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The Prickly Duckling | Ugly Duckling Fairy Tale | Stories for Kids · Dorktales Storytime | Stories for Kids Who Love Big Adventures

0:01
SPEAKER_00: Hello, Dork Squad.
0:02
SPEAKER_00: I'm Jonathan Cormer, and you're listening to Dork Tales Storytime, the podcast for kids and their pop culture-loving grown-ups.
0:14
SPEAKER_01: It's a beautiful day for a story, adventure, and glory, new friends and old ones too.
0:21
SPEAKER_01: It's an excellent day to get swept away in a tale, so let us regale you.
0:35
SPEAKER_00: This time, I'm telling a story that I think you'll really enjoy.
0:40
SPEAKER_00: Who is it about robots?
0:43
SPEAKER_00: Uh nope.
0:44
SPEAKER_00: Wizards?
0:46
SPEAKER_00: Uh guess again.
0:47
SPEAKER_00: Sentient boats?
0:49
SPEAKER_00: What?
0:50
SPEAKER_00: No.
0:51
SPEAKER_00: Is that even a thing?
0:53
SPEAKER_00: Well, I've run my list of subjects that I find interesting, and yours aren't on that list.
0:59
SPEAKER_00: So I doubt very much that I'll enjoy this story.
1:02
SPEAKER_00: Actually, Reg, this story is about you.
1:05
SPEAKER_00: I love this story! Well, why didn't you say so?
1:09
SPEAKER_00: Am I doing something amazing in it?
1:12
SPEAKER_00: Well, you're just being yourself.
1:15
SPEAKER_00: Yes, I am pretty amazing, aren't I?
1:19
SPEAKER_00: May I start the story?
1:21
SPEAKER_00: Of course, my boy.
1:22
SPEAKER_00: Get on with it.
1:24
SPEAKER_00: When do I come in?
1:26
SPEAKER_00: You'll see.
1:27
SPEAKER_00: Why don't I remember any of this?
1:30
SPEAKER_00: I didn't sign any waivers.
1:32
SPEAKER_00: How can we ensure what you say is true?
1:35
SPEAKER_00: Okay, I'll tell the story and you can fact check.
1:38
SPEAKER_00: Then at the end, let me know if it's true.
1:40
SPEAKER_00: Righto Okay.
1:43
SPEAKER_00: Once upon a time there was a mother duck who was sitting on her nest, eagerly waiting for her eggs to hatch.
1:50
SPEAKER_00: It seemed to take a long time, but one day she suddenly heard and felt a crack.
1:58
SPEAKER_00: Oh my goodness, it's finally happening.
2:02
SPEAKER_00: The mother duck stepped away from her nest to watch.
2:05
SPEAKER_00: Her six eggs were wobbling side to side.
2:08
SPEAKER_00: Some had little beaks breaking through their shells.
2:11
SPEAKER_00: Others had webbed toes and feet popping out.
2:14
SPEAKER_00: But one egg was not moving at all.
2:17
SPEAKER_00: Hm, stubborn, no doubt.
2:20
SPEAKER_00: That one egg was so different from the rest.
2:23
SPEAKER_00: Where most were creamy white and sometimes blue, this egg was larger, lopsided, and brownish beige.
2:33
SPEAKER_00: Well, I'll love my eggs all the same, said the mother duck.
2:39
SPEAKER_00: And as soon as the words left her beak, a tiny head popped right out of the big lopsided egg.
2:46
SPEAKER_00: That duckling was unlike any of the others in her flock.
2:50
SPEAKER_00: For one thing, its beak was very small.
2:54
SPEAKER_00: While all the other ducklings were fluffy and yellow, this duckling was a muddy grey brown with a little pink belly.
3:02
SPEAKER_00: Oh my.
3:03
SPEAKER_00: All of the other ducklings looked up at their mama and said, quack.
3:08
SPEAKER_00: But the peculiar duckling didn't say anything.
3:11
SPEAKER_00: Yet.
3:13
SPEAKER_00: Must have been shy.
3:14
SPEAKER_00: I cannot say I understand that impulse myself.
3:18
SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah.
