Bedtime Tales: The Ugly Duckling

Tonight's Bedtime Tale is a reading of the classic fairytale, The Ugly Duckling, by Hans Christian Andersen. It has been narrated by meditation guide and mom-extraordinaire, Jessica Amos and includes a few minutes of gentle music at the end to lull you off to sleep. Sweet dreams.

Transcript

Hello dear one,

My name is Jessica Amos but you can call me Jessa.

Tonight I will be reading you the story of the ugly duckling.

But first let's settle down and get really comfortable.

Close your eyes and take a long slow breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.

Let your body completely relax and allow your mind to draw pictures of this story as I read you these words.

The Ugly Duckling It was a glorious summer day.

The birds sang,

The sun glistened off the water in the canal.

In the reeds at the water's edge a mother duck sat on her nest full of eggs.

She had been sitting there keeping her eggs safe and warm day after day for what seemed like forever as she waited for them to hatch.

But this day,

With the sun shining so brightly and a wonderful breeze rippling the water,

She didn't feel like waiting there all alone anymore.

What she wanted to do was jump in the water and join the other ducks who were swimming and quacking in the canal.

But she knew she had to stay put until her eggs were ready to hatch.

Suddenly,

One of the eggs began to move and crack,

And that egg was soon joined by another and then another.

As little beaks poked their way through the broken eggshells,

The peep-peep of tiny ducklings filled the air.

Before long,

The new arrivals were exploring their surroundings.

Compared to the insides of their eggs,

The family nest seemed huge.

So you think this little piece of the world is big,

Do you?

The mother duck said with a smile.

Wait until you see the barnyard and the pasture that runs all the way down to the parson's farm.

Then she noticed that the biggest egg had not hatched.

Hello there,

Quacked a familiar voice.

It was one of the other barnyard ducks paddling by for a visit.

You've got some new arrivals,

I see.

Yes,

All except one,

Answered the mother duck.

This big one seems to be taking its time.

Ah,

Said the visitor as she craned her neck to get a better look at the uncooperative egg.

I bet that's a turkey egg.

One of those got mixed up in my clutch once,

And I was fooled into hatching it.

Good luck,

She said as she swam away.

The mother duck sighed and settled back onto the egg.

It wasn't long before her wait was over.

The last egg started to move,

And soon it cracked open and a large,

Funny-looking duckling tumbled out.

The mother duck immediately noticed that this duckling was different from the others.

It was sort of a grey color,

And though she hated to admit it,

Even to herself,

He wasn't as cute as the rest of her brood.

In fact,

This poor little thing was rather ugly.

The other ducklings were quick to notice the new arrivals' differences,

Too.

Hey,

They peeped meanly.

Look at the big one.

He's goofy-looking.

The mother duck stepped in and told the others they had to be nice to their newest brother,

But she couldn't help thinking that there was some truth in what they had said.

The next day,

The mother duck led her brood down the water's edge for a swimming lesson.

As each duckling plopped in,

Its head went underwater,

But soon each little bird bobbed to the surface and began to paddle around.

When the ugly duckling's turn came,

The mother duck held her breath.

Plop!

In he went,

And just like the others,

He bobbed to the surface and started to paddle.

But soon it was clear that here,

Too,

He was different.

He could swim faster and farther than the other ducks.

Look what a fine swimmer we have here,

Thought the mother duck,

And how elegantly he holds himself in the water.

He is actually quite handsome when you really stop to look at him.

The next day,

Proud and eager to show off her little brood,

She took the ducklings to the farm.

But as soon as they reached the barnyard,

The other birds began to say rude things and peck at the ugly duckling.

Hey,

Leave him alone,

Said his mother.

He wasn't bothering you.

Well,

Clucked a haughty hen,

We don't like him.

He's strange-looking.

That's no reason to be cruel,

Said the mother duck.

You may be right,

Quacked a wise old duck,

But you have to admit,

Dear,

He doesn't really look like the rest of your family.

