The Ugly Duckling

Once upon a time, in the centre of a thick wood. In this snug retreat sat a (text-colour:yellow)[duck] on her nest, watching for (text-colour:yellow)[her] young brood to hatch; (text-colour:yellow)[she] was beginning to get tired of her task, for the little ones were a long time coming out of their shells, and (text-colour:yellow)[she] seldom had any visitors. The other (text-colour:yellow)[ducks] liked much better to swim about in the (text-colour:blue)[river] than to climb the slippery banks, and sit under a burdock leaf, to have a gossip with (text-colour:yellow)[her]. (text-colour:yellow)[You] are one of the ducklings in that shell. (text-colour:gray)[You] feel the warmth from the outside world. [[Break the shell and get out.]] [[I don't get out, it's too dangerous!]]

"Crack!" The shell breaks and the sunlight spread on your body. (text-colour:gray)[You] find yourself in a narrow nest with the other ducklings. (text-colour:yellow)["{(live: 1s)[ (either: "Quack!", "Quack, quack!") ]}"] Said the (text-colour:yellow)[mother]. (text-colour:gray)[You] lift your head and cried. [["Quack,quack."]] [["Peep,peep."]]

"Crack!" The shell breaks and the ducklings get out. (text-colour:yellow)["{(live: 1s)[ (either: "Quack!", "Quack, quack!") ]}"] Said the (text-colour:yellow)[ducklings], and then the mother quacked as well as (text-colour:yellow)[she] could, and the ducklings looked about them on every side at the large green leaves. [[Break the shell and get out.]] [[No, I can still wait.]]

"How large the world is," said the young (text-colour:yellow)[ducks], when they found how much more room they now had than while they were inside the egg-shell. "Do you imagine this is the whole world?" asked the (text-colour:yellow)[mother]; "Wait till you have seen the garden; it stretches far beyond that to the parson's field, but I have never ventured to such a distance. Are you all out?" she continued, rising; "No, I declare, the largest egg lies there still. I wonder how long this is to last, I am quite tired of it;" and she seated herself again on the nest. [[Break, the shell.]] [[It's not the time.]]

"Your child sounds weird, and why he is so large and ugly?I bet he's not your child, he's a turkey!"Said an (text-colour:yellow)[old duck], who paid her a visit. The mother stared at you and exclaimed, "It is very large and not at all like the others but the sound is alright. I wonder if it really is a turkey. We shall soon find it out, however when we go to the water. It must go in, if I have to push it myself." [[A sunny day has come]]

"Crack!" Finally, the shell breaks and the sunlight spread on your body. (text-colour:gray)[You] find yourself in a narrow nest with the other ducklings. (text-colour:gray)[You] lift your head and cried. [["Quack!"]] [["Peep!"]]

"Well, how are you getting on?" asked an old duck, who paid her a visit. "One egg is not hatched yet," said the duck, "it will not break. But just look at all the others, are they not the prettiest little ducklings you ever saw? They are the image of their father, who is so unkind, he never comes to see." "I think I will sit on it a little while longer," said the duck; "as I have sat so long already, a few days will be nothing." [[Break out]] [[NO!]]

At last the large egg broke, and a young one -- you crept forth crying, [["Quack, quack." ]] [["Peep, peep"]] You are very large and ugly. The old duck stared at it and exclaimed, "It is very large and not at all like the others. I wonder if it really is a turkey. We shall soon find it out, however when we go to the water. It must go in, if I have to push it myself."

