Dilly the Lost Duckling

by Tina Nolan

  Annie sighed and wiped her hands on her T-shirt. Then she noticed Miss Eliot holding Tigger under her arm and tapping at the window.

  “Come quickly!” the old lady mouthed through the glass.

  The girls ran to the back door to be met by an agitated Miss Eliot.

  “I’ve spotted the duckling!” she gasped. “Out on the pavement in front of the house next door. Once Tigger was out of the way, she must have fled across my neighbour’s garden. She’s heading for Main Street!”

  Eva didn’t stop to think. She simply ran out on to the crescent and picked up the search. “Dilly!” she shouted, running up the street, hoping yet fearing to find the duckling going walkabout. So much unknown danger, so many disasters waiting to happen in the big wide world!

  “Dilly!” she called again as she reached Main Street and stopped by the sign reading SLOW DOWN – DUCKS CROSSING!

  Annie sprinted to join her. “It’s practically deserted,” she gasped, looking both ways and praying that cars didn’t speed by.

  In the distance a tractor trundled up the street. Pete Knight was out walking Mitch. He gave the girls a wave.

  “Hey, Pete, have you seen a stray duckling?” Eva called, not knowing which way to turn.

  The joiner thought for a moment. “I was going to say no, but come to think of it, maybe we did.”

  Eva and Annie ran up to him. “How come?” Annie asked.

  “I just had to give Mitch a stern talking to,” Pete explained. “He was all for chasing off down the lane at the side of your place, Eva. I wanted him to keep going straight ahead. It’s a good job I had him on the lead.”

  Eva glanced down at the lively terrier and gave him a pat. “So?” she asked.

  “So I wondered what was so interesting down the lane and took a quick look. I didn’t see anything, but I reckon it could have been a small animal or a bird that Mitch had spotted. Maybe even your duckling.”

  “Right, thanks, Pete. Come on, Annie!” Eva didn’t wait to hear more. It was the only lead they had and she was determined to follow it.

  “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Annie asked breathlessly as they sped down the narrow lane.

  Eva nodded. “It would make sense for Dilly to make her way back to the river, wouldn’t it? I mean, she’d recognize Main Street and the turn off down this lane. She’d be thinking she might find her mum and dad down here.”

  “Poor thing!” Annie gasped. She glanced helplessly in the long grass. “Maybe we should slow down and take a closer look?”

  “You do that. I’ll run on ahead to search by the river.”

  Eva sprinted on with the binoculars until she reached the riverbank. Each step of the way she’d been keeping a sharp lookout, seeing no sign of the yellow duckling. So many places to hide! she thought, almost overcome by the difficulty of the search. One tiny duckling, one great big countryside!

  Stopping by the bend in the river, Eva raised the binoculars and focused them. Soon she could pick out pink wild flowers growing on the banks and individual pebbles on the shore.

  She scanned the scene for a long time. Behind her she could hear Annie’s footsteps drawing near.

  “Anything?” Annie called.

  “Nothing so far. How about you?”

  “Zilch. It’s a long way down that path. Do you think Dilly would get this far?”

  Eva nodded. “She’s done it once already.”

  “But not by herself.”

  “I know. Wait a sec.” Eva steadied the binoculars. Across the far side of the river she spotted a pair of ducks swimming out from the bank. “See over there!” she told Annie. Could it be Dilly’s mum and dad, back in their old stretch of river to search for their missing duckling?

  The ducks swam boldly midstream.

  No, they wouldn’t leave their other babies, Eva thought. The binoculars brought out every detail of the drake’s shining neck feathers and yellow beak, even his beady eyes.

  “Look.” Annie pointed to the bank. “Here come the ducklings!”

  One – two – three – four … five! Annie and Eva held their breaths and counted.

  The speckled ducklings headed straight for their parents until the whole family were happily bobbing in the rippling water.

  “These are the ducks that chased Dilly’s family away,” Eva muttered. She lowered the field glasses then handed them to Annie.

  It took Annie a while to get used to them. At first all she saw was a blur of sky and grass. Then she got the hang of it. “Wow, that’s clear!” she said.

  But Eva didn’t hear her. She’d wandered off down to the pebbly shore and was looking left and right, feeling almost hopeless when it happened. “Oh!” she gasped.

  “What?” Annie asked, turning sharply.

  “Stop there, don’t scare her!” Eva hissed.

  She hadn’t believed it at first, but now she was sure – a tiny yellow creature had emerged from the long grass on to the grey pebbles. It was hopping and scrambling towards the water with a faint cheeping sound.

  Annie stopped and stared.

  “Dilly duckling!” Eva murmured with a sudden surge of hope. “You’re amazing. You made it back to the river all by yourself. Well done!”

  Chapter Nine

  Dilly fluttered clumsily towards the river.

  Eva and Annie watched in helpless silence.

