One bright morning, when the dew was still sparkling on the grass, a proud rooster named Kikeriki was strutting about with his dear wife, a hen named Partlet.
"Cock-a-doodle-doo! Look what I found!" Kikeriki crowed. He had pecked at something shiny in the dirt. It was a huge, glittering pearl, bigger than any berry they had ever seen.
"Oh my!" clucked Partlet. "It's beautiful! We should take this to the King! He will surely give us a grand reward."
So, they decided to build a tiny cart. They found some strong twigs for wheels and a big, sturdy leaf for the cart bed. It was a wobbly little thing, but it worked! They carefully placed the pearl inside and began to pull it.

As they were about to set off, a quacking voice called out, "Wait for me!" It was a rather plump Duck waddling towards them.
"Can I come too?" asked the Duck. "I can help pull the cart!"
Kikeriki and Partlet looked at each other. The Duck looked a bit greedy, but they said, "Alright, you can help pull."

After a while, they came to an inn. "Let's rest here," said Kikeriki.
Inside, they met a Pin and a Needle, who were sitting sadly at a table. "We're very tired," sighed the Pin. "And we have no money for a room," whispered the Needle. "If you let us travel with you in your cart, we'll pay for your dinner and your room tonight!"
Kikeriki and Partlet thought this was a fine idea.
But oh dear! At dinner, the Duck ate almost everything on the table! He gobbled up the bread, the seeds, and drank all the water, leaving very little for the others.

Very early the next morning, while it was still dark, Kikeriki, Partlet, and the Duck tiptoed out of the inn. They didn't wake the Pin and Needle. They left them to pay the big bill for all the food the Duck had eaten.
When the innkeeper came to wake the Pin and Needle, OUCH! The Pin, who had hidden in the innkeeper's towel, pricked his hand. And OUCH again! The Needle, who had hidden in his chair cushion, poked him when he sat down! The innkeeper was very cross, but the Pin and Needle just giggled and scurried away to catch up with the cart.

Kikeriki, Partlet, and the Duck, now joined by the Pin and Needle in the cart, soon came to a wide river.
"How will we cross?" worried Partlet.
"I can swim!" quacked the Duck proudly. "Hop on my back, all of you, and I'll carry you and the pearl across."
So, Kikeriki and Partlet carefully climbed onto the Duck's back. The Pin and Needle found a comfy spot in Partlet's feathers. The pearl was still in the little cart, which the Duck said he'd push with his beak.
But halfway across the river, the greedy Duck started to dip and dive! He wanted the pearl all for himself!
"Quick, Partlet!" crowed Kikeriki. He flapped his wings hard and flew to the riverbank. Partlet, with a mighty cluck, laid an egg right there on the Duck's back (which surprised him very much!), then she too fluttered to safety. The Pin and Needle held on tight to her feathers.
The Duck, startled by the egg and angry that his plan was foiled, grabbed the pearl in his beak and swam away quickly down the river, quacking to himself.

Kikeriki and Partlet, along with the Pin and Needle, were safe on the riverbank, but they had lost their beautiful pearl.
"Well," said Kikeriki, shaking his feathers, "at least we are all safe. And we learned something important today."
Partlet nodded. "Yes," she clucked. "It's not always wise to trust someone who seems too greedy."
And so, a little wiser, they all continued their journey, looking for smaller, simpler adventures.

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