You died because of the lack of the oxygen. (text-colour:red)[R.I.P.] (link-goto: "Retry", "Prologue")

The mother stared at you and exclaimed, "It is very large and not at all like the others but the sound is alright. I wonder if it really is a turkey. We shall soon find it out, however when we go to the water. It must go in, if I have to push it myself." [[Next day is coming]]

The mother stared at you and exclaimed, "It is very large and not at all like the others and the sound is weird,too. I wonder if it really is a turkey. We shall soon find it out, however when we go to the water. It must go in, if I have to push it myself." [[A sunny day has come]]

On the next day the weather was delightful, and the sun shone brightly on the green burdock leaves, so the mother duck took her young brood down to the water, and jumped in with a splash. "Quack, quack," cried she, and one after another the little ducklings jumped in. The water closed over their heads, but they came up again in an instant, and swam about quite prettily with their legs paddling under them as easily as possible, and you were also in the water swimming with them. [[After swimming]]

On the next day the weather was delightful, and the sun shone brightly on the green burdock leaves, so the mother duck took her young brood down to the water, and jumped in with a splash. "Quack, quack," cried she, and one after another the little ducklings jumped in. The water closed over their heads, but they came up again in an instant, and swam about quite prettily with their legs paddling under them as easily as possible. You were standing by the river bank and you are strugling wheter join them or not. [[Join them.]] [[I'd rather not.]]

"You are not a turkey my child; how well you use your legs, and how upright you hold yourself!Although your sound is weird, you are my own child, and you are not so very ugly after all if you look at you properly. "Quack, quack! come with me now, I will take you into grand society, and introduce you to the farmyard, but you must keep close to me or you may be trodden upon; and, above all, beware of the cat." [[Heading home.]]

"Oh," said the mother, "why don't you join them? Can't you swim my child?" [["Peep, peep.(No, I can not swim.)"]] [["Peep, peep.(Yes, but..."]]

"Oh," said the mother, "that is not a turkey; how well he uses his legs, and how upright he holds himself! He is my own child, and he is not so very ugly after all if you look at him properly. "Quack, quack! come with me now, I will take you into grand society, and introduce you to the farmyard, but you must keep close to me or you may be trodden upon; and, above all, beware of the cat." [[Going home.]]

"You are not my child!"said the mother. "You can not swim and your sound is so weird! You disapointed me! Please go away and I don't want to see you again!" [[You feel deeply discriminated and you left the duck nest.]]

"Then show me your swimming skill my child, don't be afraid! Mom is always here for you!"Said the mother. [[Join them.]] [["Peep, peep.(No, I can not swim.)"]]

When they reached the farmyard, there was a great disturbance, two families were fighting for an eel's head, which, after all, was carried off by the cat. "See, children, that is the way of the world," said the mother duck, whetting her beak, for she would have liked the eel's head herself. "Come, now, use your legs, and let me see how well you can behave. You must bow your heads prettily to that old duck yonder, don't turn your toes, a well-bred duckling spreads his feet wide apart, just like his father and mother, in this way; now bend your neck, and say "quack." [[You behave well and say"Quack".]] [[You behave naughty on purpose.]]

The ducklings did as they were bid, but the other duck stared, and said, "Look, here comes another brood, as if there were not enough of us already! and what a queer looking object one of them is; we don't want him here," and then one flew out and bit him in the neck. "Let him alone," said the mother; "he is not doing any harm." "Yes, but he is so big and ugly," said the spiteful duck "and therefore he must be turned out." "The others are very pretty children," said the old duck, with the rag on her leg, "all but that one; I wish his mother could improve him a little." [[You felt sorrow somehow.]]

The ducklings did as they were bid, but the other duck stared, and said, "Look, here comes another brood, as if there were not enough of us already! and what a queer looking object one of them is; we don't want him here," and then one flew out and bit him in the neck. "Let him alone," said the mother; "he is not doing any harm, and his not my child at all!" "Yes, he is so big and ugly," said the spiteful duck "and therefore he must be turned out." "The others are very pretty children," said the old duck, with the rag on her leg, "all but that one; I wish he could go and we will never see him again." [[You feel deeply discriminated and you left the duck nest.]]

The ducklings did as they were bid, but the other duck stared, and said, "Look, here comes another brood, as if there were not enough of us already! and what a queer looking object one of them is; we don't want him here," and then one flew out and bit him in the neck. "Let him alone," said the mother; "he is not doing any harm, and his not my child at all!" "Yes, he is so big and ugly," said the spiteful duck "and therefore he must be turned out." "The others are very pretty children," said the old duck, with the rag on her leg, "all but that one; I wish he could go and we will never see him again." [[You feel deeply discriminated.]]

