Glen Ellyn, Illinois - A wild duck kept coming up to Lisa Plassman from behind, looking desperate. The woman finally realizes what the animal was trying to say: "Help!"

Lisa – the director at Westminster Preschool in Glen Ellyn, Illinois – was actually talking to some parents at the time, but the duck was relentless.

"I thought, 'This duck is asking me for help.' It was clear she was in distress," she said in an interview with The Dodo.

Finally, Plassman followed the concerned duck parent and found what the problem was.

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The bird had led her to a storm drain.

"So I walked over there, and I listened, and sure enough, there were little duck noises, little 'chirp, chirp, chirps,'" she recalled.

"I looked down, and there were 12 tiny ducklings at the bottom of this drain, and it's a pretty tall drain," Plassman added.

All of the ducklings had fallen through the grating of the manhole cover and were now trapped about a dozen feet below.

Plassman and her colleagues, who had rushed to the scene, first called the fire department for assistance. The fire department was working at full capacity at the time, however, and would not be able to come until later.

That meant one thing: It was up to the teachers to save the ducklings.

Plassman and the teachers saw that the mother duck, who kept running around in the street, was in danger as well due to her distress.

Something had to be done, and they were the ones who had to do it.

Together, they finally heaved the heavy manhole cover away.

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Then Plassman ventured over to the ducklings with a bucket in hand.

"I was a little nervous going down into the hole, but more just hoping there were no spiders down there," she said.

Eventually, she managed to guide the little ones into the container and carry them back to the top.

Once safely back on street level, she let them out of the bucket.

In a truly heartwarming moment, they scurried back to their waiting mother with great enthusiasm and relief.

"It was so beautiful and touching," she said. "Clearly, this mama was happy."