The Ugly Duckling
On a beautiful summer day, a family of ducks is taking a swim
while another is enjoying a stroll by the bank
But one duck is sitting on her eggs among the tall leaves
I wonder when my babies are going to come out
They are taking so long to hatch!
It is so lonely, no one has the time to visit me
But Mommy duck didn’t have to wait too long
Soon the eggs started cracking and the little ducklings started taking small
unsteady steps out of the shells
Quack quack, quack quack.
Oooh, my babies are so beautiful!
Now come and line up here all of you
One..Two..Three..Four…Five.. Hey, there should be one more
Mother duck looked around and saw one egg which had not yet hatched
I think I will have to sit again on this egg till it hatches
It seems pretty large
Soon the last egg hatched, but the duckling that crept out was large and ugly
This little fellow doesn’t look like his brothers and sisters
The next day Mother Duck leads her brood to the water
Oh.. I am proud today that my ducklings are swimming so well
And how well the youngest one is swimming
Come on kids, that’s enough for today we must get to the farm before it turns dark
The duck family makes its way to the farm house where there are lots of other ducks
What is that strange looking creature doing here?
The other ducklings are so cute but this one is so big and ugly
He is ugly we don't want him here
That’s not a nice thing to say he is still small
and I’m sure he will grow up to be beautiful too
But the other ducklings continued to bully and make fun of the ugly duckling
I hope the ducklings stop this nonsense
I can’t bear to see that poor child looking so sad
But as days went by, things started becoming worse for the ugly duckling
Wherever he went everyone was mean to him
Have you ever seen anything uglier than this?
Uff! seeing this creature in the morning my day will also be as ugly as he is
Ha..Ha…he seems to be getting uglier by the day
The Ugly Duckling just wanted to hide somewhere and cry
Even his brothers and sisters were rude to him
Mother Duck was very sad to see everyone treat the ugly ducking so badly
Nobody wants to talk to me or play with me because I am ugly
I will run away from here
So the ugly duckling flew over the fence of the farmyard
and continued flying till he spotted a large moor
He decided to spend the night there
I am so tired
I think I will spend the night here
Next morning the ugly duckling woke up to the sound of loud quacking
He opened his eyes and saw a flock of wild ducks
Who are you? What are you doing here?
Can I please stay here for a while I have nowhere to go
You are ugly
Stay here,but don’t get in our way
The Ugly Duckling stayed on the moor for a few days
He felt lonely but no one bullied him or hurt him because of his looks
One morning, the duckling heard a noise like a big bang
He lay still, too scared to move
When he finally lifted his head and looked around, all the other ducks had fled
The ugly duckling also fled from the moor as fast as it could
It flew as fast as its young wings would take him
However suddenly there was thunder and lightning scaring the little duckling
Brrr.
I am so wet and cold
That cottage there looks warm maybe I can take shelter there
The cottage belonged to an old lady who lived with with her tomcat and hen
who found the duckling the next morning
What is happening here? why are you making so much noise
What is this we have here? looks like a duck though a very ugly one
I know what I will do
I will keep it with me and wait for it to lay eggs
Then I will have eggs from my hen and from this duck too
Ah, but I do hope this is a duck and not a drake
So the ugly duckling stayed with the old lady in her cottage
But here also the tomcat and the hen made its life so miserable
Hey you, don’t you get scared when you see your face in the mirror?
Look at me My coat is so silky Look at my whiskers so long and beautiful
The mistress says my walk is so graceful
You are such a loser you cannot even lay an egg
Look at my eggs such lovely big and brown ones
The ugly duckling continued to be lonely
He would sit in front of the window looking at the small pond outside
How I wish I could swim in that pond
It used to be so nice when I swam in the cool water back home
Are you mad?
The mistress isn't going to let you go You have a safe house
what more do you want?
Behave yourself and don’t anger the mistress the cat or even me
Want to swim, indeed!
The ugly duckling felt very very sad wondering what to do?
I know this place is safe but I feel like a prisoner here
being punished by not being allowed to swim
I want to swim I want to be free to swim and fly as I please
I have to escape from here somehow
So one night, the duckling quietly crept out of the cottage and went in search of a new home
Soon he found a beautiful lake where he could swim and dive
Ahhhhh!
This is such a lovely place It so good to swim after so long
I hope the other animals and birds here are friendly
so I don’t have to move away from here also
But alas, here too the other animals did not want to be friends with the ugly duckling
Why does everybody keep avoiding me?
