Stories for kids
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00:00The Ugly Duckling
00:06On a beautiful summer day, a family of ducks is taking a swim while another is enjoying
00:10a stroll by the bank.
00:12But one duck is sitting on her eggs among the tall leaves.
00:15I wonder when my babies are going to come out.
00:18They are taking so long to hatch.
00:20It is so lonely.
00:22No one has the time to visit me.
00:23But Mommy Duck didn't have to wait too long.
00:26Soon the eggs started cracking and the little ducklings started taking small, unsteady steps
00:30out of their shells.
00:31Quack, quack, quack, quack.
00:33Oh, my babies are so beautiful.
00:36Now come and line up here, all of you.
00:39One, two, three, four, five.
00:43Hey, there should be one more.
00:46Mother Duck looked around and saw one egg which had not yet hatched.
00:49I think I will have to sit again on this egg till it hatches.
00:53It seems pretty large.
00:56Soon the last egg hatched, but the duckling that crept out was large and ugly.
01:01This little fellow doesn't look like his brothers and sisters.
01:05The next day, Mother Duck leads her brood to the water.
01:08Oh, I am proud today that my ducklings are swimming so well, and how well the youngest
01:14one is swimming.
01:17Come on, kids, that's enough for today.
01:19We must get to the farm before it turns dark.
01:22The duck family makes its way to the farmhouse where there were lots of other ducks.
01:27What is that strange-looking creature doing here?
01:31The other ducklings are so cute, but this one is so big and ugly.
01:35He is ugly.
01:37We don't want him here.
01:39That's not a nice thing to say.
01:41He is still small, and I'm sure he will grow up to be beautiful too.
01:47But the other ducklings continue to bully and make fun of the ugly duckling.
01:52I hope the ducklings stop this nonsense.
01:55I can't bear to see that poor child looking so sad.
02:00But as days went by, things started becoming worse for the ugly duckling.
02:05Wherever he went, everyone was mean to him.
02:08Have you ever seen anything uglier than this?
02:12Seeing this creature in the morning, my day will also be as ugly as he is.
02:18He seems to be getting uglier by the day.
02:21The ugly duckling just wanted to hide somewhere and cry.
02:25Even his brothers and sisters were rude to him.
02:28Mother Duck was very sad to see everyone treat the ugly duckling so badly.
02:32Nobody wants to talk to me or play with me because I am ugly.
02:38I will run away from here.
02:40So the ugly duckling flew over the fence of the farmyard and continued flying until he
02:44spotted a large moor.
02:46He decided to spend a night there.
02:48I am so tired.
02:51I think I will spend the night here.
02:53Next morning, the ugly duckling woke up to the sound of loud quacking.
02:57He opened his eyes and saw a flock of wild ducks.
02:59Who are you?
03:01What are you doing here?
03:03Can I please stay here for a while?
03:05I have nowhere to go.
03:07You are ugly.
03:11Stay here.
03:12Don't get in our way.
03:14The ugly duckling stayed on the moor for a few days.
03:17He felt lonely, but no one bullied him or hurt him because of his looks.
03:22One morning, the duckling heard a noise like a big bang.
03:25He lay still, too scared to move.
03:28When he finally lifted his head and looked around, all of the other ducks had fled.
03:32The ugly duckling also fled from the moor as fast as it could.
03:36It flew as fast as its young wings would take him.
03:39However, suddenly there was a thunder and lightning, scaring the little duckling.
03:43Brr.
03:45I am so wet and cold.
03:47That cottage there looks warm.
03:49Maybe I can take shelter there.
03:52The cottage belonged to an old lady who lived with her tomcat and hen, who found the duckling
03:56the next morning.
03:57What is happening here?
03:58Why are you making so much noise?
03:59What is this we have here?
04:00Looks like a duck, though a very ugly one.
04:01I know what I will do.
04:02I will keep it with me and wait for it to lay eggs.
04:04Then I will have eggs from my hen and from this duck, too.
04:19Ah, but I do hope that this is a duck and not a drake.
04:25So the ugly duckling stayed with the old lady in her cottage, but here also, the tomcat
04:29and hen made its life so miserable.
04:32Hey, you, don't you get scared when you see your face in the mirror?
04:36Look at me.
04:37My coat is so silky.
04:40Look at my whiskers, so long and beautiful.
04:43The mistress says my walk is so graceful.