He was the last one hatched and may have spent a little too much time in the eggs,

Said the mother duck,

But he's very good-natured and a wonderful swimmer.

And yet no matter what she said,

As soon as her back was turned,

The others continued to call him names and peck at the gawky duckling.

Even his brothers and sisters joined in,

Making the poor thing feel unwelcome and unwanted.

Every day it grew worse and worse until he could no longer take it.

One morning,

The ugly duckling slipped through a hole in the fence and struck out into the wide world.

As he waddled and stumbled through the undergrowth,

Wild birds chirped and quickly flew away.

They must be flying off because I'm so ugly,

The sad duckling thought.

Late in the day,

He found himself in a marsh where he took shelter for the night in the rushes at the water's edge.

The next morning,

A pair of wild ducks and their ducklings came paddling by.

Well,

What do we have here,

Quacked the mother.

I must say,

I've never seen anything quite like this in our neighborhood before,

Said her husband.

I guess he can stay,

Said the mother,

As long as he doesn't get any ideas about joining our family.

We definitely can't have that,

The father agreed,

And the ducks gave their beaks a superior tilt as they proudly swam by.

The poor duckling didn't want to join anybody else's family.

He just wanted a place to stay.

Moments later,

Two wild geese splashed down onto the water nearby.

They were young and boisterous,

Honking and laughing as they swam.

Hey,

Said one of them as they headed toward the duckling,

Look at this.

Yeah,

Said the other,

The guy's kind of funny looking.

Do you know what?

That's what I like about him.

Hey,

Buddy,

Said the first goose to the duckling.

There's a flock of us in the next marsh over,

A really great bunch of guys.

Anyway,

We're all getting ready to fly south for the winter.

Want to come along?

But before the duckling could answer,

There was a loud boom.

Ooh,

Yikes,

Honked the second goose.

Hunters!

With a great splash and flurry,

The two flapped off into the sky.

Boom!

Another shot was fired and the duckling scurried into the reeds.

All of a sudden,

A dog thrust his head through the weeds.

His big nose and drooling mouth were just inches from where the duckling cowered.

The dog looked at him for a frightening moment,

Then snorted and ran off in the opposite direction just as another shot rang out.

Phew!

The duckling sighed in relief.

I guess this time I was lucky to be so ugly.

Even that dog didn't want to have anything to do with me.

After the smoke had cleared and the hunters had gone,

The duckling remained hidden.

He waited quite some time before he felt it was safe to come out.

There's got to be a better place to live than this,

He thought.

So once more,

He struck out into the wide world.

By evening,

He found himself in the yard of a run-down farm cottage.

The old building leaned this way and that,

As if it couldn't decide which way to fall,

Yet somehow it remained standing.

The smell of something cooking drew the duckling closer,

And he wiggled through a gap between the cottage's front door.

Inside,

An old woman dozed by a cozy fire with her companions,

An old hen and a cat.

The hen had a talent for laying eggs,

Which made her dear to the old woman's heart.

The cat not only caught mice,

But also purred when he was happy and hissed when he was angry,

All of which pleased the old woman to no end.

Together they lived quite happily in the tumble-down cottage.

The duckling found an out-of-the-way corner,

And he too settled in for the night.

The next morning,

When the old woman discovered the visitor,

Her poor old eyes mistook him for a much older duck.

This is lucky,

She said,

For if this duck can lay eggs,

We could have fresh duck eggs to eat.

So she planned to let the duckling stay for a while to see if it would produce any eggs.

Can you lay eggs?

The hen asked the duckling.

No,

He replied.

How about catching mice or purring?

Asked the cat.

I can't do those things either,

The duckling answered.

Well,

Then just sit in the corner and keep your mouth shut when your betters are speaking,

Said the hen.

So the duckling sat quietly in the corner,

Feeling as if he had done something wrong.

Several days later,

The sun shone so cheerfully through the window that it reminded the duckling of summer days on the pond,

And he asked the hen if she had ever gone swimming.

