Section 11, Chapters 39, 40, 41 and 42 Summary

"Gent Arrives"

A lost male duck arrives at the farm. He and The Lady immediately form a bond, and she introduces him to the rest of the barn family as Gent. Soon afterwards, Lady starts laying eggs, but is not interested in sitting with them. Ben moves them to Blackie's roost, where she happily sits with them and eventually hatches some ducklings. She, Brahms and Coraggio take care of them around the barn, then show them to the pond where The Lady teaches them to swim. Whittington feels a bit lost without the company of The Lady (see "Quotes", p. 164), but some time later the tabby he visited earlier (Chapter 29) brings down a pair of kittens that he fathered, and he begins taking care of them. Meanwhile, Ben's reading continues to improve, although occasionally he gets frustrated. After one...