  “What do we do?” Annie whispered.

  Eva shook her head. “Don’t know. I wish I spoke Ducklingese!”

  “Yeah, duck language.” Annie smiled. They needed to tell Dilly that they weren’t her enemy and that they would save her.

  “If we make a move, we’ll scare her,” Eva muttered under her breath.

  “She’s all alone,” Annie said softly. “Oh look, she’s starting to swim towards the other ducks!”

  “But they won’t want her,” Eva predicted. “She doesn’t belong to them, and my mum said that ducks are very territorial.”

  Sure enough, as Dilly swam bravely out into the strong current, the mother duck spied her and gave a warning quack. The dad circled around his babies and gathered them in a tight knot.

  “Come back, Dilly!” Annie begged.

  But the little lone duckling swam on.

  Quack! The mother duck’s warnings grew louder. She swam towards Dilly, who was still struggling against the current. Then she stopped and trod water, watching carefully.

  Cheep-cheep! Little Dilly swam right up to the female duck, asking to be taken in.

  Quack! The angry mother stabbed at Dilly with her broad beak to chase her away.

  “Oh, that’s cruel!” Annie cried.

  “Dilly, come back here,” Eva begged.

  But Dilly tried again – swimming up close and dodging the stabbing beak, coming back a third time and being chased away.

  “It’s awful!” Eva murmured. “You’d think the mother duck would take pity on Dilly!”

  “Sad!” Annie cried.

  “Who’s sad?” Karl interrupted. He’d been walking along the riverbank with the old Labrador, Val, when he came across the anxious girls. “What are you two up to?”

  “It’s Dilly!” Eva pointed to the middle of the river, where the female duck was still angrily sending the duckling away. “She’s desperate for this other family to adopt her, but they’re shooing her off. Look, now the male duck’s joining in!”

  “That’s not good.” Karl frowned. “I’ll tell you what – let me send Val after the adults.”

  He didn’t wait for Eva and Annie to make up their minds. Instead, he picked up a stout stick and threw it into the river for the Labrador. “Val, fetch!” he ordered.

  The dog plunged into the water and swam strongly after the stick. As soon as the ducks saw her, they quacked and quickly turned tail.

  “Don’t hurt Dilly!” Eva cried after Val.

  Dilly was stranded mid-river, paddling bravely but making no headway. Meanwhile, the unwelcoming ducks had fled to the far bank.

  “Good
girl, Val!” Karl called. “Hey, look at them scoot!”

  “That’s enough,” Annie said. “Call Val back before she grabs one of them.”

  Karl nodded. “OK. Here, Val!”

  The obedient Labrador turned tail and paddled back to the riverbank, while lonely Dilly seemed to give up the struggle at last and allowed herself to be carried downstream.

  Just then, another duck appeared, flying low along the course of the river, under the arch of the stone bridge.

  “Hey!” Eva pointed. She took the binoculars from Annie and tried to focus on the new arrival, but the duck was quickly out of sight. I wonder!

  There was no time to stop and think. Dilly was being swept away towards the bridge.

  “Let’s run down there,” Karl decided. “Maybe Dilly will manage to get back on to the bank where the river bends and we can rescue her.”

  As he and the wet dog sprinted off, Eva and Annie decided to follow. “I feel so sorry for Dilly!” Annie muttered. “I’ve got this awful feeling that she’s not going to make it.”

  “Don’t say that!” Eva retorted. Her heart was in her mouth as she ran along the bank, watching Dilly bob and turn in the swirling water.

  Karl and Val were ahead, leaning over the bridge, watching the duckling come towards them. Annie and Eva drew level with Dilly. They saw her begin to swim again and fight the current. Gradually she made progress towards their bank.

  “See, she’s a little fighter!” Eva said.

  And now the same new duck was flying back, swooping low, skimming the surface of the water as it slowed and flew smoothly under the old bridge, quacking to draw the tiny duckling’s attention.

  Dilly looked up and cheeped loudly.

  The duck flew past, then with a tilt of her strong wings she turned and came back yet again.

  Dilly swam towards the pebbles where Annie and Eva stood. Both girls held their breath. From the bridge Karl crossed his fingers and watched.

  Swoop! Splash! The duck landed in the water with a trail of spray. She swam right up to Dilly, bundling her out of the water on to the shore, fussing and flapping her wings as if to say, There you are, you silly girl! I thought I told you never to leave my side!

  “It’s Dilly’s mum!” Annie cried in total joy. “She came back to find her baby!”

  On the bridge Karl smiled and nodded.

  Eva stared at Dilly and her mother, too choked up to say a single word.

  Chapter Ten

  Saturday, 19th. … And guess what – mother duck marched Dilly up the riverbank and straight up the lane! There was just this bossy female and one tiny duckling making their way between the hedges like little soldiers on the march, left-right-left.

