Read Write Inc Storytime

Phonics Reception Class: Story 1

Note to teachers: see teaching notes for this story.

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Do not ask your child to read the story to you as it is above their reading level.

The Ugly Duckling Retold by Michaela Morgan

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Picture 1 I n a big, big field, there’s a deep, deep pond. By the deep, deep pond, there’s
some tall, tall grass and in the tall, tall grass, there is a nest.
It’s a duck’s nest.
And in the nest there are five eggs.
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One day
crack crack cracketty crack
the first egg broke open and
peep peep peep
one little beak peeped out
and then two little eyes peered out
and two little webby feet popped out
and one little yellow body flopped out and
that was that.
One little duckling was hatched.

“What a beautiful little duckling!” said the proud mother duck.

And the first hatched duckling said, “Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeep!”

Then
crack crack cracketty crack
the second egg cracked open
and crack crack cracketty crack
so did the third
and the fourth.

Now there were four little ducklings with bright eyes, tiny beaks and fluffy
yellow bodies.
1 2 3 4 ducklings and…one egg.
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 The fifth egg had not cracked open. Not one bit.
The four fluffy yellow ducklings cuddled up close to their mum and they
all stared at the one remaining unhatched egg.
“It’s very slow to hatch,” said the mother duck. “We will all wait here till
it hatches,” she said, “and then we can all go off for a little waddle and a
swim.”
The four little ducklings felt a bit grumpy about this. They didn’t want to
wait. They longed to explore.
They stared at the unhatched egg.
“Silly old egg,” said one.
“Slow egg,” said another.
They waited.
And waited.
And waited.
The last egg did not crack. Not one bit.
In the end all the ducklings gathered under the mother duck’s wing and
went to sleep.
The next day the egg was still sitting there doing nothing.
“Silly old egg!” the ducklings sighed.
And then
Crrrrrrrrrrrrack and crack crack cracketty crack
a foot popped out. It was a webby foot – but it was a very big webby foot.
And crack crack cracketty crack the second foot came out.
The egg now had two big feet sticking out of it and – oh my! – the egg
stood up and starting running around. All the other ducklings laughed at it.
“Silly egg!” they said.
“Well, dear me,” said the mother duck. “That is not a very well-behaved
egg!”
Then crack cracketty crack – a beak peeped out.
It was a BIG beak.
“That beak looks a bit scary,” said one of the ducklings.
And then out came the head. It was a very big head.
Then crack – out came the body. It was  big and it was grey.

So there it was – at last – one very big, grey, rather ugly duckling.
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Picture 2 All the little yellow fluffy ducklings were surprised.
“Peep peep peep!” they said, and “Cheep cheep cheep!” they said.
Then the newly hatched big, grey different duckling opened his beak to
say hello but he did not say “Cheep cheep cheep!” and he did not say “Peep
peep peep!”. He said:
“HONK!”
All the little ducklings ran away.
“We don’t like him, Mum!” they said. “He’s not a fluffy little yellow

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 duckling like us. He’s different. He’s a monster!”
Just then a hen came along. “Cluck cluck cluck!” she said. “That is one
very ugly duckling!”
The odd duck felt a little sad. But he felt even worse when a cow went by.
“Moo! Moooooo!” she said. “That is an ugly duckling!”
He felt EVEN worse when a sheep came by.
“Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” she said. “Ugly duckling!” she said.
“Never mind,” said the mother duck. Time to meet all the other ducks.
Follow me.”
Proudly, she led the way to the pond. All the other ducks and ducklings
on the pond came swimming up to say hello.
“That first little duckling is very sweet,” they said.
“and that second one is very fluffy…”
“…and that third one is very pretty…” and
“that fourth one is as yellow as the sun.”
“But…that big one…well…that is one ugly duckling, isn’t it?”
“HONK!” said the odd duck.

“Honk! Honk! Honk!”

When they heard this all the other ducks swam away, scared.
The new little ducklings followed them. And the mother duck followed
them. “Wait for me, my ducklings,” she said. And off she went.

Display And so the big, ugly duckling was left all alone.
Picture 3 He drifted along on the pond. He drifted for a long, long time. He felt
very lost and very ugly – and very lonely.
Below him swam the tiny fish, so shiny, so quick, so sparkly. Above him a
flock of swans flew – so bright, so beautiful, so strong.
He came to a very quiet place.
There were no cows or sheep or hens, no ducks, and no other ducklings at
all but there was some very long grass, and so he hid himself in the grass at
the side of the pond and fell asleep.
When he woke up, he looked into the still water and saw his reflection in
the water. “I am a very odd duck,” he sighed. And so he decided to live there
all alone.
The days passed and the nights passed and the weeks passed.
The ‘odd duck’ had plenty of food. He had plenty of water, but he was
very lonely.
“I wish there was someone else like me,” he sighed.
Then he went back to sleep.
It was a long, dreary time. Very long. Very dreary. Very, very, very lonely.

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 One day, when he woke up, the sky was brighter. The water was sparkling
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Picture 4 and the air was warm. The sun was high and bright in the sky and sunbeams
sparkled on the water.
The poor lonely creature peered into the water. He expected to see the
reflection of an odd duck but he saw something so strange it made him gasp
in surprise.
He saw a magnificent swan looking back at him.
“What? How? HONK!” he said. He was so surprised. “Honk, honk,
honk!”
Then he heard a whooshing of wings as swans flew overhead. They heard
his honking and flew down to say hello.
“Hello, new swan,” said one swan. “Honk honk to you!”
“You are a fine swan,” said another.
“Fly with us!”
The ‘odd duck’ stretched his wings. They were huge, they were bright,
they were strong, they were powerful. They lifted him up from the ground,
high into the sky where he flew.
He flew.
“Honk Honk!” said all the other swans. “You’re one of us. Fly with us!”
“I will,” said our creature, “but just wait a minute…”

Display Down far below him he could see ducks on the pond – and there was one
Picture 5 mother duck with four quite grown-up ducklings around her. He flew down.
“Honk!” he said. “Remember me?”
“I know that voice,” said the mother duck. “Is that my odd duck? Well
now I understand! You were a very odd duck because you were really a
swan!”
“Honk!” said the new swan.
“You were a rather odd duck,” said the mother duck, “but you are a very
lovely swan.”
“I can fly very high now!” said the new swan, “and now I have met a
flock of swans and I am going off with them. I will visit you all sometimes,
but now… I must fly!”
And he stretched his powerful wings and rose into the bright blue sky
where, with his new friends and family, he flew and flapped and…lived
happily ever after.

Read Write Inc. Phonics © Oxford University Press 2016. Storytime Reception Class: Story 1 4
No sharing, copying or adaptation of materials permitted except by subscribers to Oxford Owl. The Ugly Duckling