Duck bedtime story
The Twelve Wild Ducks ~ Fairy Tale Stories for Kids
Illustrated By: Jesse Einhorn-Johnson
Once upon a time there was a Queen who had twelve sons but, alas! no daughter to call her own.
One day when the queen was out driving in the woods, she came upon the prettiest little lassie she ever did see. The Queen stopped her horses, lifted the child up in her arms, and kissed her on both cheeks. All the while she thought to herself, "I do so love my sons, but oh! how I wish I had a little girl of my own!"
Just then an old witch of the trolls came up to her. She seemed every bit a good witch, gentle and kind.
"A daughter you shall have," said this witch, "and she shall be the dearest and sweetest child in twelve kingdoms, if you will only give me whatever comes to meet you at the bridge when you return home."
Now the Queen had a little snow-white dog of which she was very fond. It always ran to greet her when she had been away. She thought it must be the dog the old dame wanted. Since the old woman seemed gentle and kind, she would surely care well for the dog. So the Queen said, "Yes, you may have what comes to meet me on the bridge if that is what will bring me a daughter." With that she hurried home as fast as she could.
But who should come to meet her on the bridge, not her snow-white dog at all, but her twelve sons! Before the mother could cry out to them to stop, the witch of the trolls, who turned out to be a wicked witch after all, threw a spell upon them all and turned them into twelve ducks! The ducks flapped their wings, flew away, and away they stayed.
The Queen mourned her lost sons for a long time. She found comfort in nothing at all until at long last, she had a daughter of her own. The little princess was the dearest and sweetest child one ever set eyes on.
She grew up tall and fair, but she was often quiet and her eyes were sad.
No one could understand what it was that ailed her.
The Queen was also troubled, as you may believe, for she had many strange fears when she thought about the loss of her twelve sons. One day she said to her daughter, "Why are you so sad, my daughter? Is there anything you want? If so, only say the word, and you shall have it!"
"Oh, it seems so dull and lonely here," said the daughter. "Everyone else has brothers and sisters, but I am all alone. I have no one. "
"Sit down, my love," said the Queen.
"It's time you knew the truth..."
"...I had twelve sons before you. Stout, brave lads they all were, but I lost them before you came." And she told her daughter the whole story.
After the Princess learned how her brothers had been lost, she could not rest nor sleep nor eat, for she seized on the notion that it was all her fault. She decided she must go in search of her lost brothers, and at once.
She expressed to the Queen that she felt she must find them and somehow free them of their terrible curse.
The Queen wept and begged her not to go, for the thought of losing her last child was almost too much for her to bear. Yet, in spite of all the Queen could say or do, the lass felt she could not could not remain comfortably at home while her brothers still suffered under enchantment, and all because of her! So she ventured from her comfortable life in the palace.
The princess walked on and on, so far you would never have thought her small feet could have had the strength to carry her so far. For three years she traveled.
Finally, one day, when she was walking through deep woods, she grew tired and fell asleep on a mossy tuft.
She dreamed that she was walking deeper and deeper into the woods and then came to a little wooden hut, and within the hut she found her brothers. Just then she awoke. Straight before her she noticed a worn path in the green moss that she hadn't seen before.
This path went deeper into the woods, and so she followed it. Astonished, she discovered at the end of the path a little hut exactly like the one she had seen in her dream.
Now when she went inside this hut, there was no one at home, but there were twelve beds, and twelve chairs, and twelve spoons -- in short, a dozen of everything. When she saw that, her heart leaped, for she could guess at once that it was her brothers who lived there. She began to build up the fire.
Soon she heard something flapping and whirling in the air, and she slipped behind the door. Twelve ducks approached the doorway of the little house, but as soon as they crossed the threshold they become young men, each one dressed as a prince.
"Oh, how nice and warm it is here!" said the youngest prince. "Who would have been so kind as to build the fire?"
"Yes, who?" they all echoed, and they searched until they found the lassie behind the door.
She threw her arms around their necks and said, "I'm your little sister! I've traveled for three years seeking you.
"
And so they rejoiced, sister and brothers.
"Still, you are under this enchantment!" said the younger sister. "If only there was something I could do to set you free!"
All the brothers looked at one another. They sighed and sadly shook their heads.
"There is a way, but it's too hard," said the eldest prince.
"Oh, do tell me, please!" said the Princess. "There is nothing else I'd rather do. Whatever it takes!"
She begged and pleaded until finally the eldest brother said...
"Very well then, if you must know the way..."
