儿童英语故事阅读 丑小鸭

　　A mother duck was brooding on her eggs near the margin of a pond. A flock of lovely baby ducks was soon born, making sweet peeping sounds when the eggs were broken. But one egg remained unbroken. "It is strange. Why has this egg not broken?"

　　The mother duck continued her brooding. At last, the egg was broken and a baby duck was born. However that baby duck was very ugly compared to the other baby ducks.

　　The mother duck was worried, but still she took the baby ducks near the water and taught them how to swim. The ugly duckling also swam with his brothers and sisters, moving his legs eagerly. "It is lucky though. That baby swims well." Still his brothers pecked at the ugly duckling with their bills.

　　"How hideous this baby duck is. We don't want to see you. Go to a cat." His brothers gave a very hard time to the poor duckling. "Stop it, don't do that!" The mother duck sighed and said, "Ah! I wish that this baby could live happily at another place."