two examples of fables

The Story of The Three Little Pigs

Once upon a time, there was a mother pig who had three little baby pigs. The three little pigs grew so big that their mother said to them, "You are too big to live here any longer. You must go and build houses for yourselves. But take care that the wolf does not catch you." The three little pigs set off. "We will take care that the wolf does not catch us," they said.
Soon they met a man who was carrying some straw. "Please will you give me some straw?" asked the first little pig. "I want to build a house for myself." "Sure," said the man, and he gave the first little pig some straw. The first little pig built himself a house out of it. He was very pleased with his house. He said, "Now the wolf won't catch me and eat me!"
The second little pig and the third little pig went on along the road. Soon they met a man who was carrying some sticks. "Please will you give me some sticks?" asked the second little pig. "I want to build a house for myself." "Sure," said the man, and he gave the second little pig some sticks. Then the second little pig built himself a house of sticks. It was stronger than the house of straw. The second little pig was very pleased with his house. He said, "Now the wolf won't catch me and eat me!"
The third little pig walked along the road by himself. Soon he met a man carrying some bricks. "Please will you give me some bricks?" asked the third little pig. "I want to build a house for myself." "Sure," said the man, and he gave the third little pig some bricks. Then the third little pig built himself a house of bricks. It took him a long time to build it, and it was a very strong house. The third little pig was very pleased with his house. He said, "Now the wolf won't catch me and eat me!"
The next day, the wolf came along the road. He came to the house of straw that the first little pig had built. When the first little pig saw the wolf coming, he ran inside his house and shut the door. The wolf knocked on the door and said,
"Little pig, little pig. Let me come in!"
"No, no!" said the little pig, "By the hair of my chinny chin chin, I will not let you come in!"
"Then I'll huff and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in!" said the wolf.
So he huffed and he puffed, and he huffed and he puffed. The house of straw fell down, and the wolf ate up the first little pig.
The next day, the wolf walked further along the road. He came to the house of sticks that the second little pig had built. When the second little pig saw the wolf coming, he ran inside his house and shut the door. The wolf knocked on the door and said,
"Little pig, little pig. Let me come in!"

"No, no!" said the little pig, "By the hair of my chinny chin chin, I will not let you come in!"

"Then I'll huff and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in!" said the wolf.

So he huffed and he puffed, and he huffed and he puffed. The house of sticks fell down, and the wolf ate up the second little pig.

The next day, the wolf walked further along the road. He came to the house of bricks that the third little pig had built. When the third little pig saw the wolf coming, he ran inside his house and shut the door. The wolf knocked on the door and said,

"Little pig, little pig. Let me come in!"

"No, no!" said the little pig. "By the hair of my chinny chin chin, I will not let you come in!"

"Then I'll huff and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in!" said the wolf.

So he huffed and he puffed, and he huffed and he puffed. But the house of bricks did not fall down.
The wolf was very angry, indeed. He said, "Little pig, I am going to eat you up. I am going to climb down your chimney to get you." The little pig was very frightened, but he said nothing. He put a big pot of water on the fire to boil. The wolf climbed on the roof, and then he began to come down the chimney. The little pig took the lid off the pot, and when the wolf came out of the chimney, he fell into the pot with a big splash! That was the end of the wolf.

http://www.storybus.org/stories_and_activities/the_three_little_pigs/story

The Ugly Duckling

Once upon a time down on an old farm, lived a duck family, and Mother Duck had been sitting on a clutch of new eggs. One nice morning, the eggs hatched and out popped six chirpy ducklings. But one egg was bigger than the rest, and it didn't hatch. Mother Duck couldn't recall laying that seventh egg. How did it get there? TOCK! TOCK! The little prisoner was pecking inside his shell.    "Did I count the eggs wrongly?" Mother Duck wondered. But before she had time to think about it, the last egg finally hatched. A strange looking duckling with gray feathers that should have been yellow gazed at a worried mother. The ducklings grew quickly, but Mother Duck had a secret worry.    "I can't understand how this ugly duckling can be one of mine!" she said to herself, shaking her head as she looked at her last born. Well, the gray duckling certainly wasn't pretty, and since he ate far more than his brothers, he was outgrowing them. As the days went by, the poor ugly duckling became more and more unhappy. His brothers didn't want to play with him, he was so clumsy, and all the farmyard folks simply laughed at him. He felt sad and lonely, while Mother Duck did her best to console him.    "Poor little ugly duckling!" she would say. "Why are you so different from the others?" And the ugly duckling felt worse than ever. He secretly wept at night. He felt nobody wanted him.    "Nobody loves me, they all tease me! Why am I different from my brothers?"    Then one day, at sunrise, he ran away from the farmyard. He stopped at a pond and began to question all the other birds. "Do you know of any ducklings with gray feathers like mine?" But everyone shook their heads in scorn.    "We don't know anyone as ugly as you." The ugly duckling did not lose heart, however, and kept on making inquiries. He went to another pond, where a pair of large geese gave him the same answer to his question. What's more, they warned him: "Don't stay here! Go away! It's dangerous. There are men with guns around here!" The duckling was sorry he had ever left the farmyard.    Then one day, his travels took him near an old countrywoman's cottage. Thinking he was a stray goose, she caught him.    "I'll put this in a hutch. I hope it's a female and lays plenty of eggs!" said the old woman, whose eyesight was poor. But the ugly duckling laid not a single egg. The hen kept frightening him.    "Just wait! If you don't lay eggs, the old woman will wring your neck and pop you into the pot!" And the cat chipped in: "Hee! Hee! I hope the woman cooks you, then I can gnaw at your bones!" The poor ugly duckling was so scared that he lost his appetite, though the old woman kept stuffing him with food and grumbling: "If you won't lay eggs, at least hurry up and  get plump!"    "Oh, dear me!" moaned the now terrified duckling. "I'll die of fright first! And I did so hope someone would love me!"    Then one night, finding the hutch door ajar, he escaped. Once again he was all alone. He fled as far away as he could, and at dawn, he found himself in a thick bed of reeds. "If nobody wants me, I'll hid here forever." There was plenty a food, and the duckling began to feel a little happier, though he was lonely. One day at sunrise, he saw a flight of beautiful birds wing overhead. White, with long slender necks, yellow beaks and large wings, they were migrating south.    "If only I could look like them, just for a day!" said the duckling, admiringly. Winter came and the water in the reed bed froze. The poor duckling left home to seek food in the snow. He dropped exhausted to the ground, but a farmer found him and put him in his big jacket pocket.    "I'll take him home to my children. They'll look after him. Poor thing, he's frozen!" The duckling was showered with kindly care at the farmer's house. In this way, the ugly duckling was able to survive the bitterly cold winter.    However, by springtime, he had grown so big that the farmer decided: "I'll set him free by the pond!" That was when the duckling saw himself mirrored in the water.    "Goodness! How I've changed! I hardly recognize myself!" The flight of swans winged north again and glided on to the pond. When the duckling saw them, he realized he was one of their kind, and soon made friends.    "We're swans like you!" they said, warmly. "Where have you been hiding?"    "It's a long story," replied the young swan, still astounded. Now, he swam majestically with his fellow swans. One day, he heard children on the river bank exclaim: "Look at that young swan! He's the finest of them all!"    And he almost burst with happiness.

The End