It was a lovely summer day in the country. Mother Duck sat on her eggs for a long time. After a while, one by one, ducklings came out of the eggs.

  (Ducklings) “Peep, peep!” “Peep, peep!”

  (Mother Duck) “Quack, quack! Are you all out?”

  (Ducklings) “No, one egg is still here. Look how big it is!”

  At last, the big came open. This duckling was very big and very ugly!”

  (Mother Duck) “Oh, my!  This duckling is big and ugly. I wonder if it is a turkey. We will soon find out.”

  Mother Duck took her ducklings to the water. One after another, the little ducklings jumped in the water. The Ugly Duckling also jumped in the water and swam very well.

  (Mother Duck) “Oh, he is not a turkey. Turkeys can’t swim. He is my child. Let’s go to the farmyard.

(AnimalA) “Look at that duckling!”

(AnimalB) “He looks so strange.”

(AnimalA) “He is so big and ugly. Go away!”

(AnimalB) “Please, leave him alone”.

But the ducks pecked the Ugly Duckling . All the animals in the farmyard bit him and pushed him, too.

 (AnimalA) “I wish the cat could eat you !”

  (Mother Duck) “You should never have been born.”

So the poor, little duckling was very sad. Finally, he ran away.

 (Ugly Ducking ):“Why does everyone hate me ? Is it because I am so ugly?  .”

   The Ugly Ducking met two wild ducks.

(AnimalA) “What kind of duck are you?”

(AnimalB) “You are really ugly. But that’s OK, if you don’t marry one of our family.”

   Then, the Ugly Duckling heard, “Pop, pop!” And the two wild ducks fell dead.

   (Ugly Duckling ) “Oh,  No one wants me.”

    A storm began. The rain and lightning terrified the Ugly Duckling. He was so cold and wet! Finally, he arrived at a cottage. An old woman, a cat, and a hen lived in this cottage.

(Ugly Ducking ) “May I have some food?”

(The old woman) “Oh, what a prize! Is it a fat duck? Now, I can have duck’s eggs.”

So, the duckling lived there for a few days. But the hen and the cat said to the duckling.

(AnimalA) “I can lay eggs, can you do that?”

(Ugly Ducking ) “No.”

(AnimalB) “ I can catch a mouse. Can you do that?”

(Ugly Ducking ) “No”.

(AnimalA) “Then, what can you do?”

(Ugly Ducking ) “ I can swim.”

(AnimalA) “Oh, no one should swim! You will surely drown!”

(Ugly Ducking ) “ I won’t drown.”

 (AnimalB) “ You are a big liar!”

So, the poor duckling left the cottage.

 Soon, summer turned into fall. The ugly duckling swam in the pond. A group of swans flew over the duckling.

(Ugly Ducking ) “ What beautiful birds! I wish I could be like them.”

The weather grew colder and colder. Now, winter came.

(Ugly Ducking ) “ I must swim and swim, or the pond will freeze around me. ”

Early in the morning , a farmer saw the frozen duckling.

 (AnimalA) “Oh, poor duckling! I’ll take you home.”

Soon, the duckling got well. But the children wanted to play with the duckling!

(AnimalA and AnimalB) “Come and play with us!”

The duckling was scared. Finally, he ran out of the door.

A beautiful spring came. One day, his wings felt very strong. So, he flapped them against his sides and flew high into the sky.

(Ugly Duckling ) “Wow, I can fly so high! What’s happened to me?”

 The ugly duckling saw a beautiful garden with a pond. He decided to rest there for a while. Just then , he saw  three swans in the pond. He remembered the beautiful birds.

(Ugly Duckling ) “I want to stay with these beautiful birds. But they will kill me because I am so ugly. At least, I will die happily, if I can be with them for a while.”

So, he swam towards the swans.

(Ugly Duckling ) “Peck me, if you must.”

And he bent his head down to the surface of the water. The Ugly Duckling saw a beautiful swan looking back at him in the water!

(Ugly Duckling ) “Oh ! Is that really me? I am a beautiful swan! I am not an ugly duckling after all!”

Some children came to the pond and threw pieces of bread into the water.

(together)“Look , there is another swan! This new one is the most beautiful of all!”

The Ugly Duckling was so happy. And now, he knew where he belonged.

1 who’s the author?

  Andersen.

2 What did he write?

  << The princess and the peas>>

3 If you are the ugly duckling, what will you do?

  I will wait, and work hard.

4 Will you laugh at the ugly duckling? What will you do?

  No, I won’t. I will help him.

5 What does this story tell us?

  Do not judge people  by their appearance.