Rating: K

Word Count=2177

Summary: Two year old Hoss comes across some hatching ducklings. Will Pa let him keep his new friends?

Disclaimer: I don’t own the Cartwrights or Bonanza. No copyright infringement is intended. Original plot and characters are property of the author. This story is for entertainment and no money was made from it.

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Ducks in a Row

“Tell me a stowy, Adam” begged two year old Hoss. It was bed-time but the little boy didn’t want to go to sleep yet. The one-room cabin he lived in with his brother and Papa felt warm and cozy with the fire banked.

Adam snuggled closer to his little brother. “I’ll tell you one Mama used to tell me” said Adam. He began the story of The Ugly Duckling. Reaching the end of the story, Adam said “And then the ugly duckling became a beautiful swan. All of the other ducks in the pond couldn’t believe how pretty he had become.”

“Did he find a wady duck to have a famiwy wif?” asked Hoss.

“I don’t know. Mama never said” responded Adam.

“How come his mama didn’t make de odder ducks stop makin’ fun o’ him?” asked Hoss.

“I don’t know, Hoss. Maybe the story didn’t say.”

“Go to sleep, boys” said Ben drowsily.

Hoss fell asleep wondering about that duckling.

*

In the morning, Ben took the boys down to the lake for a wash and to clean their few items of clothing. While Ben washed shirts, Adam and Hoss decided to explore. Ben told them not to go too far, but there was so much exploring to do. Adam found a patch of blackberries to grab his attention. They were sweet, so he decided to pick a bunch for Pa to fix up.

“Stay here, Hoss” said Adam. “I’m gonna pick these berries as a surprise for Pa.”

“Okay” said Hoss. 

The little boy grew bored watching Adam, so he decided to explore a little on his own. He wasn’t going to go too far. He didn’t want Adam to tell on him. Papa would spank him if he didn’t do what Adam said.

As he walked along the shoreline, Hoss heard a noise in the reeds up ahead. He looked back at the way he’d come, but didn’t see Adam. Curiosity finally got the better of him. He parted the reeds and saw some eggs and baby ducks. The baby ducks were kind of clumsy as they came out of their eggs. Hoss was surprised because they ate eggs for breakfast sometimes. He couldn’t ever remember seeing a baby duck when Papa opened an egg.

Reaching into the nest, Hoss picked up one of the ducklings. “You don’t wook ugwy” he said. He put that one back and picked up another. In all, there were eight ducklings in the nest. None of them looked ugly.

Hoss was soon sitting in the reeds, playing with the ducklings. They felt soft and looked so funny as they tried to walk. A couple kept falling face first on their bills. Hoss just giggled as he played with them.

“Hooosss!!” Adam was yelling for him.

“Bye-bye, duckies” said Hoss as he got up from the reeds. He started walking back to where he had last seen Adam. The little boy had a moment of panic because Adam might tattle on him.

“There you are” said Adam as he emerged from some brambles. Hoss smiled really big to see his brother.

“Why are those ducks followin’ ya?” asked Adam.

Hoss turned around to see the baby ducks. He was surprised. Weren’t baby ducks supposed to swim in the lake?

“I dunno” said Hoss. “I was pwayin’ wif ‘em. Do ya fink dere Mama is wookin’ fer ‘em?” 

“Maybe” replied Adam. “But we’d best get back to Pa before he comes lookin’ for us.”

The two boys headed back to where Ben was finishing laundry. Adam was carrying his bandana, which was full of berries. He rubbed at some of the scratches he had gotten from reaching through the brambles. Little Hoss was absorbed in thought about baby ducks and mama ducks. He kept looking back to see the baby ducks following him.

“Do ya fink dey knows dey is s’posed to swim?” Hoss asked.

“Probably” answered Adam.

“Do ya fink one of dem could be de ugwy one Mama tole ya ‘bout?”

“Probably not.”

“Do ya fink dey’s gonna go home?”

“I dunno.”

“Do ya fink dere Mama is gonna yell fer ‘em to come home?”

“I dunno.”

“Where do ya fink dere papa is?”

“I dunno.”

“Do ya fink Papa will let me keep ‘em?”

“Probably not, Hoss. They’re s’posed to live in the lake.”

As the two boys approached, Ben looked up, glad to hear his boys’ voices. His smile was quickly replaced with a look of surprise. Adam was carrying a wadded up bandana and holding Hoss’ hand. Behind the boys were several ducklings, quacking as they followed the boys.

“Why did you bring those ducks with you?” asked Ben while looking at Adam.

“I was pickin’ berries, Pa. Hoss found ‘em.”

“You let your brother wander off without watching him?”

“But I was pickin’ berries” said Adam with a pout as he held the bandana out to his Pa.

“I finded dem, Papa. Kin I keep dem?” Hoss’ eyes sparkled with hope as he asked.

“Those ducks need their mother, Son” replied Ben. “You can’t expect a wild animal to live with us.”

Hoss started to cry as the ducklings waddled around his feet.

Realizing how harsh he must have sounded, Ben got up and approached his youngest. Ben hugged the little boy to him and said “We’ll find a way to get them back to their mother.”