What a question!

The hen replied.

You not only look peculiar,

But you say peculiar things.

Well,

I've got a question for you.

Can you lay eggs yet?

No,

Said the duckling.

Then you'd better go,

Said the hen,

Before you're cooked for dinner,

Said the cat.

So once more,

The duckling struck out into the wide world.

The cold wind was blowing more sharply now,

And the leaves were turning to yellow,

Orange,

And red.

Autumn had come,

And the poor duckling wandered aimlessly looking for food and shelter.

Soon winter arrived.

The weather turned colder and then colder still,

And the duckling took refuge in a small pond.

As the edges of the pond froze,

The duckling kept swimming around in circles to keep the water free from ice until exhausted.

He could swim no more.

The next morning he awoke to find his legs frozen fast in the solid ice.

Luckily,

A poor peasant found him,

And after breaking the duckling free from the ice,

Carried him home to his cottage.

There,

The peasant and his wife put the duckling in a crate that they had placed near the fire.

The couple's children,

Excited to have a new pet in the house,

Fed the duckling every day.

They constantly begged to be allowed to take the bird out of his crate so they could play with him,

But the answer was always no.

As the days went by and the duckling regained his strength,

He too wondered when he would be set free from the confines of the crate.

One evening,

Just before dinner,

When their father was out gathering firewood and their mother was in the barn,

The children opened the crate and coaxed the duckling out.

As the bird emerged from his pen,

The children began to laugh and clap their hands.

This startled the poor duckling,

And in a panic,

He ran about the small kitchen,

Flapping his wings.

Just then,

The children's mother returned from the barn.

Oh no,

She cried.

Soon,

The entire family was chasing the poor,

Confused duckling from one side of the room to the other.

Terrified,

He ran across the table,

Sending plates and utensils flying.

He ran through the butter pot,

Overturned the milk pitcher,

Then landed in the bean bin.

Open the door,

Fritz,

The frantic mother called to her son.

Then,

Waving a large wooden spoon,

She chased the frightened duckling out into the cold dark night and slammed the door shut behind him.

The rest of that winter,

The duckling searched for food by day and huddled under rushes by night.

After many weeks,

The snow and ice melted.

Spring had come at last.

One warm spring day,

The duckling realized that his wings had grown,

And when he flapped them,

He rose into the air.

Soon,

He was flying short distances,

And before long,

And without even quite knowing how he'd gotten there,

He found himself in a beautiful park.

There he saw fragrant apple trees blossoming and willows bending over the banks of a lovely river that wound its way through the park.

As he swam across the water,

Two majestic swans came into view from around a bend.

Even at this distance,

He was in awe of their beauty and embarrassed by his own ugliness.

Wishing he could disappear,

He lowered his head in shame.

There,

In the glassy shimmer of the water,

He saw something unbelievable.

Looking back at him from the mirror-like surface was not the gawky creature he had expected to see,

But a graceful white bird.

He spread his wings,

And the magnificent reflection did the same.

It was true.

The ugly duckling had grown into a beautiful swan.

The other swans approached and welcomed him.

Everyone playing in the park spotted him and cried,

There's a new swan,

And he is even more beautiful than the others.

They threw bread and morsels of food to the swans and laughed excitedly at the regal birds gliding near them.

Through it all,

The duckling moved as if in a dream.

After all the hard times and disappointments he had known,

It was difficult to believe that he had really come to such a wonderful place.

The once lonely and frightened little creature could never have imagined that he would one day be so completely transformed.

When he raised his graceful neck and ruffled his snow-white feathers in the warm sunlight,

He did so not out of pride,

But with a spirit of thankfulness and joy.

Just now,

He realized that it didn't matter if you were born an ugly duckling,

As long as a beautiful swan awaited within.

The End Okay,

My darling,

It's time to go to sleep.

You are so very loved,

And your heart is good.

I am so glad to be here with you.

Sleep tight.

May your dreams be full of love and light.