Jasmine Green Rescues A Duckling Called Button by Helen Peters

Author:Helen Peters [Peters, Helen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781536211948
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Published: 2020-05-14T16:00:00+00:00

“You’re saying hello, aren’t you? I’m Jasmine. I’m going to be your mother.”

The duckling kicked its legs. Its feet seemed to be stuck in the shell. Finally, it struggled out.

“No wonder they were stuck,” Jasmine said, looking at the big webbed feet. “They’re massive!”

The duckling lay curled on its side, breathing hard.

“You’re all squished up, aren’t you, like you were in the shell. You’ll straighten out in a minute. I imagine you’re gathering your strength.”

As though it had understood her words, the duckling staggered to its feet. Bits of shell were stuck to its head. Jasmine smiled.

“Well done, little one. You’re strong, aren’t you? Strong and determined.”

The duckling lifted its head and looked straight at her. It looked amused and intelligent and curious.

“You understand everything, don’t you?” said Jasmine, looking back into that shiny round eye. “You’re such a clever duckling.”

A surge of happiness overwhelmed her. She hadn’t killed both her ducklings, after all. This one was alive and well and strong.

“You were just a tiny red blob in an egg when I found you,” she said. “And look what you’ve grown into.”

She considered for a minute, looking at the little creature regarding her from the incubator.

“I’m going to call you Button. I have a feeling you’re a boy. I don’t know why, but you seem like a boy to me. And if you turn out to be a girl, then Button will still be a cute name.”

Button gave a series of piercing cheeps.

“Good boy,” said Jasmine. “You like your name, don’t you?”

She must call Tom, she thought. She had sobbed on the phone to him last night after Petal had died. He would have been worrying all this time.

She looked at her alarm clock. It was twenty past seven.

“I’ll be back in a second,” she told the duckling.

She ran downstairs, grabbed the cordless phone from the living room, and raced back up to the incubator. She dialed Tom’s house number. There was no point calling his cell phone because he wasn’t allowed to have it in his bedroom.

Luckily, it was Tom himself who answered.

“I knew it would be you,” he said as soon as Jasmine said hello. “What’s happening?”

“Oh, Tom, there’s a beautiful, live, healthy duckling. He’s called Button. He’s just hatched. I’m sorry I didn’t phone before, but it all happened so fast.”

“I’m coming right now,” he said. “I’ll just tell Mom.”

He arrived ten minutes later, red-cheeked and out of breath. They raced up to Jasmine’s room. Button waddled across the incubator toward them, cheeping excitedly.

“Oh my goodness,” said Tom. “He’s so cute.”

“He’s the cutest duckling ever.”

“He’s amazing. I can’t believe he knows you already.”

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