MONETARY WINDFALLS

FC0029 The Mummy's Ring

Donald is a millionaire!!! Despite his eternal strive to make ends meet in the stories, he must have a pretty sum stashed away somewhere. Just look at these monetary examples:
FC0029 The Mummy's Ring (chest filled with priceless valuables), FC0263 Trail of the Unicorn (1,000,000 dollars), FC0422 The Gilded Man (50,000 dollars), WDCS130 'The Rare Coin' (20,000 dollars), and WDCS211 'The Coconutty Story' (money to burn...)!

WINNING DAISY

In almost all of Barks' stories with Daisy she is portrayed as Donald's girlfriend, although she is seen to have an occasional weakness for Gladstone as well. So it is a much greater triumph for Donald when he manages to win Daisy in the end. Examples:
WDCS079 'Poetic Picnic', WDCS139 'The Racing Pigeon', WDCS225 'Volunteer Fireman', WDCS243 Turkey Trouble, WDCS250 Boxed-in, and WDCS288 Hero of the Dike.

EXPERTISM

In a number of stories Donald thoroughly impressed us by being an unequalled expert at highly different jobs such as blacksmith, rainmaker, mover, glazier, wrecker, or diver, but in the end he usually failed miserably. Still, in a few expert stories he managed to avoid exile in faraway places. Examples:
WDCS272 Spare that Hair (hair dresser), WDCS297 Monkey Business (sound doctor), and WDCS308 The Beauty Business (beautician).

HONOURS

It is not often that Donald ends up a winner, and sometimes his winnings are not 'just' great amounts of tangible cash. Examples of very diverse last-second, non-cash windfalls:
FC0062 Frozen Gold (the Key to an Alaskan city), FC0159 Ghost of the Grotto (the Key to an island city), FC0256 Luck of the North (finding a unique, ancient Norse map of North America), WDCS068 'The Monster Kite' (titled The World's Greatest Kite Maker), and WDCS205 'The Prize Apples' (winning the grand prize at a farmers' fair)...

LAW OBEYING

Donald successfully performed several law obeying deeds ending with the neutralization of dangerous criminals. Examples:
In FC0108 Terror of the River Donald finally succeeds in overcoming the insane person, who almost killed him. In FC0108 The Fire Bug Donald manages to catch a pyromaniac dressed as a policeman. In FC0199 Sheriff of Bullet Valley, a pastiche of the old West, Barks parodies the lone gunman, in this case Donald, who successfully battles the villain in the usual showdown in the end.

BITTERSWEET ENDINGS

WDCS158 'To Bee or Not to Bee'

In several stories Donald had to overcome colossal odds stacked against him, and he would often end up disheartened to boot. But in a few stories he managed to shake off his misfortunes in the end despite continuous setbacks. Examples:
In WDCS158 'To Bee or Not to Bee' he was grateful for bread with honey after having been hospitalized, and in WDCS188 'Olympic Tryouts' he failed to be Duckburg's representative for The Olympic Games, but he was very happy with the inscribed cup presented to him by his proud nephews.

PATRIOTISM

FC0308 Dangerous Disguise

As most Americans Barks was a patriot all of his life, and it was only natural that he let some of this characteristic rub off on Donald in a few stories, too. Examples:
FC0308 Dangerous Disguise (helping to unravel a spy organisation), WDCS114 'Skiing with Serum' (foiling a spy plot), WDCS244 Missile Fizzle (stopping a terrorist), and WDCS278 Have Gun, Will Dance (putting an end to a spy ring).

HEROISM

Donald is best known for causing havoc in Duckburg (WDCS158 'To Bee or Not to Bee', WDCS201 'To Dye or Not to Dye', and WDCS254 Jet Witch are prime examples!), but he has also been seen trying to rescue the citizens of his hometown on a number of occasions. Examples:
WDCS198 'Hero of the Ball' and WDCS288 Hero of the Dike.

SMALL VICTORIES

Some of Donald's triumphs are rather small due to his own miscalculations. Examples:
In WDCS099 'Radio Quiz Show' he is so confused that he is hilariously happy winning a tricycle instead of a barrel of money, and in WDCS262 Way out Yonder he manages to find a priceless fossil. But he also has to pay for wrecked bikes and a visit to the doctor. Total profit: 5 cents! Still Donald shines like a new penny...

PARENTALISM

In several stories Donald actually acted as a responsible and knowing parent towards his nephews. Examples:
In VP1 Vacation Time he instructs them in setting up camp and how to behave in the forest, and he actually rescues their lives in connection with a big forest fire that would have killed them all, had Donald not been clear-sighted enough to know what to do. In WDCS063 'A Good Deed Indeed' an unfortunate little girl's lost grocery money starts several turbulent events. They all spring from the fact that Donald wishes to show his nephews that a decision such as finding the rightful owner is in itself a fulfilling and constructive action. And, against all odds, they succeed (the last panel's haloes were provided by the publisher). In WDCS199 'Bigger and Bigger' Donald teaches his nephews about nature in abstract form in a successful and convincing manner quite unlike him.

ANIMAL CARE

WDCS108 'The Frog Jumping Contest'

In several stories Donald has had many run-ins with animals such as ants, horses, eagles, foxes, fish, parrots, and many more, and typically he has lost the confrontations mostly due to lack of knowledge or patience. Still, in a few instances he came out triumphantly. Examples:
In FC0159 Adventure Down Under Donald rescues the somewhat menacing kangaroo Mournful Mary from certain death by adopting her and taking her back to Duckburg. In WDCS108 'The Frog Jumping Contest' Donald struggles with a frog that can leap extremely well but is afraid of cold. In the end Donald manages to make the frog a winner after all. In WDCS240 The Fraidy Falcon Donald experiences a number of setbacks when he tries to train an extremely timid falcon called Castaway, but in the very end his tireless efforts bear fruit.

TAMPERING GLADSTONE

WDCS103 'The Maharajah's Ruby'

Donald very rarely triumphs over Gladstone, but in a few stories he seems to have taken over the luckster's immense luck - at least in the end. Examples:
In WDCS103 'The Maharajah's Ruby' he not only collects the reward, he is also able to get Gladstone as his chauffeur for his new gas-guzzler. WDCS167 'The Salmon Derby' ended with almost the same scenario; Gladstone drives home in his new car after winning a fishing contest over Donald, but the latter drives home in a far bigger car after having saved a little girl's life. WDCS136 'Turkey Trouble' ended with Donald joyously gloating while watching Gladstone dragging off with 3 raffle turkeys that he was unable to even give away. In WDCS0308 The Not-So-Ancient Mariner Donald really nails his opponent for good (this is the last story with Gladstone), as he wins the fair Daisy, while Gladstone is left in a deckchair.