The Different Duckling

Once upon a time, by a quiet pond surrounded by tall green grass and pretty flowers, something wonderful was about to happen. Mother Duck sat carefully on her nest, keeping her eggs warm and safe. The morning sun made the water sparkle like tiny diamonds. Then, crack! crack! crack! The eggs began to hatch. One by one, fluffy yellow ducklings popped out, shaking their tiny wings and peeping with joy. But the last egg was bigger than the others. When it finally cracked open, out came a duckling who looked quite different. He had soft gray feathers instead of bright yellow ones, and he was a little bigger than his brothers and sisters. Mother Duck looked at him with the same loving eyes she gave all her babies. Different or not, he was hers, and she loved him completely.