Friends are Forever
Written by Hans Wilhelm, Illustrated by Hans Wilhelm, Read by Hans Wilhelm
Page 1
Max was a duckling who lived with his parents, his two sisters, and his brother on a farm in the country.
Page 2
The farm ducks had a very good life. All day long they would sit in the sun and eat as much as they liked. They had forgotten all about flying or chasing frogs and butterflies. It was a very easy life for them.
Page 3
Max's best friend was Mario. He was a wild duck known as mallard. The two were very close friends.
Page 4
But Max envied Mario a little,
because Mario still knew how to fly.
"Do you think you could show me how to fly?"
Max asked Mario one day.
"Of course!" said Mario. "That would be fun!"
And he began to explain to Max the deep secrets about flying.
Page 5
It took a long time before Max was finally able to
fly up into the sky. He had never seen the world
from high above. Everything below them looked
so small, and the sky all around him
looked so wide. Max was happy
like never before.
Page 6
Even though Max still had to learn many more things about flying...
Page 7
Flight gave him the most
wonderful feeling. Up here
was a whole new world
to be discovered.
Page 8
Slowly Max's flying got better and better.
And the two friends became
closer and closer.
Page 9
The summer went by. Max and Mario were inseparable. They did everything together and one friend was never without the other. But the summer passed quickly.
Page 10
One morning when the two friends met,
Max noticed tears in Mario's eyes.
"What is the matter?" asked Max.
"I ... have...to..." sobbed Mario.
"I have to leave. My family is flying
to the South," he continued,
"and I have to go with them."
Page 11
When Mario finally left, Max thought for a moment
about joining him. But Max's own family would
not have understood, and they would have
been very sad without him.
Page 12
Max had never felt so lonely in all his life.
Page 13
Every day he revisited
all their favorite places:
the waterfall,
the old mill, the rocks,
and the bridge.
Wherever he went,
he thought of Mario.
Max had not eaten for
several days. He began
to feel sick and soon
had to stay inside.
His parents were
very worried.
Page 14
Then one day his mother had an idea.
"If you miss Mario so much," she said,
"why don't we all go to the South and visit him?"
"It won't work," sighed Max.
Page 15
"Why not?"
"Because you can only get to the South by flying.
But not one of you knows how to fly!"
"Well, can't you teach us?" his mother asked.
Max was surprised. "You mean you want me
to teach you how to fly?"
"Yes, why not?"
his brother said.
Page 16
The next morning Max ate a big breakfast.
He was so excited that for the first time in days,
he did not think about Mario constantly.
"Let's get started!" he called,
and everyone gathered outside
for their first flying lesson.
Page 17
But flying was not for everyone.
Page 18
Luckily Max's family enjoyed the
lessons most and showed some
very promising signs.
"Once you get rid of
some extra pounds,"
said Max,
"I think you will
soon be able to fly!"
Page 19
Max put his family on a very healthy diet and exercise program.
Page 20
No more cookies, potato chips, sodas, or popcorn, but lots of huffing and puffing.
Page 21
"Doing something together with your own folks
can be a lot of fun!" thought Max.
Every day he gave them flying lessons.
Page 22
By wintertime the whole
family was able to soar
up into the sky.
Now they began to understand
why Max was so excited about flying.
Page 23
The months passed quickly.
Everyone in Max's family
was now an expert at flying.
Each day they learned something new.
Page 24
Max noticed that he talked more and more about flying skills,
performance, and formation and less about Mario and going
to the South. Yet Max felt good about it, because deep down
he knew that Mario would always be his best friend.
Never mind how far apart they were. And he hoped
that one day they would see each other again.
Page 25
When springtime finally returned Max and his family had become real artists. Everyone in the country watched the ducks' performances over and over again.
Page 26
They called themselves The Rising Seven. They were Max, his father, his mother, his brother, his two sisters, and...
Page 27
Mario, who had returned from the South with his family!
Now the two friends were together again.
And what a wonderful summer they were going to have!
