The Ugly Duckling by Coventry Village School and The PuppeTree

Please use any of this script in your own school, it was such fun to come up with this completely original script with 4 puppeteers and 90 children. Everyone participated! Thank you Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts and Coventry Village Foundation.

ACT 1

Narrator: Our play of the Ugly Duckling by Coventry Village School loosely based on Hans Christian Anderson’s version begins with K-2nd grades.
Turn the children around and hand out eggs)

Act 1 Farmer Vern’s Farm and it is time for the cute little ducklings to hatch
Duckling: Ad Lib sweet peeps and chirps
Narrator: Poor Yellow Beauty, the mother of all these eggs she was so distressed one of her eggs had not hatched. What could be the problem?
Her new ducklings wanted to go swim and test their new little web feet.

She said, “Oh Dear, I’m so stressed I need to get my flock down to swim, but this one large egg hasn’t hatched! Oh Dear, ohhhh.
And wouldn’t you know it, the music started.

MUSIC CUE: “FIVE LITTLE DUCKS WENT OUT ONE DAY”

Narrator: Yellow Beauty knew she had no choice, she had to stay with her little ducklings for their safety and she would have to abandon this large egg. But wait the large eggs it hatching, look!

Cracking noise
(Top comes off the big egg and the Ugly duckling sticks his head out

Everyone: (big reaction to this strange bird) ad lib among the ducklings.

Narrator: some said “He’s too big!” other said “He’s different!” and “He doesn’t fit in!”
All Ducklings Laugh and laugh and laugh

Narrator: Yellow Beauty, she was a young mother so she called for a vote. Who wants this Ugly Duckling in our family? No one raised their hand. So the mother Duck said “Alright, who wants to go over the hill and to the pond for a swim and we leave this Ugly Duckling? (All hands go up)

Ugly Duckling: Ahhhhhhh (and starts to cry)

Narrator: Yellow Beauty reminded him that she sat by him till he hatched and he was welcome to farm food before he left. But ….really….your just too Ugly for my family, what will the neighbors think! And so the Ugly Duckling, feeling just about as low as a bird can get, ate his first meal all alone, packed up his shell and went out into the world…
This ends ACT 1 please give a hand of applause to K-2nd grade and their teachers.

Light Cue: Stage Lights OFF and Shadow ON