3:20
SPEAKER_00: But back to Mother Duck.
3:22
SPEAKER_00: She was unsure of what to make of her oddball child.
3:25
SPEAKER_00: So different from his siblings.
3:27
SPEAKER_00: Instead of hopping into the lake for a dip with the rest, he preferred to roll around in the sand.
3:34
SPEAKER_00: He certainly enjoyed eating dry insects like his brothers and sisters, but he wasn't growing any fluffy feathers in that grey fur.
3:43
SPEAKER_00: The other residents of the lake also noticed the duckling's unique appearance and made their discomfort pretty clear.
3:50
SPEAKER_00: Mr.
3:51
SPEAKER_00: Frog, with his booming croak, said, This duckling looks rotten.
3:58
SPEAKER_00: Are you sure he's not sick?
4:01
SPEAKER_00: And the young, quick dragonfly zipped through the air past the duckling's head and shouted, Hey, you're weird! Well, that's not very kind.
4:11
SPEAKER_00: I've got some things to say to that bullfrog and bully dragonfly.
4:16
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, what's worse is that all the taunts and bullying from the lake animals made all of his siblings laugh too.
4:23
SPEAKER_00: After one particularly mean joke from Miss Muskrat, teasing the little duckling's small beak, all of his siblings began chanting Ugly, ugly, ugly, and then cackling with laughter.
4:38
SPEAKER_00: Do you mean quackling with laughter?
4:42
SPEAKER_00: Ha! I mean Hey, how could you make such a joke?
4:47
SPEAKER_00: The poor little duckling.
4:50
SPEAKER_00: He felt defenseless.
4:51
SPEAKER_00: Seeing no other way for this teasing to end, he decided to run far away.
4:57
SPEAKER_00: Hm, I don't need you.
5:00
SPEAKER_00: He honked at his siblings and mother, though it hurt to yell at them.
5:04
SPEAKER_00: Goodbye, Mean Lake.
5:06
SPEAKER_00: And the duckling waddled off through the marshes to start a new chapter in his life.
5:12
SPEAKER_00: Ooh, this must be the part where I come in.
5:15
SPEAKER_00: Was I wearing a dramatically stylish hat that day?
5:19
SPEAKER_00: I am known for my cosplay, you know.
5:22
SPEAKER_00: Uh wait and see, Reg.
5:24
SPEAKER_00: The little duckling found a new lake with a family of geese and their newly hatched gaggle of goslings.
5:31
SPEAKER_00: I'd wager ten pence that you can't recite that five times fast.
5:36
SPEAKER_00: Gaggle of goslings, gaggle of goslings, gaggle of goslings, gaggle of goslings, gaggle of goslings.
5:41
SPEAKER_00: Ha! You owe me ten pence! Now, oh, I don't know the exchange rates.
5:46
SPEAKER_00: How much is that in dollars?
5:47
SPEAKER_00: Oh, ten's a big number.
5:49
SPEAKER_00: Oh, I only enjoy money for its shine.
5:52
SPEAKER_00: Oh, Rich, I just Googled it, and you owe me thirteen cents.
5:58
SPEAKER_00: Some bet.
5:59
SPEAKER_00: I'll pay you in due time, my man.
6:02
SPEAKER_00: For like a bite of a candy bar?
6:05
SPEAKER_00: Yes, but quite some shine.
6:08
SPEAKER_00: Anyway, as the duckling approached the water, the young goslings surrounded him.
6:14
SPEAKER_00: Hi! Hi, hi, hi, hi! Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi! You're grey like us.
6:21
SPEAKER_00: Us, us, us, hus, hus, hus, hus, hus, hus, hus, hus, hus.
6:25
SPEAKER_00: What?
6:26
SPEAKER_00: Ducklings like me?
6:28
SPEAKER_00: The duckling thought.
6:30
SPEAKER_00: The father goose swam up to greet him.
6:33
SPEAKER_00: Honk, honk, honk! Are you all alone?
6:37
SPEAKER_00: You're welcome to swim around with us.
6:41
SPEAKER_00: Wow, said the little duckling.
6:44
SPEAKER_00: Maybe I'm not a duckling after all.
