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4 丑小鸭 the ugly duckling

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Chapter 1

Once upon a time, there was a pond by a farm. Many animals lived there.

There were horses, 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 some thing 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 mother

duck’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 any thing 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 any thing 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. No body likes me. I’m going to run away.

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Chapter 2       

He ran to the pond and jumped in. He swam and swam until he came to a

swamp. 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. No body 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 , every one 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 every thing 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.

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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 any thing 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 came

to a quiet lake.

The lake was beautiful. The water was blue and clear , and tall trees grew

near by.

Ugly duckling lived by himself on the lake. He missed his mother, but he

was happy that no one bothered him there.