Read a preview
Chapter 1
Chapter 1: Left Behind
The morning sun sparkled on Sunny Pond like a thousand tiny diamonds. Mama Duck stood tall at the water's edge, her beautiful green feathers shining bright.
"Come along, little ones!" she called. "Time for our morning walk!"
One by one, the baby ducklings hopped up on their fuzzy yellow legs. Waddle, waddle, waddle. They followed Mama Duck around the pond, their little feet going pitter-pat on the soft grass.
All except one.
Pip sat in the nest, watching with big, round eyes. The littlest duckling wanted so badly to follow along.
"I can do it too!" Pip peeped.
Pip pushed up with both legs. Up, up, up went Pip's fluffy bottom. Those tiny legs started to shake. Shake, shake, shake.
Then—PLOP!
Down went Pip, right back into the soft nest.
"Oh no," Pip peeped quietly.
Pip tried again. Up went the fluffy bottom. The little legs wobbled like jelly.
PLOP!
Down again.
Pip looked across the pond's edge. Mama Duck and all the other ducklings were so far away now. They looked like tiny yellow dots moving through the tall grass.
"Peep, peep, peep!" Pip called sadly. But no one could hear.
A big tear rolled down Pip's fuzzy cheek. Being the smallest was hard. Being left behind was even harder.
