Silas hears his pet duck Marshmallow squawking urgently in the backyard. He runs outside and discovers that a repair truck has unknowingly crushed Marshmallow's nest, killing her ducklings. However, Silas's mother finds one surviving duckling that Marshmallow is caring for. Silas names the brown and yellow duckling Cocoa, and he vows to keep Cocoa safe from trucks and care for her along with Marshmallow.

1. “Cocoa and Marshmallow”
“Cocoa and Marshmallow” by Paula White
Silas scrambled down the stairs in response to Marshmallow's urgent
squawks from the back yard. A slipper flung off his foot as he attempted to
jump three steps. He chinched his belt and tried with one hand to buckle it.
His tee-shirt fell to the step. In haste he turned to pick it up. Why was she
squawking at such anearly hour? Silas wondered.
“Mom! Mom! It’s Marshmallow. Something’s wrong. Mom! Where are
you?” said Silas as he rushed to slip on his shirt.
He had owned his Peking duck for only one year, but he already knew
her quacks and squawks. He learned her calls when she was a duckling. He’d
keptMarshmallow in a small carrier in the kitchen for three months while her
down feathers grew.But, this time He heard the beeping of a repair truck
between her squawks. Her loud cries had awoken him. Marshmallow was
frantic. Something was wrong.
His father had mentioned that a repair truck would be arriving to unclog
the irrigation well. Silas tugged on the screen door handle and jerked it open.

2. Heran out of the house towards the end of the back porch. His mother who
was entering the kitchen from the garage held a small carrier.
“Silas! Come here!” said his mother. But, he had already raced out of the
house in hopes of finding Marshmallow.
Looking out over the acre, he strained to follow Marshmallow's urgent
plea. He knew it was a distress call. Silas tried to wipe the sleep from his eyes.
Following the twenty foot cable of steel that would be used to clear the clogged
pipes of mud, Silas recognized Marshmallow’s white feathers smashed into
tread marks of soggy soil.He saw the massive muddied well truck backed up to
Marshmallow's cage. There were cables. There were hydraulic hoists. There
were pumps and gadgets attached all over the old truck. The tires were
muddied and almost as tall as him.Yet, what had the driver done? Where was
Marshmallow?He wondered.
Silas panicked. He imagined Marshmallow’s fate. Then, he took off
runningdown the pecan ladened acre toward her nest. His eyes scanned the
well pump by her cage. Hidingten yards away under a pecan treeand behind
thebrush of blackberry bushes,Marshmallow stood squawking and
intermittently preening. What once resembled a round, low lipped bowl
made from tan and golden stems of coarse hay was squashed. The interspersed
down feathers now looked like a smashed andsunken burial site of scarcely
identifiable unborn ducklings. Silas stared at thehorror in disbelief. He felt
sick.Did the driver know what he had done? Surely not. Silas reasoned.
“Marshmallow!” screamed Silas. Then bending down, he scooped her into

3. his arms and ran toward the truck. Squawking in protest, Marshmallow
bobbed her head up and down. The well truck beeped again to warn of its
backing motion. The clotted dirt rotating off the spin of the reversing tires
slung up mud and splattered into Silas's face.
"Stop!Stop!"screamed Silas to the driver.
" Can’t hear you over the engine! You might want to put that duck up.
We've got a jobto do," said the driver from the window of the truck.
"You've killed 'em! You've killed all of 'em! I hate you!" cried
Silas as he ran with Marshmallow under his arm back toward the kitchen. But
the driver did not hear him.
Silas stumbled up to the back steps to the porch door where his mother
was now standing. She helda dishrag to her chest.
"I know son. I know. Come inside; bring Marshmallow in too," said Silas's
mom.
"He killed 'em mom. He killed all of them," cried Silas as he buried his
face into his mother's sleeve. Marshmallow squawked again, and Silas set her
down onthe tile kitchen floor. Shaking her tail, Marshmallow sent small white
feathers,dander and mud fluttering into the air.
"He didn’t mean to son; he didn’t see the nest. But, look at this!” said
Silas’s mom as she held out her hands. “This little girl hatched yesterday, but I
didn't find her until I heard Bella barking this morning. It appears that
Marshmallow has a husband. I believe this little one’s father is that wild
mallard that landed in our pool this spring." Silas wiped back a steady stream

4. of tears from his cheek. Dirt smeared into mud across his lips and cheeks.
"She's brown and yellow and so little. Can I hold her?" said Silas.
"Of course. Let’s find some bedding and a heat lamp for the
carrier. You can keep her and Marshmallow in the kitchen for a few days until
she gains her strength and some feathers," said Silas's mom. "I'll pick up some
feed tomorrow."
"Mom, can I name her?”asked Silas.
"What will you call her?" questioned his mother.
"I think I'll call her Cocoa 'cause she's brown, and she'll be with
Marshmallow," said Silas.Then Silas cupped Cocoa up to his cheek and
whispered into her ear. "You're gonna like it here," said Silas. "And, I'm sorry
about your brothers and sisters, but I don’t think that driver meant to hurt
them. I’ll keep you away from those big trucks. I promise."
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This is somewhat of a true story. We've had several ducks that we've bought
from the local feed store to have as pets. Our beloved Marshmallow did indeed
mate with a wild Mallard duck, and we had a duckling that my son named Hot
Cocoa. It happened one year when our well needed to be "snaked," and the
drilling truck rolled over Marshmallow's eggs. The next spring a Mallard duck
landed on our pool and mated with Marshmallow to produce Cocoa. My son,
Alden owned and loved Marshmallow for tenyears. He owned Cocoa for

5. eighteen months. The pictures are of Marshmallow, Cocoa, and Alden. Yes, he
would just "cuddle" with Marshmallow in the yard.
It was a challenge to write the dialogue in a voice that was authentic to an
eight year old. I practiced speaker tags, tone and establishing the setting
according to Lamb on this piece. Additionally, I incorporated the advice to
shorten the sentences which increased the speed and intensity of the action.
Images and story: Paula White