Le Vilain Petit Canard
The Ugly Duckling
A kind, calm story about growing up and belonging, with farm and pond vocabulary for beginning French readers.
L'histoire
Cinq œufs. Un, deux, trois, quatre… et un grand œuf.
Five eggs. One, two, three, four… and one big egg.
Le petit canard est différent. Il est gris.
The little duck is different. He is grey.
Il nage seul sur l'étang.
He swims alone on the pond.
L'hiver passe. Le printemps arrive.
Winter passes. Spring arrives.
Il regarde l'eau : c'est un beau cygne blanc !
He looks at the water: he is a beautiful white swan!
Les mots à retenir
- le canard — the duck
- l'étang — the pond
- la plume — the feather
- le cygne — the swan
Questions after reading
- Combien d'œufs ? (How many eggs?)
- De quelle couleur est le canard ? (What colour is the duck?)
- Que devient-il ? (What does he become?)
La morale : Chacun grandit à son rythme. — Everyone grows at their own pace.
Le quiz — Le Vilain Petit Canard
Try the quiz for fun. Students signed in with their avatar and PIN earn bonbons that show up on their teacher or parent dashboard.
1. Combien d'œufs y a-t-il ?
How many eggs are there?
2. De quelle couleur est le petit canard ?
What colour is the little duck?
3. Où nage-t-il ?
Where does he swim?
4. Que devient le petit canard ?
What does the little duck become?
Read it as a flipbook
In Bonbon Books, stories like this become tappable flipbooks with narration and an end-of-book quiz that earns bonbons.