish said, looking disgusted. "She won't want that!"

"She will too!" Toad bellowed. "You don't know what you're talking about because you're a stupid girl!"

"So is your mom," Ms. Fish replied snottily.

"Oh," Toad said, stumped. He hadn't thought of that.

"So I should just bring some pictures tomorrow?" the Yellow Duck said quickly.

"Yes," Ms. Fish said. The next day, the Yellow Duck brought paper, glue, scissors, and pictures to the pond. The three friends sat quietly making their scrapbooks. Toad gleefully crushed bugs and smeared them on the pages, while Ms. Fish delicately attached pictures.

"Mine is the best," Ms. Fish boasted, holding up her glitter and rhinestone covered scrapbook.

"No it's not," Toad argued, holding up his scrapbook, which was covered in dead leaves and old feathers. "Mine is awesome. It even smells bad!"

"I like all of ours," the Yellow Duck said. "Let's go give them to our moms!" The three friends raced home to present each mother with their own scrapbook, who were all equally delighted. Toad's mother grinned over her son's molting gift, Ms. Fish's mom cooed over the shiny book and the Yellow Duck's mother gasped with pleasure over his neat and colorful scrapbook. "Thank you, Yellow Duck!" she cried, flipping through the scrapbook with a smile. "This is a wonderful scrapbook." "I'm glad you like it," the Yellow Duck smiled. Making scrapbooks was fun. He couldn't wait to create some more memories for one!

The Yellow Duck creates his own Fairy Tale

2007-01-22T15:00:00.000-06:00

"Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a beautiful princess. She was trapped in the castle by her evil, ugly, disgusting Uncle, Sir Toad. Sir Toad kept the beautiful princess there so he could rule the kingdom. He told all the villagers that the princess was ill and he was taking care of her, and in her absence, he made all the decisions. The princess longed to escape from this wart-covered, disgusting man--"

"Hey, I object," Toad pouted. "You're making me out to be a gross, mean old man."

"You are a gross, mean old man," Ms. Fish said, sticking her nose up in the air.

"Well, I don't see a beautiful princess around anywhere," Toad said, pretending to look around. Ms. Fish was beginning to turn an angry shade of purple. The Yellow Duck quickly stepped in.

"Come on, guys!" he sighed. "This is the story you agreed on. Toad, you wanted to play a bad guy, and Ms. Fish, you wanted to be a princess. Isn't that right?"

"Yes," they both mumbled.

"Well, than let's keep going," the Yellow Duck said. He straightened his pretend sword and his helmet, which was a large cooking pot. "I'll narrate, since you can't do it without fighting."

"That's because she makes stuff up," Toad muttered, before slinking off to his spot in his thick black cape.

"Anyway," the Yellow Duck rolled his eyes. " The princess knew she had to find a way to escape. She wrote a letter and shoved it in a bottle, and used several sheets tied together to carry it down. There, her faithful dog Trusty-"

"Trusty is kind of a repetitive name for a faithful dog," Ms. Fish interrupted. "Let's name him Sparkle."

"EW!" Toad gagged. "Sparkle is a girly name. I like Trusty."

"It doesn't matter what the dog's name is!" the Yellow Duck said.

"Does so," Ms. Fish muttered.

"So Trusty the reliable dog ran into the forest carrying the bottle," the Yellow Duck quickly continued, ignoring Ms. Fish. "He ran for miles and miles, until he reached a clearing. There, he met a prince who lived at the pond. He dropped the bottle at the prince's feet and wagged his tail."

Toad hopped in front of the Yellow Duck, wiggling his rear end.

"What are you doing?" the Yellow Duck asked.

"Being Trusty," Toad said.

"I thought you were the bad uncle," the Yellow Duck said, confused.

"I'm both," Toad beamed. "Ok," the Yellow Duck said, just shaking his head at his wagging, hopping friend. "Anyway, Trusty dropped the bottle at the prince's feet." Toad barked and wiggled. "The prince picked up the bottle and read the note. 'Oh no! The Princess is in trouble!' the prince cried out. I must save her!" The Prince jumped on Trusty and rode out of the forest in a hurry!" The Yellow Duck jumped on Toad, who grunted and fell down.

