Many years ago Duck lived on safe and sheltered pond, along with lots of other animals of her kind.  They never left this area because of their fear of Mulloka, the Water Devil.  However, one day, Duck decided to leave her secure surroundings.  She ignored the wise advice of her elders, who insisted she remained.  Once she left the pond, Duck headed off downstream until she arrived at luscious piece of grass on the side of the river.  After looking around, Duck climbed out of the river and onto the grass, unaware that this was were the lonely Water-rat lived.

Duck had not noticed the nearby entrance to Water-rat's burrow, but he had heard her arrival.  He ran out of his home, threatening her with his spear and before Duck could escape he grabbed hold of her and pulled her into his underground lair.  Water-rat then forced her to mate with him.  Several times she tried to leave the burrow but he was always able to keep her as his prisoner.  Eventually, after several weeks she managed to escape and returned to the safety of the pond she had left.

After a short while she had almost forgotten what had happened between her and Water-rat, until the time to lay eggs arrived.  All the ducks retired to their nests in the reeds to lay their eggs and rear their young.  After all the off-spring had hatched, it was time for everyone to show-off their new families.  All the other females had young that were identical to themselves.  However Duck was ashamed and embarrassed about her two young that looked totally out of place.  They both had bills and webbed feet, but that is were the similarities ended.  Instead of the usual two feet, they had four, and instead of feathers they were covered in fur, in addition to this they had a sharp spike, similar to Water-rat's spear, on each hind leg.

Duck's friends were very unforgiving about what had obviously happened.  They taunted her ceaselessly until she was forced to move to another part of the river with her young, away from the safe pond.  Her young were the first members of the platypus race.