"...then this is it - You must pick thistledown, and then card it, spin it, and weave it into cloth. From the cloth you must make twelve shirts, one for each of us. But the entire time while you work on that, you must neither talk, nor laugh, nor weep. If you can do this, we will be set free!"
"Where will I ever get enough thistledown for so many shirts?" asked the sister.
"Well, that's the hardest part of all," said the youngest brother with a sigh. "You must go to the witches' moor at midnight and gather it there." Big tears stood in his eyes. "And you must go alone. All alone."
The sister said nothing, and nodded her head. When midnight came and the moon was high in the sky, she kissed her brothers goodbye and went to the great, wide moor where the witches lived. A great crop of thistles stood there, all nodding in the breeze, while the thistledown atop the plant floated and glistened through the moonbeams.
The Princess began to pluck the thistledown and gather it in her bag. Soon she became aware of a host of wicked faces staring at her through the thistles. What was even more frightening, long skinny arms stretching out toward her. Her heart stood still and she grew icy cold, but never a sound did she utter. She just kept plucking and gathering, faster and faster, until her bag was full. When she got home at break of day, she set to work carding and spinning yarn from the soft down to make her cloth.
So she went on for a long, long time, picking thistledown on the witches' moor, trying not to notice the wicked faces and the long, skinny arms, then taking it back to the hut, carding and spinning and making more cloth. All the while she was careful never to talk, nor to laugh, nor to weep.
In the evening her brothers came home, flapping and whirring like wild ducks, yet becoming young men as they passed through the threshold. In the morning, the moment her brothers stepped outside the house, off they flew again and became wild ducks for the whole day.
One night when the Princess was picking thistledown at the moor, the young King who ruled that land was out hunting. He had become separated from his companions and had lost his way. Now, as he came riding across the moor, he saw her. He stopped his horse and stared at her, wondering who the young lady could be who walked alone on the moor, picking thistledown in the dead of night.
He asked her for her name.
Getting no answer, he was still more astonished. But he was so charmed by her graceful movements and her dedication to the task at hand, that at last nothing would do but to ask to take her home to his castle. So he motioned to the horse. The princess wrung her hands and made signs to him and pointed to the bags in which her work was. And so the prince stayed with her while she worked, helping her as he could, until all her bags were stuffed full. The Princess saw that the King was as gentle and kind to her as a mother, and helpful, too. By the time the sun was rising, the King motioned to the horse, signaling to ask if she'd like to come back to the castle with him. She agreed gladly, and he helped her onto the horse. The King took the bags full of thistledown and gently tied them securely behind the horse, and so she rode the horse, with him beside her.
As soon as they reached the palace, an old woman staggered forward to meet them. She was the King's guardian, and the moment she set eyes upon the charming young maiden, she was filled with jealousy and anger.
Noticing that the maiden said nothing, the old woman ushered the King aside. She whispered, "Can't you see that this thing whom you have brought home to marry is in fact a witch? Why, look at her! She can neither talk nor laugh nor weep!"
But the King did not care a straw whether the sweet young woman he intended to marry spoke or not. He knew, somehow, that she was just the woman he had been looking for. When she looked at him, he was sure that she felt the same way, too. It wasn't long before a grand wedding was held, the King married the Princess, and they lived in great joy and glory.
The Princess did not forget to go on working on her shirts, and all this time she neither talked nor laughed nor wept. Though she was making very good progress, she found that she still had not enough cloth to finish all twelve shirts, and she needed to go back to the witches' moor one last time.
That night, while all the palace slept, she quietly slipped out to pick her thistledown.
Now the old woman who was the King's guardian saw her leave, and she knew well where the young Queen was going, for I must tell you that she was the same wicked witch who had changed the twelve Princes into wild ducks in the first place!
The witch hurried to the King's chamber. She shook him awake and said, "Come with me! I'll prove to you that your new bride is a witch! She can't help but return to the witches' moor at midnight, where no doubt she'll join her wicked company." The King would not listen to her at first, but when he saw that the Queen's bed was empty, he got up and went with the old woman.
Upon the edge of the moor they stopped.
In the clear moonlight they could see the Queen stooping amongst the horrid hags and trolls. The King turned away sadly and said not a word, for he loved his quiet Queen very much.
The wicked old woman began to whisper and tell everyone at court about the Queen's nightly visit to the witches' moor.
Finally the King's advisors clamored, "We will not have a Queen who is a witch! Everyone knows the penalty for witchcraft! The people demand of you that she be burned alive!"