"That didn't work," the Yellow Duck said. "Nope," Toad agreed in a muffled voice. The two stood up and proceeded to trot out of the imaginary forest.

"Finally, the prince reached the castle. He crawled up the side of the castle and entered through the side window. To his surprise, the princess's room was empty. He rushed down the stairs and throughout the hallways, calling for her. He heard her voice call back and rushed into the grand hall. There, the prince saw the Princess surrounded by fallen guards."

"You were too slow," Ms. Fish sniffed. "A girl isn't going to sit around and wait forever."

"Just then, the evil uncle appears!" Toad shouted, hopping out in his most sinister black cape. "I have come for you, Prince Duck!"

"Give the princess back her kingdom!" the Yellow Duck cried. "Never!" the Uncle laughed maniacally.

The Prince and the Uncle had a sword fight while the Princess watched anxiously. Finally, the Uncle fell. "You got me", he gasped, "You actually got me."

"Give the Princess her kingdom back," the Prince demanded. "Fine," the Uncle said. "I didn't want it anyway. She can have her stupid kingdom back."

"You did so!" the Princess retorted. The evil Uncle was banished to a kingdom far away, and the Princess got her kingdom back. The Prince went to visit the princess.

"Thanks for getting rid of Uncle," she said. "Even if you did take a really long time, when I could have done it faster."

"No problem," the Prince said, confused at her gratitude. After that day, the Prince lived happily as he continued to rescue people, and the evil Uncle was banished to the desert forever. The Princess turned her kingdom into a giant beauty shop and everyone was happy. The End."

"That was a good fairy tale," Toad said.

"I think so too," Ms. Fish agreed. "Let's do another one."

"Ok," said the Yellow Duck. And so another story was born.

The Yellow Duck dislikes the Winter Storm

2007-01-15T14:41:00.000-06:00

"This sucks," Toad said flatly, as he looked outdoors. Ms. Fish and the Yellow Duck looked at him in shock.

"Toad!" the Yellow Duck hissed. "You're not supposed to say that word! My mom will get mad. Say stinks instead."

"Well, it does," Toad insisted, not apologetic in the least. "This is horrible weather. We can't play outside in this weather."

"It's dreadfully chilly," Ms. Fish sniffed, twirling around in her bowl. "After being outside for 30 minutes, my bowl started to ice over. Can you imagine?"

The Yellow Duck sat glumly on the couch. "You know, I'd tried to think of fun things we could do," he said, inspecting his feathers. "But I couldn't come up with anything. We've played games, watched a video, played hide and seek, and made a fort."

"Then I destroyed the fort!" Toad grinned. Ms. Fish rolled her eyes. "You shouldn't have done that," she said snappily. "It took me a long time to put that up."

The Yellow Duck stared at her. "We put it up," he said, looking at Toad.

"I know!" Ms. Fish said. "And you needed a lot of direction! It took forever to get my vision into you numbskulls' heads!"

"Nag," Toad muttered.

"Idiot," Ms. Fish shot back. Before they could erupt into a war, the Yellow Duck held up his wings. "Guys, let's think of something fun to do," he said. They all sat quietly for several minutes.

"I know!" the Yellow Duck said. "Let's act out a fairy tale!"

"Which fairy tale?" Toad said suspiciously. "I don't want a girly fairy tale. I want one where I can fight a dragon and bad guys!" He brandished a wrapping paper tube as a sword and pointed it to the Yellow Duck.

"We make up our own fairy tale!" The Yellow Duck said. His friends just stared at him and he sighed. "Like, Toad could fight an evil monster and I could be a king."

"I'm a princess!" Ms. Fish squealed.

"I'm not rescuing her," Toad said, sticking his green nose in the air.

The three friends proceeded to create their own fairy tale. Toad set off to fight a dragon, while Ms. Fish was a princess stuck high in the tower. The Yellow Duck served as King of the Mer-ducks and their enchanted underwater kingdom.

The friends had so much fun that they didn't realize it was time for dinner. They decided to play again the next day, and continue their fun.