"They are afraid of me because I am ugly," he said. So you closed your eyes, and flew still farther, until you came out on a large moor, inhabited by wild ducks. Here you remained the whole night, feeling very tired and sorrowful.Now, [[the mother come to you for some words.]]

In the morning, when the wild ducks rose in the air, they stared at their new comrade. "What sort of a duck are you?" they all said, coming round him. You bowed to them, and was as polite as he could be, but you did not reply to their question. "You are exceedingly ugly," said the wild ducks, "but that will not matter if you do not want to marry one of our family." Poor thing! You had no thoughts of marriage; all you wanted was permission to lie among the rushes, and drink some of the water on the moor. After you had been on the moor two days, there came two wild geese, or rather goslings, for they had not been out of the egg long, and were very saucy. "Listen, friend," said one of them to the duckling, "you are so ugly, that we like you very well. Will you go with us, and become a bird of passage? Not far from here is another moor, in which there are some pretty wild geese, all unmarried. It is a chance for you to get a wife; you may be lucky, ugly as you are." [[Go with them.]] [[I'm not going with them]]

And so they made themselves comfortable; but you, who had crept out of your shell last of all, and looked so ugly, was bitten and pushed and made fun of, not only by the ducks, but by all the poultry. "He is too big," they all said. So it went on from day to day till it got worse and worse. Your were driven about by every one; even his brothers and sisters were unkind to you, and would say, "Ah, you ugly creature, I wish the cat would get you." [["They are afraid of me because I am ugly."]]

And here comes the mother and saying that actually you are not a duck at all and you have to go to find your place for living. You thanked to her and you left the nest. You closed your eyes, and flew still farther, until you came out on a large moor, inhabited by wild ducks. Here he remained the whole night, feeling very tired and sorrowful. [[And a new day has come.]]

She said she wished you had never been born. "She never loved me..."A voice sounds in your mind. [[You feel deeply discriminated and you left the duck nest.]]

You lived a happy life as a wild duck and you never find out that actually you are a swan! (link-goto: "Retry", "Prologue")

"I'd better not, thank you."You turned down the wild ducks' invitation. You keep walking along the river bank... Towards evening, you reached a poor little cottage. You ask around for a living but no one like you to stay... So you sat in a corner, feeling very low spirited, till the sunshine and the fresh air came into the room through the open door, and then you began to feel such a great longing for a swim on the water. Though you feel desperate but you finally decided to live on your own. [["I believe I must go out into the world again."You thought.]]

As the days gone, you lived much more independent. Winter has gone, the spring comes. Although you lived a tough winter, you survived by yourself! One day, you felt that his wings were strong, as he flapped them against his sides, and rose high into the air. [[Then you flew to the sky!]] [[Then you flew to the water!]]

You lived a happy life on the sky! But you never realize you are a swan actually. Congratulations after all! (link-goto: "Retry", "Prologue")

You swam towards the beautiful swans. The moment they espied the stranger, they rushed to meet him with outstretched wings. You bent your head down to the surface of the water. But what did he see in the clear stream below? His own image; no longer a dark, gray bird, ugly and disagreeable to look at, but a graceful and beautiful swan. To be born in a duck's nest, in a farmyard, is of no consequence to a bird, if it is hatched from a swan's egg. He now felt glad at having suffered sorrow and trouble, because it enabled him to enjoy so much better all the pleasure and happiness around him; for the great swans swam round the new-comer, and stroked his neck with their beaks, as a welcome. Into the garden presently came some little children, and threw bread and cake into the water. "See," cried the youngest, "there is a new one;" and the rest were delighted, and ran to their father and mother, dancing and clapping their hands, and shouting joyously, "There is another swan come; a new one has arrived." [[The End.]]

You clear the game for the true ending! Congratulations to the beautiful swan! (link-goto: "Start again.", "Prologue")