An Interesting Children Story – The Ugly Duckling
This short story is about an ugly duckling that was never loved by his siblings. Read on to find out more.
An Interesting Children Story – The Ugly Duckling
A long time ago in a certain farm, a Mama Duck sat on her nest.
“For how long will I have to sit on my babies for them to hatch? I have to sit
here all day with no visitors to keep me company,” She thought to herself. But
what could she do? She is a Mama Duck and must keep her eggs warm for them to
hatch.
Finally, one of the eggs began to crack. Soon, little yellow
ducklings started stepping out of their shells. They shook their wings and
said, “Quack, quack! The Mama Duck was so happy that her eggs have finally
hatched. “You are all so beautiful,” the Mama Duck said. “Quack, quack!”
replied the little ducklings.
“Come and line up. We will journey down to the lake for your very
first swim,” she said. She counted the ducklings, one, two, three, four, five.
Oh! I should have six ducklings and not five. But one large egg in the nest was
yet to hatch. “Alright then, it looks like that big egg there needs more time
to hatch. We would have to reschedule our trip to the lake,” she said to the
little ducklings. She then went and sat on the large egg.
Early the next day, the big egg cracked and started to hatch. A
very big odd-looking bird came out of the shell. It was a baby boy bird and
much bigger than others. He wasn’t yellow like others. He was dark-gray from
his head to his feet. He had a funny wobble when he walks.
“What is that?” One of the little pointed at him, “he cannot be
one of us.”
“He is so ugly,” another one said.
“It is very wrong for you to say such things to your brother,”
said Mama Duck in a stern voice.
“You are only a day old! Your brother hatched from the very same
nest as you did and you must see him as family. Now line up all of you. We will
go to the lake for your very first swim.”
The little yellow ducklings kept quacking, “Ugly! Ugly! Ugly!” The
big duckling didn’t understand why the other ducklings were yelling at him. He
took the last spot as they journeyed to the lake.
When they got to the lake, each yellow duckling jumped into the
water and swam behind their mother. When it got to the big duckling’s turn, he
jumped into the water and started to paddle too. “He can swim very well,” Mama
Duck said to herself. After swimming, they left the lake and started to play on
land. The ugly tried to join his brothers and sisters to play, but they kept
calling him ugly and told him to go away. “We will not play with you! You are
very ugly and walk funny too, go away!” They yelled at him.
When Mama Duck was close by, she would not let them speak to him
in such a manner. “Be nice to him!” she would say to them. But she wasn’t
always close to them as she had to provide food for her kids.
One day when Mama Duck had gone out in search of food for her
kids, one of the yellow ducklings said to the ugly duckling, “you will do us a
great favor if you just left and never return.” They all started quack, “Get
out ugly duckling! Get out ugly duckling! The big ugly duckling felt and
thought to himself. “If I am not welcomed here, then I must leave.” That night
while they all slept, the ugly duckling left the nest and flew across the lake
to the other side. There he met two grown-up ducks.
“Please, can I stay here for a while?” the ugly duckling said to
them. “I have nowhere else to go.”
“We don’t really care if you stay here all your life, just don’t
get in our way,” said one of the grown-up ducks.
Suddenly, he heard a sound in the bush. “Woof! Woof!” A big hungry
dog was in pursuit of two ducks. The ducklings quickly flew up in the air with
their feathers flying all over the place. The poor ugly duckling froze to death
when the dog came up to him and sniffed him. The dog turned away and returned
to the path to which he came. “Maybe I am too ugly for the big hungry dog to
want,” said the big ugly duckling with his head held low.
The sky turned dark after some time. Then came a heavy downpour.
The ugly duckling was soaked through and through. Then a cold wind started to
blow. The ugly duckling was so cold that he held his wings close to his chest.
“If only I could get a place to keep warm and get dry.” Just then, he saw a
tiny light coming from a hut not far away. He flew to the door of the hut.
“Quack?” said the ugly duckling. The door of the hut creaked open and the duck
went in.
“what is all this noise?” said an old woman, looking from right to
left. Her eyes were not that good. She then looked down. “Ah, there you are, it
is a duck!” she picked up the ugly little duckling and dropped him close to the
fire to keep warm. “You can stay here, but only if you lay eggs,” the old woman
said. Just then, a tomcat and a hen crept up to the ugly duckling.
“Who do you think you are?” said the tomcat. “coming in here and
taking up a room by the fireplace.”
“I don’t need a competitor here, I alone lay the eggs,” said the
hen.
“I am not here to fight with anyone, by the way, I am a boy duck
and I can’t lay eggs,” said the ugly duckling.
“Then why are you still here? Said the tomcat. “Did you not hear
what the old woman said?”
“Leave here, pretender!” clucked the hen.
“Leave here! Leave here!” hissed the tomcat
The door of the hut was still slightly open, so the poor little
duckling slipped through the door and was back into the storm.
“No one wants anything to do with me,” said the ugly duckling with
a tear in his eye. the storm soon ended and he found himself close to a new
lake. When he walked closer to the lake and peer inside, he saw the reflection
of a flock of large white birds flying. When he looked overhead, he could not
believe what he saw. Above him were the most beautiful birds he had ever seen,
with their white bodies and slender necks which seems to help them glide
effortlessly through the sky. He was so fascinated by the view that he kept
watching until the very last bird had winged its way out of view.
He stayed close to the lake all by himself, and time passed. The
leaves of the trees turned red and gold and all the leaves fell to the ground.
the winter came, setting a blanket of white snow all over the place. The cold
wind and dark clouds made the duckling feel even more sad and lonely. The
winter was so unbearable for the duck. He had to go into the cold, cold lake to
fish, but it was getting hard to swim. The lake was gradually turning into
complete ice. One day, all he could do was paddle the water to keep it from
freezing around and trapping him in the lake.
“I am so tired!” said the ugly duckling as he kept paddling with
all his might. The ice got thicker and drew closer to him.
Just then, two giants hand held him and took him up. “You poor
thing!” said a farmer. He held the ugly duckling close to his thick wool jacket
and took him to his house.
The farmer placed the ugly duckling near the fireplace to keep
warm. Never was a fireplace more welcome! The farmer took care of
the duckling for the rest of the winter. Then spring came. Every plant was
gradually giving its green color again.
“It is time for you to go to the lake to swim again, as you were
born to do,” said the farmer. He took the duckling to the lake where he had
found him and set him with care on the water.
“Wow! I feel very strong,” said the young bird, flapping his
wings. “I have never felt as strong as I do right now!”
Just then, he heard a splashing sound behind him and turned
around. It was a flock of those same beautiful birds he had seen before in the sky.
They landed behind him. “Don’t worry, I will go now.” He said to them holding
out one wing. “I will not make trouble for you.” A big tear rolled down his
cheek as he turned to leave. When he opened his eyes again, he saw a reflection
in the water of one of those beautiful white birds. Why was it so close to him?
He jumped back and the reflection jumped back too.
“What is happening to me?” he said. He stretched his neck and the
reflection of the beautiful white birds did the same. “This can’t be true,” he
exclaimed.
“Why are you going so soon?” said one of the beautiful birds.
“Stay with us here, we will make great friends with you,” said
another.
Then, the bird who used to be ugly knew what had happened. He was
no longer an ugly gray bird that wobbled when he walked.
In a moment, all the swans flapped their wings and flew high into
the sky. “Come with us, take the lead,” they said to him. So he flapped his
wings fast and to his place in front of the whole flock. All his new friends
flapped their wings behind him.
“Who is an ugly duckling now? Surely, not me,” he said as he
glided through the sky.
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