The Ugly Duckling

It is a beautiful summer day. The sun shines warmly on an old house near a
river. Behind the house a mother duck is sitting on ten eggs. "Tchick." One by
one all the eggs break open.
All except one. This one is the biggest egg of all.
Mother duck sits and sits on the big egg. At last it breaks open, "Tchick,
tchick!"
Out jumps the last baby duck. It looks big and strong. It is grey and ugly.
The next day mother duck takes all her little ducks to the river. She jumps into
it. All her baby ducks jump in. The big ugly duckling jumps in too.
They all swim and play together. The ugly duckling swims better than all the
other ducklings.
- Quack, quack! Come with me to the farm yard! - says mother duck to her
baby ducks and they all follow her there.
The farm yard is very noisy. The poor duckling is so unhappy there. The hens
peck him, the rooster flies at him, the ducks bite him, the farmer kicks him.
At last one day he runs away. He comes to a river. He sees many beautiful big
birds swimming there. Their feathers are so white, their necks so long, their
wings so pretty. The little duckling looks and looks at them. He wants to be
with them. He wants to stay and watch them. He knows they are swans. Oh,
how he wants to be beautiful like them.
Now it is winter. Everything is white with snow. The river is covered with ice.
The ugly duckling is very cold and unhappy.
Spring comes once again. The sun shines warmly. Everything is fresh and
green.
One morning the ugly duckling sees the beautiful swans again. He knows
them. He wants so much to swim with them in the river. But he is afraid of
them. He wants to die. So he runs into the river. He looks into the water. There
in the water he sees a beautiful swan. It is he! He is no more an ugly duckling.
He is a beautiful white swan.
 The bee and the grasshopper
One day in summer a bee meets a grasshopper.

- Buzz, buzz, - says the bee.

- Let's make a little house. I can gather honey and carry it to the
house. You gather honey and carry it to the house. When winter
comes we shall have it to eat. How happy we shall be.

- Winter and the cold days are far away, - says the grasshopper.

- I don't want to gather honey. I want to play, and be happy. Now,

good bye, little Bee, good bye!

All summer the bee is busy gathering honey.

All summer the grasshopper plays.

One day in autumn the grasshopper meets the bee.

- The cold days are here now, little Bee, - he says. - Let us make a
home. Let us carry your honey to the house. Then we shall have
some honey to eat. How happy we shall be!

- No, no, - says the little Bee. - It is too late now. Summer is the time
to make a house. Summer is the time to gather honey for the winter.
I will not live with you. Good bye, grasshopper, good bye!
 The hungry cat
A hungry cat is looking for something to eat. She sees a little grey mouse sitting near his house.

- I want to catch that little mouse, - says the hungry cat.

She sits down and begins to cry "mew, mew, mew".

The little grey mouse jumps up to run into his house, but the cat sits still and mews again.

- She is sitting still, - thinks the mouse.

- She doesn't want to catch me. I shall not run away.

- Mew, mew, mew, - says the cat again.

- Why are you crying? - asks the mouse.

- See, I have a penny in my hand.

- Good, you are lucky. That's nothing to cry about, - says the mouse.

The hungry cat comes nearer.

- Oh, little mouse, I shall get some meat with the penny. I shall cook it and have it for supper.

- Good, you are lucky. That's nothing to cry about.

The hungry cat comes nearer and nearer.

- There lives a hungry dog in this house. He will eat all the meat.

- Poor Pussy, - says the mouse. - What will you eat then?

- You, - cries the cat and jumps at the little grey mouse.

But the mouse is too quick. He jumps into his little house before the cat can say another
"mew".

- No, no, sly Pussy, - says the mouse. - You will not eat me. You must first catch me.
 Naughty Bunny
Little Bunny is very naughty. He tries to be good, but he can't. He doesn't get up
early in the morning. He doesn't want to drink milk for breakfast. He doesn't like
to help his mother.
One day his father says, "Try to be a good little Bunny and I'll bring you a pretty
ball." Then he goes to the big town.
Bunny goes to his room. He takes a red pencil and begins to draw funny pictures
on the wall.
- Oh, naughty Bunny, go out and play in the yard! - says his mother.
There, in the yard Bunny meets his friend Willy. They jump and run together.
Naughty Bunny kicks Willy. He bites Willy. He takes his toys. He pushes him into
a puddle. Willy goes home crying.
- Oh, naughty Bunny! - says his mother.
In the afternoon Bunny goes to the yard again. He runs after the hens and the
chickens. He kicks the rooster.
- Oh, naughty Buny! - says mother. She is very sad. Bunny loves his mother and
he doesn't like to see her sad.
- Don't be sad, Mummy! - says Bunny. - I'll try to be a good Bunny tomorrow.
On the next day little Bunny tries to be very good.
He gets up early in the morning.
He drinks his milk.
He plays nicely with Willy.
He doesn't draw pictures on the wall.
He doesn't run after the hens and the chickens.
He doesn't kick the rooster.
It's such fun to be good! - he thinks.
Mother is very happy. She hugs him, she kisses him and she gives him a big
carrot.
- Oh, how I love my good little Bunny, - she says.
 The cuckoo and the nightingale

A nightingale sang beautifully in the forest. All animals and birds

listened to him in rapture. Even the leaves of the trees didn't
tremble lest disturb the singer.
Only the cuckoo didn't listen to the singer. She perched closer to the
nightingale and asked:
- Dear nightingale, for whom do you sing?
- I sing for everyone who loves beautiful songs - the nightingale said
cheerfully.
- And what do they give you in return?
- I don't want them to give me anything. I am happy that they listen
to me with care.
The cuckoo mocked:
- You are a silly nightingale. You stretch your throat and waste your
energy for others. And I sing only for myself: "Kuku, kuku..."
- But nobody listens to your song.
- But I do like my song, don't I?
- You think only about yourself. You don't even want to raise your
children, and you leave them in other birds' nests. That's the reason
you are lonely. No one asks for you, no one loves you. But everyone
loves me. This is my biggest reward.
And the nightingale started singing again. The whole forest became
silent and enchanted with his magical warbles.
But the cuckoo started flapping noisily her wings enviously on
purpose, because no one listens to her song:
- Kuku! Kuku!