Well, as long as Toad didn't have to rescue Ms. Fish. That was the one thing he would not do.

The Yellow Duck Flys a Kite

2007-01-09T17:04:00.000-06:00

The weather was beautiful for a January day: Crisp, clear and cool. The Yellow Duck decided to take advantage of the January weather and decided to fly a kite.

Using the craft of the week from www.sakidsonline.com, he built a kite out of construction paper and a paper towel roll. Excited, he waddled quickly down to the pond to show Toad and Ms. Fish. He was sure when Toad and Ms. Fish saw what he had been doing, that they would want to join in the fun.

When he reached the pond, Ms.Fish and Toad were arguing, as usual.

"You can not make a rocket out of cotton candy and toilet paper!" Ms. Fish yelled, rolling her eyes. "How dumb do you have to be?"

"That wasn't nice," Toad said in a wounded voice, clutching his beloved rocket. "My rocket will fly! You just wait and see! I spent all morning making it!"

"I have another idea!" The Yellow Duck interrupted before Ms. Fish could hurl another insult. "Why don't we fly kites!"

"I'm going to have a pink kite!" Ms. Fish said excitedly, diving in her bowl to look for some construction paper.

"Could I make a kite out of cotton candy and tissue paper?" Toad wondered aloud, his eyes gleaming.

"I have directions right here, if you want a kite like mine," the Yellow Duck began. Toad and Ms. Fish ignored him as they made their own kites. Toad made a kite out of breadsticks, fishing line and camo-print wrapping paper, as his cotton candy had blown away in the wind within the first few minutes. Ms. Fish had made her kite out of glittery pink spandex and popsicle sticks. They proudly showed their kites to the yellow duck, who looked at them suspiciously. He wasn't sure they would fly.

"Let's go out to the field to fly them," the Yellow Duck said. He knew that you weren't supposed to fly kites near trees or electrical lines. Toad pulled Ms. Fish in the wagon as he hopped along, and soon they reached the middle of the field.

Ms. Fish dangled her kite out of the bowl, and Toad scurried away and propped himself on a rock. The Yellow Duck began to run, dragging his kite behind him.

"Fly!" he cried. "Fly kite, fly!"

The kites didn't fly. Ms. Fish's kite landed on the ground, and Toad's fell back into the rock. The three looked at their kites, dejected. "Let's try again!" the Yellow Duck said. So, Ms. Fish threw her kite out of her bowl, Toad threw his off his rock, and the Yellow Duck took off running across the field. None of the kites flew this time either. Now, the three friends were very sad.

"This will never work!" Ms. Fish sighed, flopping her fin over her face.

"I should have just eaten the cotton candy," Toad grumbled.

"We can't give up!" the Yellow Duck cried. "Let's try again!" Taking a running start, the Yellow Duck dashed across the field. Ms. Fish quickly threw her kite out of her bowl and Toad tossed his off the rock.

Amazingly, the kites all flew!

"Hooray!" the Yellow Duck cried. "Hooray for kites!"

"We did it!" Ms. Fish said.

"I knew I shouldn't have eaten the cotton candy," Toad boasted. "I'm glad I didn't."

The three friends spent the afternoon flying their kites, then returned home happy. It was, after all, a perfect day to fly kites.

The Yellow Duck loves nachos

2007-01-02T15:18:00.000-06:00

The Yellow Duck was laying on his favorite log at the pond when suddenly he had an intense craving for nachos. His mouth began salivating at the thought of nachos. He looked at his watch and saw dinner time was coming soon.

"Hey guys," the Yellow Duck said. "Would ya'll want to go to out to eat tonight?"

"Where?" Ms. Fish asked. Ms. Fish, being a food snob, would only eat at certain establishments.

"El Chapparel," the Yellow Duck said. "I'm craving nachos."

"I loooveee nachos," Toad said, licking his green lips. "Particularly when they're topped with cockroach wings and caramelized flies. You think El Chapparel would do that for me?"

"I doubt it," the Yellow Duck said as Ms. Fish gagged. He looked at Ms. Fish and asked, "Will you go to dinner?"

