丑小鸭the ugly ducklingOnce upon a time, there was a pond by a farm. Many animals lived there. There were forses, chickens, geese, and lots of ducks. A mother duck was sitting on her eggs in her nest. She sat on them for a long time. She kept them safe and warm.Finally, the eggs hatched. One by one, the baby ducklings stuck out their heads.Peep, peep, peep!Are you our mother?Yes, I am your mother. I’m so happy to see you.The world is so big!This is not the world. This is just the pond. The world is much bigger than the pond. There is also the farm and the field. There is so much to see.Suddenly, mother duck saw something in her nest.Oh, my! One egg has not hatched. And I look how big it is. I guess I’m not done yet.So she sat back down to keep the last egg warm. One of the older ducks came to visit mother duck.I heard your eggs hatched. What cute little ducklings you have. But why are you still sitting on your nest?I still have one egg left. See?Hmmm, that is too big for a duck egg. I think it is a turkey egg. Don’t waste your time with it.No, I must be a good mother duck. I’m sure it will hatch soon.Just then , the egg cracked. It rocked back and forth, and the crack got bigger and bigger. Suddenly, a head stuck out. Soon, two wings came out, then two long legs, then a whole baby bird. But this duckling looked different from the other ducklings. This one was gray. Mother duck’s other babies were white. And the new duckling’s beak and legs were black. The other ducklings had yellow beaks and legs. Also, mother duck’s other babies were all cute. But this duckling was ugly.Good morning, ma’am. Are you my mother?Awwww. He may be ugly, but he’s very nice. Yes, dear, I am your mother. And these are your brothers and sisters. Now we will all go to the pond and meet the other ducks.Mother duck waddled to the pond, and all the ducklings followed her in a line. When she got to the pond, mother duck jumped in. splash,splash, splash. All the little ducklings followed her into the pond. They all swam after her, even ugly duckling.Well, you’re not a turkey. Turkeys can’t swim, and you swim very well. You must be a duck. Let’s go , children. Stay in line.Mother duck led her children to the farm. All the other ducks were there swimming and looking for food. They were very happy to see motherduck’s new babies. But they didn’t like ugly duckling.What is he? He doesn’t look like a duck.I don’t know what he is . I’ve never seen anything so ugly.I don’t want him playing with my ducklings.He doesn’t belong here. We should chase him away.Suddenly, the angry duck bit ugly duckling on the neck.Ow! Mama, that hurt!Leave my baby alone. He didn’t do anything to you .He’s ugly,and we don’t like him.He may not be cute, but he’s very nice. And he’s a very good swimmer. We don’t care. We don’t want to look at him. Send him away.The other ducks agreed. Even the other baby ducklings agreed with the angry duck.You’re so ugly. You can’t be our brother.See how cute we are! You don’t look like us at all.You should go away.No one wants you here.Children , stop saying such mean things. Be nice to your brother.But ugly duckling thought they were right.I don’t belong here. Nobody likes me. I’m going to run away.Chapter 2He ran to the pond and jumped in. He swam and swam until he came to aswamp. It was late, so ugly duckling went to sleep in the tall grass. He was very sad and lonely. The next morning, he woke up and saw some strange ducks. These ducks weren’t white like the farm ducks. They were green and brown with spots on their wings. They were wild ducks. When they saw ugly duckling, they waddled over to him.Hello there. What are you?I’m a duck, I think. What are you?We’re wild ducks. We live here in the swamp. Where do you live?I used to live by the farm, but I was too ugly. Nobody liked me, so I ran away.Well, you’re right. You are an ugly duck. But you can stay with us. We like you.Ugly duckling was so happy. He finally found some friends.Thank you! Thank you very much!What was that noise?Oh, no! it’s hunters. Quickly , everyone fly away!The hunters were firing their guns. The wild ducks flew away, but ugly duckling was too small to fly. The hunters fired their guns for a long time. Some of the wild ducks got shot and fell to the ground. Big dogs ran to the dead ducks and carried them away. Ugly duckling was so frightened. He hid in the grass until everything was quiet. When he came out, all the wild ducks were gone. He was alone again.My new friends are gone. What will I do now? ugly duckling swam across the swamp until he came to a wide field. Suddenly, a storm rolled in. the wind was very strong. It picked him up and blew him across the field to a small house. Just then, and old woman opened the door.My goodness, what a storm! What’s this? A poor , little duckling. Are you lost, little one?Well, that’s ok. You can stay with us. I live with a cat and a hen. They will be your new friends.The kind old woman took him into the house. There was a fat hen sitting in a nest, and a striped cat lying near the fire place.Hello. It’s nice to meet you.What are you?I’m a duck.A duck? Well , you’re the ugliest duck I’ve ever seen. I’m a hen. I lay eggs