A gentle retelling for listeners ages 3–5 of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale: a big gray duckling, teased in the farmyard, runs away through moor, cottage, and a hard winter, until one spring he bends his head down to the water among the swans and sees that he is a swan himself.
Read first 4 pagesThe opening of The Ugly Duckling: A Gentle Retelling, free to read.
Summer sun shone on golden fields. A mother duck was waiting upon her nest, tucked under giant leaves by an old stone house. "Oh, when will my eggs hatch?" she sighed.
Crack! Crack! "Peep! Peep!" Out popped little yellow heads. But the largest egg had not cracked. "That is a turkey's egg," said an old duck. "Leave it!" "I will sit a little while longer," said Mother Duck.
Crick, crack! The great egg broke open, and out crept a gray duckling. He was huge! The little yellow ducklings stared. "Goodness!" said Mother Duck. "Is he a turkey chick?"
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