Ms. Fish examined her fins and sighed. "I suppose so," she sighed. "I do adore their enchiladas and flan. Oh, the flan!"

"Hooray!" the Yellow Duck cheered. "We'll go tonight."

"Shouldn't you check with your mom?" Toad, ever the practical one, asked.

"Oh," the Yellow Duck said. He had forgotten that. "I suppose so," he sighed.

"Well, go ask her now and then come back and we'll go eat," Toad said, returning to his task of sticking ants in a jar of honey and giggling.

The Yellow Duck waddled all the way home and asked his mom if he could go to dinner. His mom smiled and said, "Sure. Let me call your father and I'll let him know. He can meet us there."

"Hooray!" the Yellow Duck cheered. He waddled all the way back to the pond, and then all the way back home again with Toad and Ms. Fish following him. They headed to El Chapparel and got a seat. The Yellow Duck studied the menu.

"There's so many good choices," the Yellow Duck sighed happily. "Do I want nachos with beans? Regular cheese nachos? Nachos and guacamole? The choices are endless!"

"Well you better choose quick," Ms. Fish snapped. "I'm hungry."

"And cranky," Toad observed. Ms. Fish stuck her tongue out at him.

The Yellow Duck settled on bean and cheese nachos while Toad ordered cheese nachos (he'd brought his own cockroach wings and caramelized flies) and Ms. Fish ordered beef enchiladas. The whole family and friends had a wonderful meal.

As he bit into his nachos, the Yellow Duck smiled happily. These piles of crispy, cheesy goodness were the perfect start to the new year.

"Happy New Year, everyone!" he cried. Everyone smiled and answered back.

"Happy New Year!" the all cheered.

The Yellow Duck Learns about Charity

2006-12-26T17:16:00.000-06:00

Christmas was over. The ribbons had been put away, the toys had been admired and shown off and cookies and pies had been eaten to where only crumbs remained. While the Yellow Duck had a wonderful Christmas, he wished it didn't have to be over so soon.

"I love Christmas," the Yellow Duck said to his friends as they were playing with their new toys at the pond. Toad was playing with his new bug catapult, and Ms. Fish was admiring her new doll. The Yellow Duck was clutching his beloved binoculars on his chest.

"We all love Christmas," Toad said, not paying much attention.

"Yup, Christmas is the best time of year," Ms. Fish said. "You get tons of presents and eat cookies and cakes for weeks! You get to sing songs, watch movies- it's great!"

"But that's not why I like Christmas," the Yellow Duck said. "That seems kind of selfish."

"I'm not selfish," Ms. Fish scowled.

"I didn't say that," the Yellow Duck said, rolling his eyes. "All I said was that it wasn't why I liked Christmas."

"Fine," Ms. Fish said in a snotty tone. "Why do you like Christmas?"

"I like that everybody is happy," the Yellow Duck said. "I like that people look out for each other and give people things out of the goodness of their hearts."

"I don't," Ms. Fish said. "I only give people things so Santa will bring me presents."

"Now that's selfish," Toad said, shooting a dead fly at Ms. Fish's bowl. She squealed in agony as the dead bug floated in her water. She screeched loudly as she splashed about trying to get the fly out. Toad laughed.

"I wish we could have Christmas all year," the Yellow Duck said thoughtfully, ignoring the commotion. Suddenly, he had a brilliant idea.

"Hey guys!" the Yellow Duck squealed. Toad looked up from his catapult and Ms. Fish splashed the fly out of her bowl.

"I have a brilliant idea!" the Yellow Duck announced. "What if we volunteer at a charity this year?"

He was met with two unenthusiastic and confused faces.

"Ew," said Ms. Fish.

"Why?" asked Toad.

"Because then we can keep the spirit of Christmas!" the Yellow Duck said enthusiastically. "We can continue to give and help people out of the goodness of our hearts. Not just for Santa."

"It's always worked for me," Ms. Fish muttered under her breath.

"It sounds like a cool idea to me," Toad said. "I'll do it." They looked at Ms. Fish. She pouted, then sighed gustily. "Fiiiiinnnneee," she sighed. "Whatever."

