Ducky

Ducky (also known as Devoted Ducky) is the secondary female character one of the original five main characters in the Land Before Time franchise, and one of only three characters to appear in every movie and episode of the TV series.

Her species has been disputed by fans and critics to be one of such species as Saurolophus, Anatosaurus, and Parasaurolophus. Though her appearance is almost identical to Saurolophus, and she has been identified as one in The Land Before Time Sing-Along Songs video, she has been called a Parasaurolophus in most other official merchandise and media, and has even been called an Anatosaurus in a script for the original film. She is one of many creatures called a "Swimmer", and is also called a "Bigmouth", or a "duck-bill" by the characters in the films.

Ducky is very out-going, positive, and is loving to her friends and family. She lives with her mother and father, multiple biological siblings, and an adopted Stegosaurus (which is referred to as a "Spiketail" in the franchise) named Spike, who is also a main character of the franchise. Together, they are friends with the other main characters, Littlefoot, Cera, Petrie, Chomper, and Ruby. In most cases, Ducky is listed after Littlefoot and Cera, and before Petrie and Spike, Chomper, and Ruby, but sometimes Spike is listed after Cera and before Ducky.

The character of Ducky has been received well by critics, and has had considerable influence on culture, being featured in a large amount of The Land Before Time-related merchandise, and being a focus point in numerous fanfictions. She is most well known for frequently saying "Yep, yep, yep" and "Nope, nope, nope", both of which are frequently quoted in everyday culture and media.

## Character

### Personality

Ducky has a very sweet, optimistic and innocent personality. She is gentle and sympathetic, and often tries to make peace during group conflicts. An example is in 7}}, when she felt sorry for Petrie]] after he had been hurt by Cera]]'s accusations that he was inquiring Littlefoot]] about the stone in order to give his uncle the information, and wanted to comfort him over it. Another example is in the TV episode 3, when she, after the others failed to convince Kosh]] to let them have any grapes (called "Sweet bubbles" by the characters]]) softly explained to him that they needed them to give to Ruby]] for her star day (a *Land Before Time* term for "birthday"), which caused him to change his mind. Also, in the episode 23}}, Ducky was the only one in the Great Valley]] who readily accepted the Sand Creepers]], and she attentively watched over them, making sure that they stayed out of the dinosaurs' way, and that they were quiet when the other residents of the valley were sleeping. Her friendship with the sand creepers and her optimistic outlook lead them to call her, in their language "Smiley Softshell".

Ducky does not express anger very often, and is in fact so unused to being angry, that in the 8th film, she had to ask Cera for advice on how to show her feelings when she was mad at Spike for keeping her awake at night, eating her treestars and making Mr. Thicknose mad at her. However, upon taking Cera's advice, and giving Spike the cold shoulder, she found she did not like behaving in this way and gave it up. At the end of the movie she was grateful that Spike had decided to return to the Great Valley, and that their mother had saved him from drowning after he accidentally fell into a pool of deep water, and she told him she would no longer mind if he snored (referred to as "sleep rumbling" by the characters) at night.

She is also very naive, and can be easily manipulated to believe that some things may be right when in fact they might lead to trouble. This was first shown in 1, when Cera convinced her that a certain route to the Great Valley was easier than the way up a mountain of loose rocks. This leads to danger, as Ducky and Spike ended up lost, and almost swallowed up by lava. Earlier, she believed Cera's claims that she bravely stood up to Sharptooth in the Big Underground, without hesitation, while Littlefoot remained much more skeptical.

A different side to her personality is seen in the episode 24. When Ducky had better luck finding the sky-color stones (which are geodes) than Cera and Ruby, she became greedy and secretive, trying to find as many of the stones as she could, and hiding them away. She also put her hunt for the stones in front of helping Spike, who at the time was stuck halfway through a small entrance within the cave, where the stones were located. She reformed, however, after tripping over her stash and nearly falling down a cliff, together with all of the stones, and being rescued by the other girls.

### Linguistics

Ducky has a number of speech-related issues, although hers are not as severe as Petrie's. Ducky tends to avoid using generalizations and contractions, except on a few occasions when she is singing. She also misuses and makes up past-tense words such as *Found* or *Ate*; preferring to say "Finded" and "Eated". She also occasionally doubles the "ed" suffix of past tense words, notably with her usage of "Scareded" over the proper "Scared".