The Swineherd. The Ugly Duckling. The Fir Tree

A story about how a willful princess refused to marry an honest but not very wealthy prince, yet—just for pretty little trifles—agreed to kiss a swineherd.

Characters and performers: Narrator — N. Litvinov, Prince — O. Efremov, Princess — O. Nikolaeva, Emperor — V. Lepko, Mistress of the Court — E. Kirillova, Ladies-in-Waiting — N. Lvova, N. Kiseleva

“The Ugly Duckling”

In a small northern part of Denmark, in a bird yard of an old estate surrounded by water ditches and overgrown with huge burdock plants, a mother duck gave birth to yellow, fluffy ducklings. Among them was one—bigger than the rest—clumsy and not pretty at all, completely unlike his brothers and sisters. The inhabitants of the yard did not accept the “ugly duckling,” and he had to leave his home. There were many hurts, troubles, and humiliations along his way, but the trials he endured made him stronger: growing up, he turned into a beautiful swan.