6:47
SPEAKER_00: Maybe I'm a gotling.
6:49
SPEAKER_00: And one day I'll be a goof.
6:53
SPEAKER_00: He gleefully followed each of the little grey gosslings who plop, plop, plopped, straight into the water, gliding effortlessly across its surface.
7:02
SPEAKER_00: But the little duckling lumbered a few steps and face planted with a big splash.
7:11
SPEAKER_00: He spit out the lake water and lay shamefaced in the sand.
7:15
SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry, little one, but if you're not an Olympic gold swimmer, you may not be a baby goose.
7:22
SPEAKER_00: Don't be afraid.
7:24
SPEAKER_00: Just try something else.
7:25
SPEAKER_00: Goodbye.
7:27
SPEAKER_00: Bye bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye.
7:30
SPEAKER_00: Then Father Goose and his little gaggle of gosslings glided gracefully g lost for a G word.
7:44
SPEAKER_00: G away.
7:46
SPEAKER_00: The gaggle of gosslings glided gracefully go away.
7:50
SPEAKER_00: Oh good golly, that was a great go.
7:53
SPEAKER_00: Gosh, I don't know how to stop.
7:55
SPEAKER_00: Okay, now we'll stop.
7:57
SPEAKER_00: Here, back to the story.
8:00
SPEAKER_00: Gladly, hey.
8:02
SPEAKER_00: Uh g get over it, good chap.
8:05
SPEAKER_00: When do I come in?
8:07
SPEAKER_00: Okay, Reg, you win.
8:09
SPEAKER_00: Keep listening and you'll see.
8:12
SPEAKER_00: So the young duckling, er creature, was left dejected on a new beach.
8:18
SPEAKER_00: He didn't know what to do.
8:20
SPEAKER_00: He set out on a journey to find his next home.
8:23
SPEAKER_00: Waddling no, uh galloping away.
8:28
SPEAKER_00: Maybe the next place I find will feel more like home.
8:33
SPEAKER_00: Was he really galloping?
8:36
SPEAKER_00: I just wanted to find another G word.
8:38
SPEAKER_00: Oh, Jonathan tut.
8:42
SPEAKER_00: Anyway, our young friend made his way to a big red barn.
8:46
SPEAKER_00: Inside the barn was a family of chickens.
8:49
SPEAKER_00: The mother hen and Father Rooster ran up to him.
8:54
SPEAKER_00: Who are you?
8:57
SPEAKER_00: They asked, as they and their brood of chicks pecked seeds from the ground around him.
9:06
SPEAKER_00: I I I don't know.
9:09
SPEAKER_00: I'm me.
9:11
SPEAKER_00: Maybe I'm you was the duckling's reply.
9:14
SPEAKER_00: The five little chicks were pecking closer and closer to his feet.
9:24
SPEAKER_00: Ouch! Hey! One missed the floor and got his pink little toe.
9:30
SPEAKER_00: Well, if you're a chicken, do you want some scratch or not?
9:35
SPEAKER_00: Chickens and people often call seeds and grains that chickens eat from the ground scratch.
9:41
SPEAKER_00: Hmm.
9:42
SPEAKER_00: I'll politely pass, thank you.
9:45
SPEAKER_00: So did our friend.
9:47
SPEAKER_00: He also didn't like what happened next.
9:49
SPEAKER_00: The whole family cornered him in a circle, probing him for information.
9:54
SPEAKER_00: Well, what do you like to eat?
9:56
SPEAKER_00: And what's wrong with your beak?
9:58
SPEAKER_00: Do you always walk that way?
9:59
SPEAKER_00: Where are your feathers?
10:01
SPEAKER_00: Where are your wings?
10:02
SPEAKER_00: You don't have any wings.
10:03
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't have any wings.
10:05
SPEAKER_00: Oh, what foul creatures did it?
10:09
SPEAKER_00: Foul?
10:10
SPEAKER_00: Because they're chickens.
10:14
SPEAKER_00: That was pretty good.
10:15
SPEAKER_00: But this barrage of questions wasn't very fun for the poor quote unquote ugly duckling.