  We followed them every step of the way, but the two ducks took no notice. On they went up by the side of Animal Magic on to Main Street, past the DUCKS CROSSING! sign, and left into Swallow Court. Miss Eliot was gobsmacked when she saw it. She’d been waiting at her window all that time, making sure that Tigger didn’t get out and cause more trouble.

  But Dilly and her mum didn’t stop. They waddled across the garden and under the fence, right across the field. We could just see the mum’s head popping up over the grass. (We had to keep a safe distance so as not to scare them.)

  The best bit was when they reached their pond. Daddy Duck spotted them and came waddling through the reeds. The other ducklings followed and they all rushed up to Dilly. Quack, quack, welcome back!

  Dilly was nearly knocked flat, they were so excited. And they all gathered round and made a big fuss and we were watching and Annie cried a bit, and I sniffed but I didn’t cry. Even Karl was choked.

  Eva’s hands hurt from typing so much so she stopped. Out of her bedroom window she saw Linda Brooks and Miss Eliot come into the yard with Annie. The evening shadows were long. Mickey let out an ear-splitting EE-AW!

  Something’s going on, Eva thought, leaving her diary and rushing down.

  “Hey, Eva, Miss Eliot would like to talk to your mum,” Annie said. “Is she around?”

  “She’s in the stables with Dad and Karl,” Eva replied.

  “And I wouldn’t mind a tiny peep at your little Shetland pony,” Linda Brooks added. “Annie tells me she’s very sweet.”

  “Of course! Come in.” Happily, Eva led the way.

  Inside the stables they found Karl mucking out Mickey’s stall, and Heidi and Mark busy working on Rosie’s hooves. While Mark worked with a strong pair of clippers, Heidi smoothed the hooves with a file. Meanwhile, Rosie stood with her nose in her hay-net, contentedly chewing.

  Heidi was the first to look up and greet the visitors. “Hello, Linda. Hello, Miss Eliot, what a nice surprise!”

  The old lady smiled broadly. “I expect you heard about the drama down by the pond?”

  “We heard all right!” Mark lowered Rosie’s hoof and grinned. “Eva hasn’t stopped talking about it since!”

  “She was splendid!” Miss Eliot insisted. “So were Karl and Annie. And so are you, Heidi. And Mark, of course.”

  “Hear, hear!” Linda added quietly. Then she blushed. “Lovely little pony,” she said, changing the subject.

  Ee-aw! Mickey brayed.

  “Not forgetting the beautiful donkey,” Miss Eliot conceded.

  There was silence for a while except for the rasp of Heidi’s file against Rosie’s hoof. Then the old lady slipped her hand into her jacket pocket and spoke again.

  “I have something for you,” she said shyly, offering Heidi a long slip of paper.

  Heidi came to the door and took it. “It’s a cheque!”

  Eva glanced at Karl and Annie, who shrugged. Don’t ask me!

  Heidi read the numbers. “A cheque for a very large amount of money,” she gasped. “Made out to Animal Magic!”

  “For you and your wonderful rescue centre!” Miss Eliot insisted. “And for all the good work you do.”

  Mark took the cheque from Heidi and read it. He shook his head in astonishment. “This means we can pay our overdue bills and carry on without worrying about money for a long time to come,” he said.

  Eva, Karl and Annie stared at Miss Eliot.

  “Are you sure about this?” Heidi asked, holding out the cheque as if offering it back.

  Of course she’s sure! Eva thought, quick as a flash.

  Miss Eliot pushed the cheque away again. “Since I sold the manor house, I have more money than I’ll ever need for myself,” she insisted. “It would please me beyond words to make this donation.”

  “Take it!” Linda urged.

  And so it was agreed. Animal Magic Rescue Centre could carry on matching the perfect pet with the perfect owner!

  “That will be a giant pizza and death-by-chocolate all round!” Mark promised. “I feel another celebration coming on!”

  EE-AW! Mickey said.

  Rosie gave Mark a little don’t-forget-me shove from behind and everyone laughed.

  “Gorgeous little thing!” horse-mad Linda murmured, offering Rosie a Polo mint from her pocket. “I wonder,” she said softly with a faraway look in her eye. “I wonder if there’s room in my field for one adorable Shetland pony…”

  Copyright

  STRIPES PUBLISHING

  An imprint of Little Tiger Press

  1 The Coda Centre, 189 Munster Road,

  London SW6 6AW

  Text copyright © Jenny Oldfield, 2008

  Illustrations copyright © Sharon Rentta, 2008

  Cover illustration copyright © Simon Mendez, 2008

  First published as an ebook by Stripes Publishing in 2012.

  eISBN: 978–1–84715–297–8

  The right of Jenny Oldfield and Sharon Rentta to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work respectively has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

  All rights reserved.

  Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any forms
, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  www.stripespublishing.co.uk