The story begins as Mr. and Mrs. Mallard fly over various potential locations to start a family. Each time Mr. Mallard selects a location, Mrs. Mallard finds something wrong with it. The mallards continue their search, flying over Boston landmarks and they find the Charles River. From this island, the mallards visit a policeman named Michael on the shore, who feeds them peanuts every day. Shortly thereafter, Mrs. Mallard hatches eight ducklings named Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, and Quack. After the ducklings are born, Mr. Mallard decides to take a trip up the river to see what the rest of it is like. Mr. and Mrs. Mallard agree to meet at the Public Garden in one week. In the meantime, Mrs. Mallard teaches the eight ducklings
