Stories

The Ugly Duckling

A little duckling was very sad because he thought he was the ugliest amongst all his brothers and sisters. They would not play with him and teased the poor ugly duckling. One day, he saw his reflection in the water and cried, “Nobody likes me. I am so ugly.” He decided to leave home and went far away into the woods.

Deep in the forest, he saw a cottage in which there lived an old woman, her hen, and her cat. The duckling stayed with them for some time but he was unhappy there and soon left. When winter set in the poor duckling almost froze to death. A peasant took him home to his wife and children. The poor duckling was terrified of the children and escaped. The ugly duckling spent the winter in a marshy pond.

Finally, spring arrived. One day, the duckling saw a beautiful swan swimming in the pond and fell in love with her. But then he remembered how everyone made fun of him and he bent his head down in shame. When he saw his own reflection in the water he was astonished. He was not an ugly duckling anymore, but a handsome young swan! Now, he knew why he had looked so different from his brothers and sisters. “They were ducklings but I was a baby swan!” he said to himself.

He married the beautiful swan and lived happily ever after.

Rumpelstiltskin

Once there was a poor miller who had a very beautiful daughter. One day, he went to the king’s court and claimed that his daughter could spin straw into gold. The king ordered the miller’s daughter to come to the palace. He took her to a room full of straw and said to her, “You must spin all this straw into gold tonight, or you shall die!” The miller’s daughter was locked in the room alone. She did not know what to do and began to cry. Suddenly, a dwarf came out of nowhere and asked her, “Why are you crying?” When she told him the story, he said, “Don’t worry, I will spin the straw into gold, but what will you give me in return?” “I will give you my necklace!” she promised. The dwarf spun all the straw into gold.

The next day, when the king saw this, he was astonished and pleased. He became greedier. He took the girl to a bigger room and said, “Spin all this straw into gold or you shall die!” She was locked inside again, and once again she began to cry. The tiny man came into the room once more. He said, “If I spin all the straw into gold, what will you give me this time?” She gave him her gold, ring and he sat through the night and spun all the straw into gold.

The third morning, the king was very happy to see the room full of gold. He took her to the biggest room filled with straw and said, “If you spin all this straw into gold, you shall become my wife!” The girl was locked up and once again, she began to cry. This time, when the little man came to her, she said, “I do not have anything to give you, sir! What will I do?” He said, “Promise me that you will give me your first born child when you become the queen!” The girl agreed to do so, because she was not expecting to become the king’s wife. The tiny man spun all the straw into gold in the night. The next day, the king was pleased to see the gold. He married the girl and soon they had a baby.

The tiny man came to the queen to take her baby away but she had forgotten about the promise. She cried and begged him to leave her baby alone. The tiny man said, “I will not take your baby if you can guess my name! I will give you three days!” Saying this, he disappeared. The queen tried to remember all kinds of names. The next night, when he came, she told him all the uncommon names she could think of, “Perhaps your name is Shortribs, or Sheepshanks, or Laceleg,” but he always answered, “That is not my name.” The next day the queen sent her servants all over the country to get all the possible names of the people. That night, the dwarf came to the queen again but she could not guess his real name.

On the third day, one of the queen’s servants went into the forest to find the little man. Deep in the woods, the servant found him dancing and singing happily in front of a fire. He sang, “Today I bake, tomorrow I brew, the next I’ll have the young queen’s child. Ha, glad am I that no one knew, that Rumpelstiltskin I am styled!” The servant went back to the palace and told the queen the name of the dwarf.

That night, when the little man carne to the queen, she was already prepared. The tiny man challenged, “Do you give up? Shall I take your child away?” The queen smiled and replied, “Is your name Harry? Is it Conrad? Perhaps it is Rumpelstiltskin!” Hearing his name, the tiny man screamed, “How could you possibly know my name?” Saying this, he ran away, deep into the forest never to be seen again.

Three Little Pigs

Once upon a time there were three little pigs. One pig built a house of straw while the second pig built his house with sticks. They built their houses very quickly and then sang and danced all day because they were lazy. The third little pig worked hard all day and built his house with bricks.

A big bad wolf saw the two little pigs while they danced and played and thought, “What juicy tender meals they will make!” He chased the two pigs and they ran and hid in their houses. The big bad wolf went to the first house and huffed and puffed and blew the house down in minutes. The frightened little pig ran to the second pig’s house that was made of sticks. The big bad wolf now came to this house and huffed and puffed and blew the house down in hardly any time. Now, the two little pigs were terrified and ran to the third pig’s house that was made of bricks.

The big bad wolf tried to huff and puff and blow the house down, but he could not. He kept trying for hours but the house was very strong and the little pigs were safe inside. He tried to enter through the chimney but the third little pig boiled a big pot of water and kept it below the chimney. The wolf fell into it and died.

The two little pigs now felt sorry for having been so lazy. They too built their houses with bricks and lived happily ever after.