00:00Make Way for Ducklings, by Robert McClellan.
00:31Mr. and Mrs. Mallard were looking for a place to live.
00:37But every time Mr. Mallard saw what looked like a nice place,
00:41Mrs. Mallard said it was no good.
00:44There was sure to be foxes in the woods or turtles in the water,
00:49and she was not going to raise a family where there might be foxes or turtles.
00:53So they flew on and on.
00:57When they got to Boston, they felt too tired to fly any further.
01:02There was a nice pond in the public garden with a little island on it.
01:06The very place to spend the night, quacked Mr. Mallard.
01:10So down they flapped.
01:15Next morning, they fished for their breakfast in the mud at the bottom of the pond,
01:20but they didn't find much.
01:23Just as they were getting ready to start on their way,
01:27a strange, enormous bird came by.
01:30It was pushing a boat full of people, and there was a man sitting on its back.
01:35Good morning, quacked Mr. Mallard, being polite.
01:39The big bird was too proud to answer,
01:42but the people on the boat threw peanuts into the water,
01:45so the mallards followed them all around the pond and got enough to eat.
01:50So the mallards followed them all around the pond and got another breakfast,
01:54better than the first.
01:59I like this place, said Mrs. Mallard as they climbed out on the bank and waddled along.
02:05Why don't we build a nest and raise our ducklings right in this pond?
02:09There are no foxes and no turtles, and the people feed us peanuts.
02:14What could be better?
02:16Good, said Mr. Mallard, delighted that at last Mrs. Mallard had found a place that suited her.
02:22But...
02:27Look out! squawked Mrs. Mallard, all of a dither.
02:31You'll get run over!
02:33And when she got her breath, she added,
02:35This is no place for babies, with all of those horrid things rushing about.
02:41We'll have to look somewhere else.
02:46So they flew round Beacon Hill and the State House, but there was no place there.
02:55They looked in Lewisburg Square, but there was no water to swim in.
03:03Then they flew over the Charles River.
03:06This is better, quacked Mr. Mallard.
03:09That island looks like a nice quiet place, and it's only a little way from the public garden.
03:15Yes, said Mrs. Mallard, remembering the peanuts.
03:19That looks like just the right place to hatch ducklings.
03:27So they chose a cozy spot among the bushes near the water and settled down to build their nest.
03:33And only just in time, for now they were beginning to molt.
03:37All their old wing feathers started to drop out,
03:40and they would not be able to fly again until the new ones grew in.
03:46But of course they could swim.
03:49And one day they swam over to the park on the riverbank,
03:52and there they met a policeman called Michael.
03:55Michael fed them peanuts, and after that the Mallards called on Michael every day.
04:05After Mrs. Mallard laid eight eggs in the nest,
04:08she couldn't go to visit Michael anymore,
04:11because she had to sit on the eggs to keep them warm.
04:14She moved off the nest only to get a drink of water,
04:17or to have her lunch, or to count the eggs and make sure they were all there.
04:25One day the ducklings hatched out.
04:28First came Jack, then Cack, and then Lack,
04:32then Mack and Mack and Quack and Pack and Quack.
04:36Mr. and Mrs. Mallard were bursting with pride.
04:39It was a great responsibility taking care of so many ducklings.
04:43And it kept them very busy.
04:50One day Mr. Mallard decided he'd like to take a trip
04:54to see what the rest of the river was like further on.
04:57So off he set.
04:59I'll meet you in a week in the public garden, he quacked over his shoulder.
05:03Take good care of the ducklings.
05:05Don't you worry, said Mrs. Mallard.
05:08I know all about bringing up children, and she did.
05:14She taught them how to swim and dive.
05:22She taught them how to walk in a line, to come when they were called,
05:26and to keep a safe distance from bikes and scooters and other things with wheels.
05:34When at last she felt perfectly satisfied with them,
05:38she said one morning,
05:40Come along children, follow me.
05:42Before you could wink an eye,
05:44Jack, Cack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Quack, Pack and Quack
05:49fell into line, just as they had been taught.
05:52Mrs. Mallard led the way into the water
05:55and they swam behind her to the opposite bank.
06:02There they waded ashore and waddled along till they came to the highway.
06:11Mrs. Mallard stepped out to cross the road.
06:14Honk, honk, went the horns on the speeding cars.
06:18Quack, went Mrs. Mallard as she tumbled back again.
06:22Quack, quack, quack, quack,
06:25went Jack, Cack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Quack, Pack and Quack
06:29just as loud as their little quackers could quack.
06:32The cars kept speeding by and honking,
06:35and Mrs. Mallard and the ducklings kept right on quack, quack, quacking.
06:41They made such a noise that Michael came running,
06:47waving his arms and blowing his whistle.
06:53He planted himself in the center of the road,
06:56raised one hand to stop the traffic,
06:58and then beckoned with the other, the way policemen do,
07:01for Mrs. Mallard to cross over.
07:05As soon as Mrs. Mallard and the ducklings were safe on the other side,
07:11and on their way down Mount Vernon Street,
07:14Michael rushed back to his police booth.
07:20He called Clancy at headquarters and said,
07:23There's a family of ducks walking down the street.
07:26Clancy said, Family of what?
07:30Ducks! yelled Michael. Send a police car, quick!
07:37Meanwhile, Mrs. Mallard had reached the corner bookshop
07:41and turned into Charles Street,
07:43with Jack, Cack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Quack, Pack and Quack
07:47all marching in line behind her.
07:54Everyone stared.
07:56An old lady from Beacon Hill said,
07:59Isn't it amazing?
08:01And the man who swept the street said,
08:04Well now, isn't that nice?
08:07And when Mrs. Mallard heard them,
08:09she was so proud she tipped her nose in the air
08:12and walked along with an extra swing in her waddle.
08:19When they came to the corner of Beacon Street,
08:22there was the police car with four policemen
08:25that Clancy had sent from headquarters.
08:27The policemen held back the traffic
08:29so Mrs. Mallard and the ducklings
08:31could march across the street.
08:36Right on into the public garden.
08:43Inside the gate, they all turned round
08:45to say thank you to the policemen.
08:47The policemen smiled and waved goodbye.
08:51When they reached the pond
08:53and swam across to the little island,
08:55there was Mr. Mallard waiting for them
08:57just like he had promised.
09:03The ducklings liked the new island so much
09:06that they decided to live there.
09:08All day long, they follow the swan boats
09:11and eat peanuts.
09:16And when night falls,
09:18they swim to their little island
09:20and go to sleep.