"Wonderful!" the Yellow Duck cheered. "Now which charity do we want to work with?"

"Ghostbusters," said Toad.

"The Fashion Police," said Ms. Fish. The Yellow Duck rolled his eyes.

"No, a real charity," he sighed. "What about the animal rescue?"

"Yea!" Toad said. "That sounds fun! I could hang out with all the snakes and lizards!"

"I would tell stories to species of the aquatic nature," Ms. Fish said.

"And I could take all the puppies and kittens on walks!" the Yellow Duck said. "That sounds great!"

With that decided, the three friends planned on visiting the animal shelter next Saturday. Hopefully, the Christmas spirit would stay with them all year long.

The Yellow Duck meets Santa

2006-12-18T17:13:00.000-06:00

Even though Christmas was only a week away, the Yellow Duck was bummed. While he had loved picking out a Christmas tree and had thoroughly enjoyed his Christmas party on Sunday, he was starting to realize not everyone liked Christmas as much as he did.

Sally the Salamander had gotten very angry with him when he didn't give her a "nicer" present, and had thrown his homemade cookies in the trash. Larry the Lizard had yelled at his mom in class for not buying him the video game system he wanted, and Priscilla the Poodle had announced that she was going to have a Christmas party for people who would buy her spa treatments. She wanted her nails painted, her coat fluffed and ribbons threaded through her curls.

"But that's not Christmas is about!" the Yellow Duck protested, holding up his homemade cookies and fudge.

"Really?" Larry the Lizard had sneered. "So what is it about? Stupid trees? Oversized socks?"

"No," the Yellow Duck said, his feelings hurt. "Christmas is about generosity. It's about being kind to one another, being happy about what you have. It doesn't have anything to do with presents or getting new toys. "

"What universe are you living in?" Priscilla the Poodle said snottily. "I bet you never get new presents. Otherwise, you'd know how great they are. So you can keep your oversized socks and your stupid cookies!" Priscilla threw her cookies away, and the class laughed. His head hung low, the Yellow Duck slowly waddled home.

After his mom had given him a hug and his favorite snack, he headed over to the pond. When he got there, Toad and Ms. Fish were each hunched over, working busily.

"Go away!" Ms. Fish snapped. "We're making you something."

"It's going to be really great," Toad promised. "You'll love it."

"Guys, I appreciate it, I really do," the Yellow Duck said sadly. "But I had a bad day today. I would rather talk to you than get a present."

"Just let us finish real quick!" Ms. Fish begged, covering the project with her wide fins. "Please? We want to make you happy!"

"Real happy!" Toad said, eating a bug. At Ms. Fish's stare, he sighed. "Sorry. No more bugs."

The Yellow Duck strode away unhappily and sighed. While his friends were being kind, he just wanted to talk to someone. He felt like no one understood his feelings. Why did Christmas have to be about presents? Why did it have to be so selfish and cruel? Maybe Christmas wasn't the best holiday after all.

Suddenly, a pair of black boots stood behind him. The Yellow Duck looked up to see a large red suit and big white beard. When he saw a pair of twinkling eyes stare down at him, he gasped.

"Santa!" he cried. "But I turned in my letter! Is it not Christmas yet?"

"Ho Ho Ho!" Santa cheered, his belly shaking. "Don't worry Yellow Duck. You've been a good boy this year, so you have nothing to worry about. I just wanted to come and talk to you about Christmas. You seemed sad about it."

"Well, I just feel like no one understands," the Yellow Duck said sadly. "Everyone is obsessed with presents and buying things. They threw away my homemade cookies I spent hours on and laughed. It just makes me almost feel like Christmas isn't worth it. That everyone makes it out to be something it isn't. "

"Yellow Duck," Santa began. "Christmas is what you make of it. The people who are rude and snotty about it have horrible Christmases. Not only do I not see them, but they barely see each other. They don't like their families, and they don't really like themselves. So they bury themselves in presents, because then they can pretend they're happy."

