Read And Listen The Ugly Duckling Story | A Best Classic Bedtime Story For Kids
Listen To The Ugly Duckling Story (Audio)
Once upon a time, on a lovely farm, there was a mother duck sitting on her nest, waiting for her eggs to hatch. One by one, the eggs cracked open, and out came six beautiful, fluffy yellow ducklings. But the last egg was bigger than the others, and when it finally hatched, out came a large, gray duckling. He didn’t look like the other ducklings at all. He was awkward and much larger, with dark gray feathers instead of soft yellow ones.
The Ugly Duckling is Born
The other animals on the farm teased the poor little duckling. “Look at him!” they would say. “He’s so ugly!” The poor duckling was so sad and lonely. Even his own brothers and sisters were unkind to him. They pecked at him, pushed him aside, and told him he didn’t belong.
The mother duck tried to comfort her ugly duckling, but even she couldn’t help but wonder why he looked so different from her other children. “Maybe you’ll grow up to look like the others,” she told him gently. But the ugly duckling didn’t believe her.
The Ugly Duckling Leaves the Farm
Tired of being mistreated, the ugly duckling decided to run away from the farm. He wandered alone, feeling sad and confused. Wherever he went, the other animals made fun of him for being so ugly. He tried to find a place where he could fit in, but no one wanted to be around him.
As autumn turned to winter, the days grew colder, and the ugly duckling struggled to survive. He shivered in the freezing winds and hid from hunters. He felt more miserable than ever.
A Beautiful Transformation
Finally, after a long, harsh winter, spring arrived. The ugly duckling had grown bigger and stronger over the winter, but he still felt out of place. One day, while swimming in a pond, he saw a group of beautiful swans gliding gracefully on the water. They were so elegant and majestic that the ugly duckling felt sadder than ever. “I wish I could be as beautiful as they are,” he thought.
As he swam closer to the swans, they looked at him with kind eyes, not with the teasing or cruelty he had known before. The ugly duckling lowered his head and saw his reflection in the water. To his surprise, he wasn’t an ugly duckling anymore! He had grown into a beautiful, white swan. The other swans welcomed him, and he finally realized that he wasn’t a duckling at all, he had been a swan all along!
Happily Ever After
The beautiful swan was finally happy. He had found a place where he belonged, and he no longer felt ugly or out of place. He swam gracefully with the other swans, knowing that he had always been beautiful, it just took him some time to see it.
Comprehension Questions
- What made the ugly duckling feel different from his siblings?
- Why did the other animals on the farm tease the ugly duckling?
- What did the ugly duckling do when he couldn’t handle the teasing anymore?
- How did the ugly duckling survive the winter?
- What did the ugly duckling realize when he saw his reflection in the pond?
- What is the moral lesson of this story?
Moral of the Story
The story of The Ugly Duckling teaches us that appearances can be deceiving, and we should never judge ourselves or others based on how we look. It also shows that everyone has their own unique beauty, and sometimes it takes time for that beauty to fully bloom.
Important Note:
The story of The Ugly Duckling was originally written by Hans Christian Andersen and first published in 1843. This version has been rewritten in simple words to make it easy for children to read and understand. The timeless tale continues to teach important life lessons about self-acceptance and personal growth.