The King was beside himself. As King, he knew the laws of the land had to be upheld. But there was no end to his sadness, for now he despaired that he could not save his Queen. A pile of wood was gathered in the court square. When the pile was all ablaze, and the men were about to put the Queen on it, she made signs to them to take twelve boards and lay them around the pile. On these twelve boards she placed the shirts for her brothers, all completed except the one for the youngest, which still needed its left sleeve. She had not had time to finish it. As soon as she set the shirts on the boards, the people heard a flapping and whirring in the air, and down swooped twelve wild ducks from over the forest. Each one snapped up his shirt in his bill and flew off with it.
"See now!" shrieked the old woman.
"Didn't I tell you? Such goings-on can only be the result of withcraft! Make haste and burn her immediately before the pile burns low!"
"Well, now," said the King, "we've plenty of wood, so I believe I'll wait a bit. It is true that these goings-on are strange, but I have a mind to see what the end of this will be."
As he spoke, up rode twelve young men, each one dressed as a prince and as handsome a lad as you'd wish to see -- but the youngest prince had a wild duck's wing instead of his left arm.
"What goes on here?" asked the eldest Prince.
"My Queen is to be burned," said the King, "because she is a witch, or so the people say, and I can't save her."
"Sister," said the youngest prince, turning to the Queen, "speak now. You have freed us and saved us. Now you may speak to save yourself."
Then the young Queen spoke and told the whole story. The King and all the people listened with wonder and joy. Only the wicked old woman stood trembling with fear.
When the Queen had finished her story, the King ordered that the fire be quenched at once, and he took his wife in his arms. He proclaimed that the old witch was banished from the land forever.
The King brought his wife and her twelve older brothers home to the castle.
A messenger was quickly dispatched to deliver the good news to the Queen's faraway mother that her twelve sons were fully restored and that her daughter, too, was alive and well. Joy and gladness washed over the whole kingdom because the wicked witch was gone, and because the lovely Queen had set free her twelve brothers.
Biddy The Duck: Bedtime Stories for Parents and Kids
Not many people know this, but most ducks have a motto they like to live by. A word, maybe a phrase, wisdom one duck family passes down to the next. And each duck chooses a phrase that becomes their motto. Something that they call on to guide them. Or, to make them laugh.
Which is often the case because ducks are silly creatures. They like to laugh. One motto that is popular among ducks is this one…. “never trust a tail wind.” Fourth grade ducks find this motto very funny. Another common duck motto is… “a quack a day keeps the water away.” I suppose you have to be a duck to understand that, and to live by that too.
But our Biddy, our Biddy Duck is a silly duck. Well, she’s happy. And I guess being happy makes her feel silly. This is her motto…
“Happiness isn’t the cure for all life’s troubles, but it sure is infectious. And that’s Biddy… Happy.
Now, biddy lived in a pond. Well, a pond attached to a big lake. A lake that, if you use your imagination, you might recognize. Cattails, reeds, trees, shoreline, sun… it’s a kind of a lake where an animal like our Biddy can find a lot of variety. And… she has friends. A BIG variety of friends. Biddy has duck friends, fish friends, spider friends, wolf friends, deer friends, friends that are bears, friends that are cats, friends that are coyotes… But she doesn’t have any human friends.
That is, not until, this one particular day….
Biddy was resting in a clutch of cattails on a favorite shore line of hers. And, it was favorite place of hers where she would go to meet a good friend of hers. A little rainbow trout. His name was Glub. Now, there was no easy way to call on G lub. Biddy’s voice didn’t cary to well under water, so she would sit by the cattails and wait. Which wasn’t too difficult to do. It was a sunny part of the lake where the shallow shoreline would warm up easily on a sunny day like today. It was a place where you could snack on some cattail leaves or some reeds if you found yourself to be a hungry duck.
As she was doing just that, she felt a little tickle-nibble at her tiny orange feet. She knew who it was. It was a nibble. It was Glub. She dipped her beaky head under the water line. She looked left and looked right. She said, “Do I feel a little fish nibbling at my feet?” No one answered, and so she stuck her head back above water and played the game.
She started chewing on more cattail leaves and there it was again….. diggle diggle diggle.
She ducked under water again…. “Is that a little nibble I feel on my feet?” She puzzled, “Glub, where are you?! Glub?! Come out Glub!” And there he was! Darting out from behind a round rock.
“Biddy!”
“Hi Glub! What’s going on today?!”