Hoss smiled through his tears. “Ya mean it, Papa?” he asked.

Adam plopped himself down by the fire with a scowl. Pa would never have let him keep a bunch of baby ducks.

Hoss and his charges came over to the fire to sit with Adam.

“Why you wook angwy?” asked Hoss.

“Nothin’” said Adam in response.

“Boys, help me hang these shirts up to dry” requested Ben. He had set up some sticks near the fire so the shirts could be draped over them while the heat from the fire dried them. Adam left the berries by the fire as he and Hoss went to get the shirts as Pa had asked.

Coming back to the fire, Adam saw that several of the ducklings were pecking at the bandana full of berries. He had worked too hard and been scratched up too much for a bunch of ducks to eat those berries. Adam charged the fire, swinging the shirt, as he tried to shoo the ducks away.

“Stop him, Papa!” yelled Hoss.

Ben turned around, seeing Adam waving the clean shirt at the ducklings to shoo them away. “Adam!” he yelled. “Leave those ducks alone and hang that shirt up!!”

Hoss raced over to the fire with his shirt, tears rolling down his chubby face. “It’s gonna be okay baby ducks” he said. The little boy tossed the shirt aside as the baby ducks waddled to him for comfort.

Adam glared at his brother as he noticed the clean shirt lying on the ground. He couldn’t believe that Pa was taking Hoss’ side.

“Take Hoss’ shirt back to the lake and wash it again” Ben told his older son. Adam snatched the shirt up with a scowl and headed for the water. He never got to have pets at Hoss’ age. It wasn’t fair!

Ben knelt down and hugged Hoss to him. “These babies need their mama” he told the little boy as the ducklings quacked.

“But we don’t got no mama and we is okay” said Hoss, looking into his father’s eyes.

Tenderly brushing a lock of hair out of his son’s face, Ben replied softly “You two boys have me to love you and care for you. These ducklings need a duck mama and papa to help them grow up.”

Hoss looked around at the ducklings, which were almost finished with the berries that Adam had picked. “But what if dey don’t got no duck mama or papa?” Hoss asked. “Who’s gonna take care of dem den?”

“The ducks can’t live with us, Son” Ben said. “They need to live with other ducks.” Taking his son’s hand, Ben led Hoss down to the water where Adam was sulking and slapping the shirt around in the water.

Nudging Hoss, Ben said “Go into the water a little ways, the ducklings will follow you.”

Hoss took a few steps into the lake and was surprised to see the ducklings swimming around his legs. The little boy smiled and clapped in delight. Adam even cracked a smile.

Hearing quacking from above, the boys and their father looked up to see some ducks flying. The ducks descended to the lake and began to splash on entry. There was much quacking from the center of the lake as the ducks swam around and began to feed.

“Wook duckies!” Hoss exclaimed and pointed. “Dere’s some duckies fer ya to pway wif.” The ducklings continued to swim around Hoss’ legs, quacking nervously.

“Stand still, Hoss” advised Ben. “Here come some grown-up ducks.”

Two female ducks approached the ducklings. The females quacked at the ducklings as they swam near them. Their curiosity satisfied, they headed back to the safety of the flock. To Hoss’ surprise, the ducklings followed the two grown-ups.

Hoss was sad to see the ducklings leave, but he was happy that they had found other ducks to live with.

“Do ya fink one o’ dem was de mama of dose babies?” asked Hoss, looking up at his Papa.

“Maybe” answered Ben with his hand on Hoss’ shoulder. He gave his son a reassuring squeeze before turning his attention back to the laundry.

Hoss walked over to Adam, who was finishing up his brother’s shirt. “I sowy” said Hoss, pointing to the shirt.

“That’s okay, buddy” said Adam as he took the shirt over the fire.

There were still a few berries laying in the bandana. Adam was pleased that all his scratches hadn’t been in vain.

*

That evening, Adam was scratching a rash on his arms. Pa told him the bumps were caused by poison ivy. The boy’s previously good mood had turned sour the more his arms itched.

“Stop scratching, Adam” Pa told him. “You’ll only make it worse.”

“It itches bad” replied Adam.

“I know, Son, but leave your arms alone. That way they’ll heal up. Besides, it’s time for you boys to go to sleep.”

Adam lay down on the blankets next to his little brother. “Tell me a story, Adam” begged Hoss.

Aggravated at the itchiness of his arms, Adam started telling the story of Hansel and Gretel. Hoss wasn’t sure he liked this one.

“That’s enough, Adam” Ben said with some exasperation. “Tell a nicer story.”

Adam began the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. When he got to the part where the three bears come home, Adam thought this story might not have been such a good idea. What if Hoss found a bear cub? Pa surely wouldn’t let the little boy keep one, would he?

Adam realized it didn’t matter. Hoss was sound asleep, soft snores escaping from the little boy’s nose and mouth. No matter how much his brother annoyed him, Adam was glad he had Hoss. If it hadn’t been for Mama, he wouldn’t have these stories to share with his little brother. Adam gave his arms another scratch and snuggled into the blankets. He fell asleep, dreaming of Hoss bringing home all sorts of baby animals as pets.

The End