"You love Christmas," Santa continued. "And you bring a lot of joy to people. You're doing nothing wrong! So keep living Christmas the way you see fit. Bake cookies, spread cheer and most of all, be merry. Maybe a few people will learn from you!"

"Wow!" the Yellow Duck said. "Thanks Santa. That's some good advice!"

"I'll see you on Christmas Eve!" Santa winked. Suddenly, he was whisked away by a curtain of snowflakes, with only a "Ho Ho Ho!" echoing in the distance.

The Yellow Duck ran as fast as he could to the Pond. Ms. Fish and Toad had finished working and were now impatiently waiting for him to return.

"You guys!" the Yellow Duck yelled. "Guess what! Guess what! I saw Santa!"

Their jaws dropped. "Seriously?" Ms. Fish asked. "Was he fat?" Toad asked.

"He was great!" the Yellow Duck said. He told them what Santa had said.

"Wow," Toad said. "I never thought of it that way."

"This is what we made you," Ms. Fish said. She handed him a homemade platter covered in seaweed and seashells. "It's for you to put your cookies on when you hand them out. We wanted you to see what you did was important."

The Yellow Duck smiled. "All I need for Christmas is you guys!" he said, giving them both a hug. "Thank you!"

"Merry Christmas!" Toad cried.

"Merry Christmas!" Ms. Fish said.

"And a happy New Year!" the Yellow Duck cried.

The Yellow Duck plans a Christmas Party

2006-12-11T16:29:00.000-06:00

School would be out soon, and all the kids were anxious. The holidays were coming upon them quickly, causing them to wiggle more than they normally would in class. Instead of doing their homework, they made paper snowflakes out of their assignments and draped them in the window. Christmas vacation was coming!

The Yellow Duck was very excited. He couldn't wait to bake cookies, drive and look at lights and decorate his stocking. However, the thing he was most excited about was having a Christmas party.

The only problem the Yellow Duck was having was where to have the Christmas party. He wanted to have the Christmas party in front of the grandest tree he could find. This wouldn't be just any Christmas party, it would be the best Christmas party ever. But where could he find a grand tree?

The Yellow Duck decided to ask his friends. So Monday after school, he waddled as fast as he could to the Pond. At the Pond, he walked up to find Toad and Ms. Fish arguing, as usual.

"You can not have a green stocking!" Ms. Fish squealed, looking horrified. "That is not in style at all! Santa won't give you any toys because you committed a fashion crime!"

Toad just looked at her. "What do you mean fashionable? Who wouldn't want a green stocking covered in pretend flies? It's the coolest stocking ever."

Ms. Fish looked nauseated. "You are so dumb!" She pulled out her stocking, which was red and covered with tons of glitter. "Now this is a stocking," she purred. "Look at the nice bright red, the darling red rhinestones and the stunning display of glitter!"

"That looks like an art disaster," Toad laughed. Ms. Fish looked furious. Before she could open her mouth, the Yellow Duck jumped in.

"Let's have a Christmas party!" he said, jumping up and down excitedly. "I need your help to think of where to have it. We need to have it at a place with a really big tree."

"We could have it at my house," Toad said.

"He wants a big tree, not to have it in a tree!" Ms. Fish glared. "We could have it at the zoo," Ms. Fish said primly. "The zoo can be really elegant at night."

"Is there a big tree?" the Yellow Duck asked.

"I don't know," Ms. Fish said. "Well, I want a big tree," the Yellow Duck said. The three sat around the pond, thinking to themselves.

"Hey!" Toad shouted, standing up excitedly. "I have an idea!"

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

"The Alamo has a big tree," Toad said triumphantly. "What if we have it there?"

"That's a great idea!" the Yellow Duck cried. "We could go to the Alamo for awhile, take some pictures in front of the big tree, then go to Toad's house to make cookies!"

"Yea!" the three squealed together.

For the rest of the afternoon, the three friends planned their party. They decided what cookies they would buy, what crafts they would do and what they would wear. When they left that evening, they were all very excited.

"This is going to be the best party ever!" the Yellow Duck declared. "I'm so excited I can hardly wait!"