Glub was a rainbow trout. Now, let me tell you, if you’re a rainbow trout, odds are you’re happy. Glub had a whole host of friends too. Biddy didn’t know many of them because she wasn’t able to go under water to get to know many of them.
“Biddy, what’s it like up there today?”
“Oh, it’s sunny out today. It’s got this whole part of the lake all warmed up. Feels good. Feels good!”
Glub new it too. He was keen to know the different temperatures of the water. Being a fish he could handle any temperature. But the warm stuff, he liked that best. Biddy went on to tell him how the wind was blowing through the trees.
Telling him how, in the summer time, that’s a very different sound. Kind of a “wisshhhhhhhhhh” sound. When biddy would stay close to winter time, she would notice that the leaves were falling, and that the wind made a different “wuuusshhhhhh” sound. Those fluffy needly trees talked differently.
Glub was always fascinated with the upside world. And Biddy said, “Well, take a look at that over there Glub. That there is a trail that leads from the water on up the hill. Now, I’ve only been on that trail a couple of times, but I know that’s the trail the deer like to use. They come down the big hill, and you can’t see the rest of the trail when it goes past the tree line…. but, they come down that hill and they sip at the water right there at the shore. It’s a nice place to be. We’re not the only animals that like being on this part of the lake.”
And as Biddy continued talking about the trail, the hill and Fierra the deer… as she was describing that all to Glub a sudden “SHOOFFFFFFFF!” caught her ear.
And then a loud “SHIFFFFFFFFF!” My goodness! It was bear running through the woods. Running and being chased by a…. a human?!
“Glub! Glub, did you see that?!”
“See what Biddy?”
“Glub, did you see that?! It was a bear! A bear was running and it was being chased by a human!”
“No! I didn’t. I didn’t see… Biddy! Biddy, what’s going on?!”
“I’ll be right back!” Biddy launched into the air… SIPT-SIPT-Sipt-sipt-sipt-sip-sip-si-si-si-s-s-sss! She tried to catch up. Following the trees, following the shore line to see what was going on. And there below her, were the bear and the human running as fast as they could. Darting and jarting through the tall and stately trees. Was something wrong? Was there trouble? That bear was certainly in a panic and it seemed she may need to call on help fast! Or, were they both running away? Was there danger in the hill? Would the entire animal population need to run too? Need to swim, need to fly, need to find safety? Biddy needed to think fast! She cruised lower get to the bottom of this and, as she skimmed the tree tops it became clear to her that the two were running straight for the drop off.
That part of the shoreline that, well wasn’t shore at all… it was a cliff. She was convince that bear was in trouble. That man was chasing that bear toward that cliff!
But then, the man caught up and passed the bear… and he too was laughing, and now laughing louder than the bear. The scene quickly changed and Biddy realized any one who was laughing was certainly not in trouble. Or, were they? That was it… they didn’t know the trail ended. They couldn’t know of the sudden drop off and would fall to the lake many feet below. Biddy was going to need to act fast.
When the pair were fifty feet from the cliff… biddy began to nose dive. Forty feet… she tucked her wings. Thirty feet… she wasn’t going to make it… Twenty feet… They weren’t slowing down! Ten…. Five…. zero…..
The bear and the man launched unstopped into the air above the water.
“YEAH-HOOOOOOOOO!” They cheered!
SPLA-OOOOSHHH!”
Stories of the genre Tales - listen online. Page 38
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Leader of the pack - A bedtime story.
Autumn is a magical season. If in the summer life in the forest flows measuredly, then in autumn everything changes very quickly, everything is in a hurry somewhere: hares and squirrels stock up for the winter, bears walk through the forest, eating the last berries and mushrooms.
Mice and marmots dig holes and insulate dwellings, birds fly south. Everyone is included in the autumn fuss, even those who sleep all winter and do not make supplies. And in autumn, the Hare always has a lot of trouble and worries, because he is the father of a large family, you need to take care not only of yourself and your wife, but also of the hares. In the same autumn, special tests fell on the Hare.
This autumn it rained a lot, and the hollow in the clearing in front of the Hare's house filled with water, turning into a small shallow lake. In the evening, a small flock of ducks stopped on this lake. The hare caught a glimpse of them when he returned with mushrooms from the forest. It was already late, he was tired, and therefore did not pay any attention to the ducks. At night, the Hare did not sleep well, some constant noise disturbed him. There was some clapping, the sound of water and sounds like: “quack-quack” or “qua-quaw”. All night the Hare tossed and turned, woke up, fell asleep again, but a strange noise haunted him until morning.
