Mary Had a Little Duck

Mary Had a Little...Duck?
By Marilyn Mackenzie



"Children, can you sing Mary Had a Little Lamb?"

"Yes!" they shouted, and sang the first verse.

The teacher continued...
Everywhere that Mary went, Mary went, Mary went,
Everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go.

He followed her to school one day, school one day, school one day
He followed her to school one day, which was against the rules.

It made the children laugh and play, laugh and play, laugh and play,
It made the children laugh and play to see a lamb at school.

"Have you ever seen a lamb?"

"I have!" exclaimed Billy, "at a petting zoo."

"Me too!" proclaimed the others.

"Can you imagine a lamb following you?"

The kids laughed.

"Today I’m going to tell you about a special pet. The story is called Mary Had a Little Duck."

The children giggled.

"Mary had a little duck. He was very small when her mommy brought him home. He was so cute. He was a mixture of colors, and his feathers were soft and fluffy, so she named him Fluffy."

"Fluffy made a funny sound. We think that ducks say, ‘quack,’ don’t we?"

"Yes, quack, quack," said the kids.

"But baby ducks sound almost like baby chickens. How do they sound?"

"Cheep, cheep," answered the children.

"That’s right. Baby ducks don’t sound exactly like baby chickens. They have a sound all their own."

"Baby ducks grow quickly. Fluffy grew and grew and grew. His feathers turned into beautiful shades of brown and green and black and white. He wasn’t fluffy anymore, but he was pretty."

"Mary’s family had other pets. They had some cute puppies and kittens. One of the puppies, named Oscar, loved Fluffy and followed him everywhere. A kitten, named Meowser, loved Oscar and followed him everywhere."

"Can you imagine what it was like to be Mary? When she played in her yard, she was followed by Fluffy. Fluffy was followed by Oscar, and Oscar was followed by Meowser. Maybe the story should have been called Mary Led the Parade."

The children giggled, thinking about the parade in Mary’s yard.

"As the pets grew, so did Mary, just like all of you. You’re not the same size that you were when you were young, are you?"

"No, I’m bigger," boasted Jamie.

"I’m bigger, too!" exclaimed Teresa.

The kids all agreed that they had grown too.

"Mary soon learned how to ride a bicycle, first with training wheels, then without them. It was hard for her to learn, though, because every time she left the house, her duck and puppy and kitten followed her."

"Mary’s mom decided she was big enough to ride her bike in the street in front of their home. There was a circle in front of their house where Mary could ride her bike if she promised to be very careful and watch for cars. Mary was so excited!"

"But as she started out for her first ride in the street, Fluffy and Oscar and Meowser followed behind her."

"Daddy," she complained. "Please lock the animals up so I can ride."

"Mary, you know they don’t like to be penned up. They like to follow you," said Daddy.

"But Daddy, I’m afraid they’ll be hurt. They don’t know how to watch for cars."

"Daddy scratched his head, wondering how he could solve Mary’s problem. He went back into the house, and Mary wondered if she’d ever be able to ride her bike in the street."

"Daddy returned with a red wagon and a rope. He tied the wagon to Mary’s bike and placed the duck and puppy and kitten in the wagon."

"Mary rode her bike around the circle, and she was so proud. Behind her in the wagon, the duck quacked, the puppy barked and the kitten meowed. What fun they all had!"

"Yes, boys and girls, maybe that story should have been called Mary Led the Parade. Do you think that’s a true story?"

"No," said Jonathan.

"Well it is," said the teacher. "It’s my story."

The children tried to imagine their teacher being a little girl. And when did she get a first name?




Another contest entry. Of course.