hello my brave readers welcome to our reading circle today we're going to read an oldie
but a goodie the ugly duckling illustrated by giuseppe de lerna read and adapted by miss corley
it was summer in the countryside
by a cool pond near a little farm a mother duck sat on her nest of eggs
can you name all the animals you see in this picture
suddenly the eggs began to hatch cute little yellow ducklings hopped out of their eggshells
cheap cheap quack quack they went flapping their tiny wings before long there was just one egg
left in the nest it was much larger than the others at last it began to crack
what do you think is going to happen
a big fluffy shape appeared what an ugly duckling said one of the little yellow ducklings
honk honk went the ugly duckling it can't quack laughed another yellow duckling
they laughed even harder when the clumsy duckling tripped and fell over its own feet
one by one the baby ducks splashed into the water behind their mother the ugly duckling swam at the
back the mother duck loved each and every one of her ducklings including the big fluffy one
the mother duck took her brood up to the farm yard
the animals adored the cute little ducklings but they didn't like the big fluffy one they pecked
and nipped him you're ugly they cried the duckling was so upset he ran away as fast as he could
what happened here how do you think is the ugly duckling feeling and how do you know
he came to a cottage where a cat and a hen lived with an old woman
purr like me and you can stay said the cat you can stay if you lay eggs said the hen
the duckling couldn't purr or lay eggs so he left the cottage
the duckling felt very lonely
fall arrived and one evening he saw graceful white birds flying high above he longed to be like them
the author did a little foreshadowing here can you tell what it is
but as the weather grew cold the waters froze soon the ugly duckling was stuck in ice
a kind man rescued the shivering duckling and took him home to show his children
the children wanted to play and chased the duckling
he was so frightened that he toppled the milk bucket and fled back outside into the snow
it was a long hard winter for the poor duckling
the freezing days and nights seemed to last forever
then one day the sun began to shine warm sunbeams melted the ice
a lark sang because spring had come the ugly duckling noticed three beautiful
birds had landed on the water they were the same ones he had seen in the fall
he felt sure the birds would be mean but he was not afraid anymore
the ugly duckling did not fly away when the birds spotted him hiding in the reeds to his surprise
they were friendly and welcoming
what do you think will happen next
he swam out from his hiding place and looked at his reflection in the water
he had changed he was no longer an ugly duckling but a brave and magnificent swan
the older swans bowed their heads to their new friend
he rustled his feathers and curved his slender neck
he was filled with joy when little children pointed and cried out look at that lovely new swan
in a flurry of wings the young swan flew off with his new flock he had never dreamed of
such happiness when he was an ugly duckling and knew he would never be lonely again
the end
what do you think is the moral or the lesson of this story let's take a minute to think about
it pair up with someone close to you and share your thoughts thank you for hanging out with us
and we'll catch you later at our next reading circle have a good one bye