for the old lady’s breakfast. Can you lay eggs?No, I don’t think so.I’m a cat. I sit on the old lady’s lap and purr. Can you purr?No, I can’t purr. But I can swim very well.Swimming? Who cares about swimming? You can’t do anything useful. No, hen. He can be useful. I’m hungry, and I can eat him. That is useful. The cat jumped at ugly duckling, but the little bird was too quick.He ran out of the door and across the field. He ran and ran until he cameto a quiet lake.The lake was beautiful. The water was blue and clear , and tall trees grew nearby.Ugly duckling lived by himself on the lake. He missed his mother, but he was happy that no one bothered him there.Chapter 3A long time passed. Spring became summer, then summer became fall. The trees by the lake turned bright yellow and red. The wind became colder and colder.Then one day, ugly duckling had some visitors. He saw a flock of the most beautiful birds he had ever seen. They were as big as geese, but they were as white as the clouds. They swam gracefully across the lake. Ugly duckling wanted to say hello, but he was afraid.I am too ugly. They would not like me . those birds are so beautiful. I wish I was like them. He hid under a bush until the beautiful birds flew away. That night, it got very ,very cold. Snow began to fall, and the lake froze into ice. Ugly duckling swam and swam to stay warm. But it wasn’t enough. He froze in the ice and couldn’t move.The next morning, the sun came out. It shined brightly on the fresh snow. It was a beautiful sight, but ugly duckling couldn’t see it . his eyes were frozen shut. A farmer was walking by the lake that morning. He saw the frozen duckling and ran over to him.Aww. You poor, little thing. You are so cold. I will help you . you will be warm in my house. My children will take good care of you. The farmer broke the ice around ugly duckling. Then he wrapped him up in his scarf and carried him home.Children, look what I found.What is it, papa?It’s a little duckling. He was frozen on the lake. Let’s put him by the fire. Then he will be warm.I’ll get a blanket for him.The farmer put the blanket by the fire. Then he put ugly duckling on the blanket to get warm. Slowly, he began to warm up. He could move his wings and legs again. Then he woke up.Look! He’s alive!Hooray! I want to pet him.No, me first. I want to pet him.No, he didn’t. he gave him to both of us.The children reached for ugly duckling. They only wanted to play with him, but he did not understand. He thought they wanted to hurt him. He was very scared. He flapped his wings as hard as he could , and flew out the door.Aww, the duckling flew away.That’s alright, children. He’s a wild bird. He’ll be ok.Tommy scared him. That’s why he flew away.Did not.Did tooChapter 4Ugly duckling flew back to his lake. He felt safe there. Finally winter turned into spring. The days were warmer, the trees turned green again, and the flowers bloomed.One morning, the beautiful white birds came back to the lake. Ugly duckling had been sad and alone for so long. He decided to try to make friends. He swam up to one of the white birds.Hello. Welcome to my lake. what kind of bird are you?We’re swans. Don’t you know what swans are?Swans? That’s a beautiful name. may I be your friend?Well, of course.Really? You like me , even if I’m ugly?You’re not ugly. You’re very handsome.This surprised ugly duckling. All his life, everyone said he was ugly. Now a beautiful swan said he was handsome. He looked down at the water.When he saw his reflection, he was even more surprised. He was not ugly! He was a swan!What happened to me? I was gray and ugly. Now I have beautiful whitefeathers.Of course. All our babies are gray. When we grow up, our feathers become white. We must fly away soon. Would you like to fly with us? Yes , please. But could we visit the farm first? I’d like to say good-bye to my mother.The swans flew away from the lake, and ugly duckling flew with them. Soon they landed in the pond by the farm. All the animals stared at the beautiful swans swimming in their pond. Ugly duckling found mother duck and swam over to her.Hello mother, do you remember me ? I’m your ugly duckling who ran away.You are? I’m so happy to see you again. Look at how big you’ve grown. You’re not a duck after all . what are you?I’m a swan. I wanted to say good-bye to you, before I flew away with the other swans.You can stay with us on the farm. I missed you when you ran away. No, I will stay with my new friends. I want you to know that I am very happy now.Thank you for being a good mother to me . good bye.Fly safely, my son. I’m glad you are happy. Good bye .The swans flew away to their summer home. One day, some children came to the lake with bread. They broke the bread into pieces , and fedthe pieces to the swans.Look! There’s a new swan.He’s so graceful. He’s the most beautiful swan of them all.But ugly duckling was not proud. He remembered how he felt when he was ugly. He was never mean to anyone because of how they looked.A few years later, he married a lady swan. When their eggs hatched, their babies were gray and ulgy. But ugly duckling smiled. He knew they would grow up to be beautiful swans like him.。