Just because I am ugly, it doesn’t mean everyone has to be mean
No one wants to play with me or even talk to me
So life continued in this miserable way for the ugly duckling
Soon the seasons changed Autumn set in
and the colour of the leaves changed from red to orange and then gold
Winter followed the forest turned white and a very cold wind set in
The dark clouds made the duckling feeling even more gloomy and sad
so the duckling decided to go to the lakeside
And what a lovely sight he saw there
What are these beautiful birds? I don’t think I have seen them before
How beautifully they spread their large wings
It looks like they are not flying but just gliding through the sky
Though the winter grew colder
the duckling continued to swim despite the freezing water
and then finally took refuge in some bushes
Finally, it was spring again
Plants started sprouting and the sun peeped down from the sky
The duckling was so happy that it was becoming warm again
Everything around me has become so beautiful
My wings have also become strong and I can now swim in the pond close by
Suddenly, the duckling once again saw the same beautiful birds
that he had seen at the start of spring
and quickly ran and hid behind some bushes
Those birds are so beautiful
I better not go near them or they too will make fun of me
I am so scared that they might even kill me
I am so tired of being picked on by everybody
first the ducklings at the farm my own brothers and sisters
the hen and tomcat at the cottage and everybody else
I wish I had never been born
The duckling went to a quiet spot on the lake where nobody could see him
He was very very sad and big fat tears rolled down its face
Suddenly the duckling saw its own reflection in the lake
and couldn’t believe its eyes!
For staring at him in the clear water below was his own reflection
no longer a dark grey bird ugly and repulsive to look at
Instead, he had turned into a graceful and beautiful swan
The ugly duckling had transformed into a beautiful swan
All the other swans came to greet the new comer and stroked his neck with their beaks
Finally, the ugly little thing was accepted and loved by his new friends to whom he belonged
the beautiful and graceful swans
A family with two children came to see the swans swimming
Look there is a new one Father mother come here
there is another swan A new one has arrived
The new one is the most beautiful of all
Oh, he is so young and pretty
The swan did not know how to react to so much praise
He felt shy and tried to hide his face
After being mocked and taunted and bullied for so long
he couldn't believe he was being appreciated and accepted
And he was actually being called beautiful
I never dreamt that I would see a day when someone would call me beautiful
I wish I had received the same love and affection
when I was the little and ugly creature
I wouldn’t have spent such a sad childhood
Why do people treat others according to their looks
That is so, so sad!
The Mermaid Princess
Good morning mother Where are my princesses?
Oh they are all doing their work
You have brought up my daughters well mother
Yes they are growing up to be beautiful and wise mermaids
The six beautiful mermaid princesses come gliding into the queen’s chamber
Grandma look at the beautiful things we have collected
The queen looks at her youngest grand daughter
My child, you do not seem to have brought back anything
Grandma the beautiful red flowers outside the castle give me more pleasure
And I am happiest when you tell me tales of the wonderful world above the sea
You shall see everything once you turn fifteen
Oh grandma that is so long long away
Till then your sisters will tell you what they see
When the eldest princess turned fifteen
she rose above the sea to see the world beyond
Hello grandma
Oh dear sisters
I laid on a sandbank under the shining moonlight
I saw glimpses of a town and heard the sounds of music
and I even saw carriages go by
Soon it was time for the second princess to see the world
When I rose up, the sun was setting and looked like a ball of orange fire
Soft clouds floated about lazily, and a flock of graceful white swans flew past
It was like a dreamland!
It was now time for the third princess to rise to the surface
Oh dear sisters I swam up a wide river You cannot imagine the sights I saw
Green hills, magnificent trees and plants!
And I even saw little human children!
But then a weird creature came running towards me making awful noises
and I had to quickly swim away
The children were asking why the dog was barking so much
so I guess that horrible thing was a dog
Soon came time for the fourth princess to venture forth to see the world
But she was very shy and just stayed in the ocean
Ah well I stayed in the middle of the ocean
But I did see some naughty dolphins splashing
There were also some huge whales but I was scared to go near them
What!!
You really did not go near the land?
How can you be so boring? You can see the sea anytime you silly thing
finally the youngest princess turned fifteen
Well my precious your dream is now going to be fulfilled Go
The princess rose above the sea
Ah! The colour of the sea is like emeralds
the icebergs look like beautiful pearls
The stars above are glittering like the diamonds on grandma’s tiara!
Soon the princess's curiosity was aroused by a ship afloat nearby
She swam close to it and every time the waves lifted her up
she could see the people on the ship
They were singing and dancing as though celebrating
What beautiful clothes they are wearing
Suddenly
the princess saw the most handsome young man with beautiful brown eyes
As she was gazing at him everyone on the ship started clapping
The princess realized that this grand celebration was for his sixteenth birthday
Oooooh!!
