Very early one morning, birds began singing their merry good morning songs. The rising sun spread it's glow over a little farm, nestled in the valley below. Farmer Frank was busy doing his round of chores. Every morning he milked the cows, fed the pigs, let out the horses to graze in the pasture, and gathered eggs in the hen house. As he was gathering the eggs from the nests, he looked down at his favorite duck and hen. They were watching him from their nest of straw in the corner.

"Hey Dolly," Farmer Frank greeted his snow white duck. He bent down to reach under her. "What a big, wonderful egg you laid me. Thank you." He gently put the egg in his basket.

He looked down at the little hen he called Ester, short for his Easter egg chicken. Every day she laid a different colored egg. He bent down to collect the egg under her.

"Hey Ester, a blue egg this time!" Farmer Frank exclaimed. "This is a very pretty. Thank you." He gently put her egg in the basket too.

Dolly Duck and Ester Hen were the best of friends. Their days were lazy and happy, until one morning...

Farmer Frank came into the hen house to gather the eggs as usual. He first gathered the eggs from the nests above. Looking down, he couldn't believe his eyes, Ester's egg was alive with color. Picking it up, he spied her standing proudly by the feeder.

"Ester, this egg is beautiful!" He exclaimed, as he turned the egg over and over again, admiring its green, gray, pink, yellow, blue, brown and white colors. "I will call this my rainbow egg. You outdid yourself this time!" He reached under Dolly to collect her egg.

"Cluck, Cluck," Ester answered him, proudly strutting around the hen house.

Farmer Frank chuckled, as he picked up the egg basket and hurried over to his office. He put the basket down on his desk, picked up the phone to call his sister. He told her the great news. She was very excited and said that she will tell everyone about Ester's rainbow egg

People from far and near came to the farm. "What a magical looking egg!" They cried out, all excited about what had happened in their neighborhood.

As the days went by, Dolly Duck felt more and more unhappy and a little jealous. She wanted, but couldn't lay a colored egg. She watched the people come and go. All of them wanting to see the famous hen that laid the rainbow egg. Her friend preened and pranced about in front of the many admiring people.
"I guess she's attractive in her own way. She did lay that very pretty rainbow egg," thought Dolly Duck, as she listened to Ester Hen sing, "I laid a rainbow egg. I laid a rainbow egg."

"Of course Ester had to brag to all the other animals too," Dolly Duck waddled over to her favorite spot by the pond. She felt as if everyone forgot about her. She even made herself a different nest, so she didn't have to listen to Ester Hen brag.

That night, Dolly Duck hatched a plan…

Early the next morning, Dolly Duck sneaked out of the hen house. She chose some bright colors that were very pretty, and splashed them on some paper. Plopping her backside down onto the colors, Dolly Duck promptly went to her nest and sat down. She laid her egg and wiggled and fluffed upon it. Getting up to turn it over, she wiggled and fluffed one more time.

Looking down at her colored egg, she thought, "It isn't as pretty as Ester's, but it will have to do." She quickly hid her painted egg in the straw so no one could see it.

"I wonder if Farmer Jack will like my egg," Dolly Duck worried, as she waddled over to the pond to wash off the paint. All afternoon she splashed about lazily, thinking about the surprise she had to show Farmer Frank.

The next morning, Farmer Frank came to gather the eggs. When he saw Dolly's egg, he stepped back in surprise.

"Wow, what have we here, Dolly?" He asked, as he picked up the egg and tuned it over and over again. "You are very talented and smart to think of such a wonderful gift for me." He knew why Dolly Duck did it. Everyone fussed over Ester and Dolly Duck felt left out. He put the egg in his basket and reached down to pick up Dolly Duck. Smoothing her beautiful white feathers, he said. "It's o.k. Dolly, you made me a very pretty colored egg."

"Quack! Quack!" Dolly answered, perking up, very happy that Farmer Frank liked her egg.

He set Dolly down beside Ester, "I am very proud of you both," Farmer Jack said, petting Ester's head, then picked up her pink egg that was in the nest.

"Quack! Quack! Cluck! Cluck!" Dolly and Ester said together. Looking at each other, they followed Farmer Frank out of the hen house.

Smiling down at them, Farmer Frank quickly walked over to his office.  Looking down at Dolly's egg, he sat down at his desk, wondering what he'd tell everyone this time. "I shall tell everyone my duck is a very talented painter." He put the other eggs in the washer and put Dolly’s egg on his desk.

The phone rang as he entered his house. "Hello" It was his sister. He told her the good news. "Maybe you could get word out to everyone, that I have another wonderful surprise for them?"

“Wow, Dolly and Ester really are something! I’ll pass along the good news once more,” his sister said and hung up.

Back at the hen house, Ester Hen looked at Dolly Duck. "Why did you paint your egg?"

Dolly Duck looked shamefully down at the straw floor. "I guess I wanted a pretty rainbow egg too," she said quietly. "I was really jealous of your egg."

"I guess I acted quite awful about it all," Ester Hen said, as she looked apologetically at Dolly Duck.

"I didn't act any better," Dolly Duck admitted. "Every morning, you can lay a different colored egg. I was always a little jealous of that! When I saw that rainbow egg, that was too much for me to handle."

"That’s funny! I was very jealous of those large eggs you lay," laughed Ester Hen. It felt so good to confide in her friend again. "Farmer Frank always seemed happier with your eggs! Mine were colorful, but they were so much smaller."

"I guess we were both secretly jealous of each other all along," said Dolly Duck, hugging her friend. They strolled out together into the sunlight.

"You know," said Ester Hen, "You are quite talented! That large egg of yours looked almost like a painting." She sat down next to Dolly Duck on the soft grass by the pond. "This calls for a party! Let's celebrate our two rainbow eggs."

"No more showing off and bragging, right?" Dolly Duck said, as she looked over at her friend.

"No more bragging and showing off," agreed Ester Hen. "I promise!"

That night, as the sun was setting, all the farm animal gathered in the barn, They sang and danced the night away, until they were too tired to move. Farmer Frank wondered what all the mooing, oinking, clucking, quacking, whinnying was about and went outside to investigate. He opened the barn door and saw all his animals laying together. They looked tired out, but happy. Smiling, he quietly closed the door, and went back to the house.

The animals all gave their happy, contented sounds and fell asleep on a huge bed of straw.