10:24
SPEAKER_00: Nobody understands me.
10:26
SPEAKER_00: I'll never fit in, said our hero before running out the barn door and bursting into tears.
10:33
SPEAKER_00: He didn't know where to go or who he'd ever relate to.
10:36
SPEAKER_00: He also didn't want to cry out in the open next to a farmhouse, so he ran, flapping his thin, pink and fuzzy, not at all feathered wings.
10:49
SPEAKER_00: He waddled across the icy front yard of the farm until he reached a dirt road.
10:54
SPEAKER_00: A big, dusty truck rattled past, and a booming voice from inside chortled.
11:02
SPEAKER_00: Hooly! That's one unfortunate looking critter! The duckling sobbed by the side of the road.
11:14
SPEAKER_00: I'm not welcomed by the ducklings.
11:17
SPEAKER_00: And I don't look like a goose.
11:20
SPEAKER_00: I'm not a chicken.
11:21
SPEAKER_00: A farmer would be embarrassed to be fiend with me.
11:25
SPEAKER_00: I can't even fly across the road.
11:29
SPEAKER_00: He blubbered and flapped and waddled through the dirty puddles all the way over to the other side.
11:35
SPEAKER_00: Ooh, ooh, ooh! I have another joke.
11:38
SPEAKER_00: I just learned this one.
11:40
SPEAKER_00: Why did the knot chicken cross the road?
11:45
SPEAKER_00: Uh I don't think this is the right time for that, Reg.
11:50
SPEAKER_00: To get to the other side.
11:55
SPEAKER_00: And that's what he did.
11:58
SPEAKER_00: But why haven't I arrived yet, Jonathan?
12:01
SPEAKER_00: Where was I?
12:03
SPEAKER_00: Well we're getting there, Reg.
12:05
SPEAKER_00: Our tiny friend was so upset, he wasn't watching where he was going.
12:09
SPEAKER_00: As he exited the road, he stumbled under a bush near a mailbox, and straightened to something with a thump.
12:17
SPEAKER_00: Was it the base of the bush or the mailbox?
12:20
SPEAKER_00: No.
12:21
SPEAKER_00: He ran straight into another creature.
12:24
SPEAKER_00: Oof! As both creatures sat up from their tumble, our duckling friend noticed some familiar traits.
12:33
SPEAKER_00: Your beak My what?
12:37
SPEAKER_00: You have a a small, twitchy, ugly beak like I do.
12:43
SPEAKER_00: I beg your pardon.
12:46
SPEAKER_00: The duckling noticed that the stranger had four plump little babies behind her.
12:51
SPEAKER_00: I I'm sorry for interrupting.
12:54
SPEAKER_00: My your children are are quiet and polite.
12:59
SPEAKER_00: Well, I'd insist so.
13:01
SPEAKER_00: My children are always best behaved.
13:05
SPEAKER_00: Now, who are you and why have you run into my home?
13:10
SPEAKER_00: To insult me?
13:12
SPEAKER_00: Oh I I'm terribly sorry.
13:16
SPEAKER_00: He became aware of his mud-covered feet and frazzled appearance.
13:20
SPEAKER_00: He started to wiping himself clean, and the strange creature gasped.
13:26
SPEAKER_00: I'm not quite sure.
13:28
SPEAKER_00: But I think I'm a very ugly duck.
13:32
SPEAKER_00: He rubbed the mud off one wing, and then the other, and moved on to his back.
13:38
SPEAKER_00: Oh my! You're not a duck That's what the duck said.
13:43
SPEAKER_00: Then I thought I might be a goose, 'cause I'm grey.
13:47
SPEAKER_00: Then a chicken, because I sorta like grains and seeds.
13:51
SPEAKER_00: But I didn't seem to fit in anywhere.
13:55
SPEAKER_00: I know I'm too ugly and weird to fit in with your family, so I I guess I'll be going.
14:02
SPEAKER_00: He was turning around to leave, when the creature interrupted him.
14:07
SPEAKER_00: Wait! Of course you're not a duckling.
14:11
SPEAKER_00: Nor a goose or chicken.
14:14
SPEAKER_00: Those aren't wings, my boy.