He is soo good looking and such a sweet sixteen to my fifteen
Suddenly the calm of the sea soon turned into a restless grumble
and the lashing waves and heavy clouds and lightning
indicated a massive storm brewing up
The huge waves tossed the ship about and the ship tilted over
To her dismay, the princess saw the prince sink into the deep waters
Oh, my darling prince is going down into the ocean
Maybe I can now live with him
What am I thinking of humans cannot lie under water
I have to save him
The princess looked frantically all around and finally spotted the prince
She held him in her slender but strong arms swam with him to the surface of the water
Then keeping his head adrift she led him to a beach
The next morning the sun rose on a once again calm sea
The prince’s eyes remained closed
but the sun’s rays brought some colour to his ashen cheeks
The princess kissed his high and smooth forehead and stroked back his wet hair
Suddenly she heard the chattering of some young girls
and quickly swam away and hid herself among some high rocks
She watched as one girl approached the prince and then went to call others for help
My darling prince is coming to life how happy I am
Will he remember how I saved him?
The princess slowly made her way to her father’s castle
She became very quiet and did not tell her sisters what had happened
Often she would visit the place where she had left the handsome prince
but she never saw him and became more sad
Finally, she shared her misery with her sister
Oh my dear why did you not share this with anyone?
Don’t worry, we will see what we can do to help you
Thank you, dear sister
I was afraid you would make fun of me for falling in love with a human prince
Well, it is very foolish, but you are our sister and we have to help you
Sisters, my friends know where the prince’s palace is
What are we waiting for? Let’s go..
The princesses rose to the surface near the prince’s palace
The palace sure is very beautiful
Oh Those beautiful marble statues I wish one of them would kiss me!
Stop acting silly.
Oh, I was just kidding
I think I better take you all back home before you create any trouble
The princesses reluctantly made their way back to the castle
Now I know where my darling prince lives I can come anytime to see him
I wonder if he remembers I saved his life?
The princess now wanted to know more about humans so she went to her grandma
Tell me grandma, do humans never die?
Silly child of course humans die They live shorter lives than us
When we die we become the foam on the water’s surface
but humans have immortal souls and only their body dies
Grandma, how can I get an immortal soul?
Well, if you found a man who loved you so much
that he would be willing to marry to you that could happen
But child, the fish tail that you have, which is considered so beautiful in our world
is considered ugly in the human world
I will not give up my love so easily
Let me see if the sea witch can help me.
Ah! Who do we have here?
Come come I have been expecting you
So, the princess wishes to become a human to win over the heart of her charming prince
Ha ha ha!
Oh madam, please help me.
I will give you a magic potion.
Swim with it to land tomorrow before sunrise and drink it on the shore
and you will be transformed into a beautiful and graceful young lady
Really, will you do that for me?
Hold your horses, princess.
When your fish tail changes to two human legs you will feel a searing pain
and every step you take will feel like you are treading on sharp knives
Once you become a human being you can never become a mermaid again
never be able to go down to the depths of the sea to see your family
Oh, I will do anything for my love.
My price for granting you this wish would be your sweet voice
What? Oh, how can you be so cruel?
Well, I am a witch, you know.
How will I tell my prince of my love?
You can show your love for him with your expressive eyes!
Thus the princess changed to a human.
She had severe pain when it happened
but her pain seemed to vanish when she saw the prince
And the prince also could not take his eyes off the beautiful maiden
Where have you come from, pretty lady?
The princess could not reply and just stared at him.
You cannot speak?
The princess shook her head, and seeing her pained expression, the prince took her hand
Hey, it’s okay
I can see in your eyes what you are thinking Come with me to the palace
The mermaid was dressed in beautiful clothes and precious jewels
The king and queen were enthralled with her beauty and grace
Everyone enjoyed the graceful dance movements of the princess
which she performed with severe pain
Very often, the princess would catch a puzzled look on the prince’s face
and one day he asked her.
I don’t know why, but you seem very familiar.
However, the prince did not show any signs of recognizing her
and the princess’s hopes began to fade.
Soon, she heard the prince was going to marry the princess of a neighbouring kingdom
Oh no!
If the prince marries someone else that will be the end of my life as a human
The prince’s wedding was to be held on a ship
The mermaid princess gazed mournfully at the ocean and suddenly spotted her sisters
all of them with their heads shorn of their beautiful tresses, waving wildly at her
What are you all doing here? and what have you all done with your beautiful hair?
We could not see your misery anymore
so we begged the witch to give you back your voice in exchange for our hair
Thank you so much dear sisters but the prince is marrying someone else
You silly girl, go and tell him you can speak now
No, I cannot do it, even if it breaks my heart
The princess dove into the ocean
knowing she would drown as she was no longer a mermaid
Someone saw her jumping and ran to inform the prince
The prince dove down after her and brought her up
Now I remember why I thought I knew you!
You are the one who saved me in the shipwreck.
I love you my darling, and it does not matter to me if you cannot speak
The prince took the mermaid princess to the ship
Father, forgive me, but I cannot marry anyone else This is my beloved
The prince placed the wedding band on his beloved’s finger
As soon as he did so, the princess’s melodious voice returned
My darling, you can speak Oh this is the happiest day of my life!
Ah! I can now look forward to a wonderful life with my beloved prince
and see my sisters when they come up from the sea