The Egg Bandit Part 2

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

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

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

"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

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

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

"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.