When he woke up in the morning, the first thing he noticed was that the noise had not stopped, but had become even louder. Having washed, the Hare first of all went outside to understand the cause of the noise.
- Where are you going, you didn't even have breakfast? - the hare stopped him.
- Then, - the Hare waved his paw, - you need to find out what's going on here.
— So the same ducks flew in last night, — the hare explained.
- Of course, ducks, - the Hare pretended to guess, - but why are they making noise like ... like ..., - he could not come up with a comparison, - like elephants! - Finally, he found himself and, throwing open the door, went out into the street.
Already on the threshold, he remembered that he had seen several ducks in the evening, but what he saw amazed him. The duck flock grew noticeably overnight. Ducks swam in the lake, walked along the shore, clamored, and sometimes fought with each other. The hare came closer to them and shouted with all his strength:
- What's going on here? What are you making noise?
But no one even paid attention to him.
Perhaps they didn't even hear him.
- Can you make the noise quieter? - Hare shouted again.
"They won't listen to you," a familiar voice came from behind.
Turning around, the Hare saw a Magpie sitting on a birch branch.
— Hello, Magpie — why won't they?
- Because they are ducks: young, cocky, they only listen to their leader. If you want to shout to them, then you have to go to the leader, - Magpie shouted.
- Where can I find it? asked the Hare.
Magpie pointed to a small group of old ducks with her wing, and she flew somewhere far away from this noise. The hare went in the direction where Magpie pointed. Along the way, he immediately determined who was the leader of the duck flock. It was a very old drake. His feathers are faded in places, his head is completely white. He was a little thicker than other ducks and moved waddling. Every now and then adult ducks flew up to him, and he gave them instructions.
- Hello, - the Hare greeted the leader of the pack, - are you in charge here? What kind of mess is going on here?
The leader immediately turned to the Hare.
— Hello, — the old drake sighed, — it's a complete disgrace.
- Noise, din, bustle and bustle, - continued the Hare, - delighted that they agree with him.
- Yes, yes, yes. The young ducks were absolutely crazy! As I understand you,” the leader said in an old voice, “letting him know with a wing that he should not be disturbed yet. “It's good that you noticed it, otherwise I thought I was the only one suffering from this disorder.
— How can you not notice, — the Hare said more calmly, — I live here!
- What luck! - it is not known what the leader was delighted with.
- I understand you have a flight and all that, but you need to put things in order.
The old drake came close to the Hare:
— You understand, — he almost whispered, — I'm already very, very old...
— They don't listen to you? interrupted the Hare.
- Yes, of course, they obey, where are they without me. It’s just that I don’t have time to keep track of everything, ”the leader remarked quietly, looking around at the young ducks.
- It so happened this year that of the experienced ducks in our flock, only I remained, the rest are all too young. They won't find a road to the south either. And when the deputy comes, everyone will freeze, but it will be too late.
- Yes, - sympathized with the old man Hare, - it is a harsh winter.
- I wouldn't be in command of a flock, - the leader whispered, - but to fly somehow in the tail of the wedge, and that would be good. But it has to. Not only that, you still need to fly around the entire forest, from all the lakes and swamps to collect all the lagging behind, so that no one is left. In the meantime, I'm flying, there is no one to look after the children.
— Do you really have no assistants? - the Hare was surprised.
— There are, of course, — the drake waved his wing, — but they also need to be commanded, they won’t think of anything themselves. Here you would, - the drake looked intently at the hare, - why would you start to put things in order?
- Me? The first thing I would do is silence.
“Very well,” agreed the drake. - OK, try.
— Will they listen to me? asked the Hare.
"We'll see," the leader replied evasively.
They went out into the clearing. All around the hubbub of dozens of birds was heard. The hare took in more air and shouted as loudly as possible
- Ti-i-i-x-o-o!
The ducks didn't quiet down for a second, and then they roared with greater force.
"They don't listen to me," the Hare complained to the drake.
"Because they don't understand you," he explained. You scream and they scream. What did you want to say to them?
- Why is it incomprehensible, - the Hare was indignant, - their hubbub attracts all predators in the forest. When the fox comes, what will they do then? And she’ll have a quick bite of five or two ducks,” he explained and froze, surprised by the instant silence.
The hare looked around. All the ducks were looking at him. The old leader chuckled.
"Well done," he said. - The hare tells you correctly.
