One late afternoon, Celesta, a mother duck, went strolling through the high grasses toward the nearby Schuylkill River. She had sat on her four eggs all day and was now feeling a little weary.

"My, my, my," she said. "I really need a break. I am beginning to feel some serious cramps in my tush and legs. A swim in the river will surely soothe my aching body."

As she approached the river, a sudden movement startled her. With heart pounding, she hurriedly hid behind a small tree. Celesta could clearly hear the voices of two ducks as they argued.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Ann. Nothing is wrong with the egg," said a male voice.

"What do you know about eggs, Burt?" said a female voice. "Have you ever laid an egg?"

"You have completely lost your mind. You know what? I'm out of here, and I'm never coming back!" hollered the male voice.

Celesta could hear the male duck mumbling to himself as he passed by where she was hiding.

"Go ahead! I'll just do what I have to do!" yelled the female voice. As Celesta stepped out from her hiding place, she could hear the female duck sobbing.

"What's the problem, dear?" inquired Celesta.

Startled by the voice, the female duck quickly turned around and asked, "Where did you come from? I thought I was all alone."

"I am so sorry I scared you, but I just wanted to know why you are crying. What was all the uproar about, and what's wrong with your egg?"

"You sure have a lot of questions for a stranger. Are you always this inquisitive? If you must know, my husband, Burt, has left for good because we had a disagreement about whether or not I should keep this discolored-looking egg," she said as she shoved the egg toward Celesta. "I don't think anything good will come of it. I told him I am going to roll it into the river, but he got extremely upset and left."

"Roll it into the river? Are you serious? I want you to take some time to think about what you are planning to do, young lady. Let's go for a quick swim. That will certainly help to clear your head."

"Go ahead, Ms. —"

"Call me Celesta," Celesta interrupted. "Now come along, Mrs. ... What's your name?"

"My name is Ann."

"As I was saying, Ann, let's go for a quick swim. It will do you justice." "Go ahead, Celesta. I'll be right behind you," Ann piped up.

As Celesta began to walk toward the river, she asked, "Ann, what happened to the rest of your eggs?" When there was no response, she turned around to see that Ann had disappeared. "No, she didn't! How could she leave her egg behind?" Celesta whispered to herself.

As she hurried over to where the egg was sitting on some dried grass, she shook her head in disbelief.

Celesta quickly pushed the abandoned egg with her bill all the way home and placed it in her nest with her four eggs.

Her neighbors soon gathered around the nest, gawking at the discolored egg. They sure had a lot to say. "Bad decision, Celesta. You are going be sorry!" Ms. Beatrice exclaimed. "How are you going to take care of five babies?"

"Mark my words, you have brought serious trouble on yourself, dear," said old Ms. Daphne.

"Listen, everyone. There is no way I could have abandoned the egg like that mother did. I just couldn't. Furthermore, this baby might turn out to be a blessing to all of us."

Celesta sat on her eggs for days. It was extremely hot during the days, so she would always go for an afternoon swim.

One day as she was sitting on her eggs, she heard a loud crack, then another and another. She hopped off to see that her babies were being born. All the eggs hatched, including the discolored-looking egg.

Finally!" she said as she sighed with relief. "Welcome, my babies. It is sure nice to finally meet you all." Celesta proceeded to name her babies. The first duckling, she named Aidan; the second, Brian; the third, Leila; and the fourth, Lenamarie. As she got to the fifth duckling, she noticed something very strange. The little duckling, which came from the discolored egg, had a patch of black feathers on its back and head, and its little wings were drooping and dragging on the ground as it moved.

Celesta felt a strange sensation in the pit of her stomach. Ignoring it, she continued, "And you are Lucky, 'cause you are one lucky little duckling."

Celesta straightened their feathers with her bill, placed berets on the girls' heads and baseball caps on the boys' heads, then headed off with them in single file to introduce them to the neighbors.

"Meet my five babies, everyone!" Celesta yelled excitedly.

Ms. Beatrice and all the other ducks and ducklings stopped what they were doing and ran over to meet the newborn ducklings. "This is Aidan, Brian, Leila, Lenamarie, and Lucky!" Celesta continued, unable to contain her joy. "Aren't they beautiful?"

Suddenly, the place erupted in whispers. "What's wrong with him?" one voice said. "He looks soooo ugly, and what's up with the wings!" someone else exclaimed, followed by a giggle. "Hmmm! I did warn her about keeping that discolored egg, but she didn't listen," chimed in Ms. Beatrice.