Tom, living on a farm now (owned by Old MacDonald if the music is anything to go by), swipes a newly laid egg from a duck's nest and proceeds to cook it. The little duckling obviously doesn't want to be eaten so he flees to Jerry's dwellings within the voids where they team up to thwart Tom.Yes, it is EXACTLY the same set-up as the previous short Hatch-Up Your Troubles, even to the extent of having the little bird peck through things and shout 'Mama'. I am so sick of these 'cute' little characters brought in to partner with Jerry. It's the same thing every time, right down to them smiling and walking off into the sunset as the cartoon irises out. A couple of good gags make up for it, but the duck is incredibly annoying.

Now here is something different: Tom versus a little chick, at least for awhile until Jerry comes to little fowl's aid. The story begins outdoors on a farm, which also is unusual for a T & J 'toon. Tom robs an egg while the mother duck is busy elsewhere. He races home and plans on making an omelet, except the egg hatches on the skillet.Running for his life after Tom tries to kill the poor bird, the little featured guy winds up in Jerry's mouse hole. He explains - this is talented chick who speaks English the moment he's born! - to Jerry what's going on, so Jerry turns Good Samaritan.Most of the time, Tom is doing his Lizzy Borden impression, trying to chop the little ones, so anything he gets in here he has coming to him! There are so some decent gags mixed in with a cute ending as the Jerry leads the little guy to find his mother, who then gets the man of the house to take care of bad 'ol Tom.

The Tom & Jerry show marked my childhood more than the Japanese cartoons and maybe equally than Diseny's full-length's films. The Little Quacker is an episode belonging the "second" era, the Hanna & Barbera series, which is funny and amusing at the same level as the first. I couldn't choose the best one. Unfortunately is the third "era", with Chuck Jones in the 60s, that created rubbish episodes, often plagiarizing the old pearls.This time (was 1950!) Tom steals an egg from a straw bed to prepare the breakfast, but when comes up a little duck he promptly opts for cooking him stuffed. Either Jerry and the duck won't agree Tom's idea.The best scene was at the end, when the mother of the little duck calls a sinister fellow-duck named "Irven" after she knew what Tom did, to give him a lesson (and he'll get it !). These cartoons were made by few people (in the credits I counted 8 men) with big imagination and great ideas. I admire them. The fact, in the end, exist relatively few episodes (maybe 80-100 in 20 years) of T&J series preserved them through the decades as immortal, and I'm not joking!

As one very astute viewer pointed out, this was the somewhat annoying little duck's first appearance in a Tom and Jerry cartoon. And, compared to the other ones, this one is exceptional. I think a lot of this is that this cartoon doesn't try to be so cutesy as the later ones they did--plus, it's got a healthy dose of violence and good story ideas.I duck egg is stolen from the nest, but when Tom is cracking it open to fry it, their is a fully formed hatchling inside. Well, not wanting to waste it, Tom decides to make roast duck! The duck runs away and hides in Jerry's hole. Together, they spend a lot of time avoid and foiling Tom's plans. Ultimately, the Momma duck returns and brings along her huge and tough duck hubby--who then uses the lawn mower on Tom's butt and so ends the cartoon.Once again, this is another wonderful Tom and Jerry cartoon. Like other ones from about 1941-1955, the animation is exceptional (probably better than the cartoons from Warners) and the plot is fun, though predictable.