Dink figures he is smarter than the other ducks and ducklings and rather than waste his time swimming aimlessly around the pond, he floats around on a rubber raft quoting poetry. When the other ducklings are learning to fly so they can go south for the winter, Dinky lies under a shade tree sniffing the autumn air. He learns his lesson when the others fly south and he is left behind in the winter cold. But he luckily wins a free airplane-trip in a poetry contest and beats them there.