14:16
SPEAKER_00: Those are spines.
14:20
SPEAKER_00: Spines?
14:22
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
14:23
SPEAKER_00: You're a hedgehog.
14:26
SPEAKER_00: Just like me.
14:28
SPEAKER_00: Take a look at your reflection.
14:30
SPEAKER_00: Our little friend was confused.
14:33
SPEAKER_00: The two creatures waddled over to a puddle and peered in.
14:38
SPEAKER_00: To his surprise, the duckling uh hedgehog had done quite a bit of growing on his adventure from pond to pond to farm.
14:48
SPEAKER_00: He barely recognized his own reflection.
14:51
SPEAKER_00: Where he once was covered in a little bit of fuzz.
14:54
SPEAKER_00: Our new friend now sported thick fur and brown and beige spines poking out of his back.
15:02
SPEAKER_00: A hedgehog?
15:04
SPEAKER_00: He was a hedgehog the entire time! All of those animals ridiculed him for being different, and now he found the family where he fit in.
15:16
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
15:17
SPEAKER_00: As a baby, he must have simply been curled in the duck's nest because she was so warm.
15:24
SPEAKER_00: As the mother hedgehog looked him over, she said, My my, your quills are so beautiful and sharp.
15:33
SPEAKER_00: I've never seen such a hedgehog as you.
15:36
SPEAKER_00: And in that moment, after that compliment, staring at the mother hedgehog and all of her little babies, the little hedgehog realized he wanted to live alone.
15:49
SPEAKER_00: Alone?
15:50
SPEAKER_00: After all that Yep.
15:54
SPEAKER_00: As soon as they mature from their mothers, hedgehogs tend to be solitary creatures.
16:00
SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's absolutely insane.
16:04
SPEAKER_00: Well, don't you like to live alone, Reg?
16:07
SPEAKER_00: Well I I suppose I do.
16:11
SPEAKER_00: Oh yes, I suppose you're right.
16:13
SPEAKER_00: I am a solitary creature.
16:16
SPEAKER_00: But uh Jonathan, where do I come into this tale?
16:22
SPEAKER_00: Reg, it's about a hedgehog.
16:25
SPEAKER_00: You were just like the little creature who grew into a beautiful best version of himself.
16:33
SPEAKER_00: Didn't you notice?
16:35
SPEAKER_00: You're just like the main character.
16:39
SPEAKER_00: Hmm.
16:40
SPEAKER_00: A bit anticlimactic.
16:42
SPEAKER_00: But you know what, Jonathan?
16:44
SPEAKER_00: I see what you mean.
16:46
SPEAKER_00: I always knew there was something I liked about that creature.
16:49
SPEAKER_00: He's not ugly after all.
16:52
SPEAKER_00: He's magnificent like me.
16:55
SPEAKER_00: So, did you like the story?
16:58
SPEAKER_00: It wasn't about robots or wizards.
17:02
SPEAKER_00: Why, yes, Jonathan.
17:03
SPEAKER_00: I enjoyed it very much.
17:06
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
17:08
SPEAKER_00: Not ugly or boring.
17:10
SPEAKER_00: Just learning to be yourself.
17:12
SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm the best, so stories about me are also the best.
17:18
SPEAKER_00: Yes, that must be it.
17:20
SPEAKER_00: Until next time, Jonathan, I'm going home to be with my favorite hedgehog.
17:26
SPEAKER_00: Me.
17:28
SPEAKER_00: Okay, Reg.
17:29
SPEAKER_00: Until next time.
17:32
SPEAKER_00: This has been a John in character production.
17:35
SPEAKER_00: Today's story was written by Karen Simpson Gardner and performed by Jonathan Cormer.
17:40
SPEAKER_00: Sound recording and production by Jermaine Hamilton at Hamilton Studios.
17:45
SPEAKER_00: Reach out to us on Instagram or email us at DorkTalestorytime at gmail.com.
17:51
SPEAKER_00: Find links in the show notes or go to dorktalestorytime.com.
17:56
SPEAKER_00: Now, go be the hero of your own story, and we'll see you next once upon a time.