04:45You are such a loser.
04:47You cannot even lay an egg.
04:50Look at my eggs, such lovely big and brown ones.
04:55The ugly duckling continued to be lonely.
04:57He would sit in front of the window looking at the small pond outside.
05:01Somehow I wish I could swim in that pond.
05:03It used to be so nice when I swam in the cool water back home.
05:08Are you mad?
05:10The mistress isn't going to let you go.
05:12You have a safe house.
05:14What more do you want?
05:15Behave yourself and don't anger the mistress, the cat, or even me.
05:21Want to swim, indeed!
05:23The ugly duckling felt very, very sad, wondering what to do.
05:27I know this place is safe, but I feel like a prisoner here, being punished by being not
05:34allowed to swim.
05:36I want to swim.
05:38I want to be free to swim and fly as I please.
05:42I have to escape from here somehow.
05:44So one night, the duckling quietly crept out of the cottage and went in search of a new
05:48home.
05:49Soon he found a beautiful lake where he could swim and dive.
05:54Ah!
05:57This is such a lovely place.
05:59Feels so good to swim after so long.
06:03I hope the other animals and birds here are friendly, so I don't have to move away from
06:08here also.
06:09But alas, here too the other animals did not want to be friends with the ugly duckling.
06:14Why does everybody keep avoiding me?
06:17Just because I am ugly doesn't mean everyone has to be mean.
06:22No one wants to play with me or even talk to me.
06:25So life continued in this miserable way for the ugly duckling.
06:29Soon the seasons changed, autumn set in, and the color of the leaves changed from red to
06:34orange and then gold.
06:36Winter followed, the forest turned white, and a very cold wind set in.
06:41The dark clouds made the duckling feel even more gloomy and sad, so the duckling decided
06:46to go to the lakeside, and what a lovely sight he saw there.
06:50What are these beautiful birds?
06:52I don't think I have seen them before.
06:54Look how beautifully they spread their large wings.
06:58Looks like they are not flying, but just gliding through the sky.
07:02Though the winter grew colder, the duckling continued to swim despite the freezing water
07:07and then finally took refuge in some bushes.
07:10Finally it was spring again, plants started sprouting, and a sun peeped down from the
07:14sky.
07:15The duckling was so happy that it was becoming warm again.
07:18Everything around me has become so beautiful.
07:21My wings have also become strong, and I can now swim in the pond close by.
07:27Suddenly, the duckling once again saw the same beautiful birds that he had seen at the
07:30start of spring, and quickly ran and hid behind some bushes.
07:34Those birds are so beautiful.
07:36I better not go near them, or they too will make fun of me.
07:42I am so scared that they might kill me.
07:44I am so tired of being picked on by everybody.
07:48Just the ducklings at the farm, my own brothers and sisters, the hen and tomcat at the cottage,
07:55and everybody else.
07:57I wish I had never been born.
08:02The duckling went to a quiet spot on a lake where nobody could see him.
08:05He was very, very sad, and big fat tears rolled down its face.
08:10Suddenly the duckling saw its own reflection in the lake and couldn't believe his eyes,
08:14Before staring at him, in the clear water below, was his own reflection.
08:19No longer a dark, gray bird, ugly and repulsive to look at, instead he had turned into a graceful
08:25and beautiful swan.
08:27The ugly duckling had transformed into a beautiful swan!
08:31All of the other swans came to greet the newcomer and stroked his neck with their beaks.
08:35Finally, the ugly little thing was accepted and loved by his new friends, to whom he belonged,
08:40the beautiful and graceful swans.
08:43A family with two children came to see the swan swimming.
08:46Look!
08:47There is a new one!
08:48Father!
08:49Mother!
08:50Come here!
08:51There is another swan!
08:52A new one has arrived!
08:53The new one is the most beautiful of all!
08:57Oh, he is so young and pretty!
09:02The swan did not know how to react to so much praise.
09:05He felt shy and tried to hide his face.
09:07After being mocked and taunted and bullied for so long, he couldn't believe he was being
09:12appreciated and accepted, and he was actually being called beautiful.
09:17I never dreamt that I would see a day where someone would call me beautiful!
09:22I wish I had received the same love and affection when I was the little and ugly creature.
09:27I wouldn't have spent such a sad childhood.
09:31Why do people treat others according to their looks?
09:34That is so, so sad!