The Badger and the Duckling

Dottie, a tiny duckling with soft yellow down, a small orange bill and a thin blue ribbon, paddles a little too far from her family and becomes lost among the tall green reeds at the edge of a wide, sunny pond. Feeling very small, she is surprised when a striped face appears from a burrow: Bram the badger, grey-furred and carrying a green canvas satchel, offers to help her find her family.

Together the two new friends set off through the reeds, with Dottie riding on Bram's shoulder and peeping directions. Each obstacle they meet is overcome by combining what each of them can do, from laying flat stones across a wide puddle to answering a grumpy frog's riddle. As they travel, they talk about Dottie's splashing brothers, her mother's funny song and Bram's burrow with its moss bed and shelf of shiny pebbles. This gentle tale by Jane MEADOW shows how kindness and teamwork can turn a frightening situation into an adventure, and it can be read on Kids Tale Book.