¹     "Mom!" shouted David. "Mom, Blacktail is off of her nest. She has ten ducklings!"
 
²     "That is super," said Mom. "We need to check her nest."
 
³     "Why?" asked David.
 
⁴     "Sometimes a duckling will hatch late. His mom will not go back to the nest," said Mom.
 
⁵     "What would happen?" asked David.
 
⁶     "The duckling would have no one to protect it," said Mom. "It might die."
 
⁷     "Come on, Mom," said David. "We need to go out and check the nest now!"
 
⁸     Mom dried her hands from doing dishes. She followed David out to the large duck pen.
 
⁹     Inside the pen was a pool. It was a small, plastic kid's pool. It was full of water. There were some bricks in the water. They were like steps to the top of the pool. They were to help the babies get out.

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