The Yellow Duck gets a Christmas Tree

2006-12-04T14:22:00.000-06:00

When the cold front blew into San Antonio, the Yellow Duck was excited. If it was this cold, it might snow, he thought to himself. And if it snows, then I need a Christmas tree.

"That is precisely what I'm going to do today!" the Yellow Duck said aloud to himself. "I'm going to go get a Christmas tree!"

With that, the Yellow Duck set out to find Toad and Ms. Fish. He decided that getting a tree required several opinions and more than one set of eyes. When he got to the pond, he started to laugh. Ms. Fish had decorated her bowl. She had lined her bowl with tinsel garlands and had placed a small Christmas tree inside. She had also strung lights inside of her bowl so it glowed.

"That's a very festive bowl," the Yellow Duck laughed.

"Isn't it marvelous?" Ms. Fish twirled in the water. "I think it is just grand!"

"I think it looks like Wal-Mart puked in your bowl," Toad said.

Ms. Fish sighed. "You just don't understand Toad. You never will."

"Hey, come and get a Christmas tree with me!" the Yellow Duck said cheerfully. "It'll be a lot of fun. I'll get my mom to take us!"

"OOOOOHH! I'm going to get the coolest Christmas tree ever!" Toad said, leaping off his log. "I'm going to find one that is so sharp it's like ninja spikes on it's branches. It'll be an awesome tree! No one will try to touch it!"

"You're so dumb," Ms. Fish scowled. "I'm going to get the prettiest tree there. It's going to be full and pretty and have thick branches. If I'm lucky, it'll have a bird in it's branches and then I'll have a pet!"

"And I'm the dumb one?" Toad said scornfully.

"Guys, come on," the Yellow Duck pleaded. "It's Christmas! Now, quit fighting so we can go get a Christmas tree. Santa won't like you if you keep fighting."

"Fine," Ms. Fish sniffed. "Let's go get your Mom so we can go down there."

The three friends loaded up in the Yellow Duck's dad's truck and headed down to the Alamo Heights Christmas tree lot that was run by the Optimist Club. The Yellow Duck was excited to so many trees.

"Look, it's like our own private lot!" the Yellow Duck squealed. "There's hardly anyone here."

"That's because it's in the middle of the day, and most people are in school or work," the Yellow Duck's mom said. "Now run along, pick out the tree you like."

The Yellow Duck waddled through the rows, Toad hopping along behind him as he pulled Ms. Fish.

"My bowl's prettier than any of these trees," she bragged.

"Whatever," Toad said.

"I like this tree!" the Yellow Duck said, stopping in front of a full Noble Fir. "This is such a nice tree. What do you think of it Mom?"

"I like it a lot," his mom said, smiling down at him as she stroked his feathers. "What do you think?"

"It's not as cool as the ninja tree," Toad sighed, depressed there were no ninja trees on the lot. "But I guess it's all right."

"It's not as pretty as my tree," Ms. Fish said, swirling around her bowl. "But I guess it's all right."

"Let's get it then!" the Yellow Duck said excitedly. The tree was paid for and loaded into the truck and taken back to the Yellow Duck's house. The Yellow Duck and his mom happily decorated the tree while Toad created a tree out of ornament wire and Ms. Fish colored her tree with sparkly pink paint.

"It's so beautiful, Mom," the Yellow Duck said, looking in awe at his tree. "It's the most beautiful tree in the world."

"It sure is," Toad and Ms. Fish agreed, while they each looked at their own trees. The Yellow Duck's mom just smiled.

"Yes it is," she said. "It's a beautiful tree."

The Yellow Duck Goes to the McNay

2006-11-27T15:44:00.000-06:00

"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

2006-11-20T14:00:00.001-06:00

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

2006-11-13T09:59:00.000-06:00

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

2006-11-06T14:53:00.000-06:00

"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

2006-11-01T16:20:00.000-06:00

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!"

The Yellow Duck Goes Trick-or-Treating

2006-10-31T15:57:00.000-06:00

"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

2006-10-23T16:16:00.000-05:00

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

2006-10-16T15:04:00.000-05:00

"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

2006-10-11T09:29:00.000-05:00

"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.