Tonight, meet a little duckling called Quackers as she starts her ballet class. To be a beautiful, strong ballerina like her teacher Ms Cyggy is her biggest dream. However, when that dream starts to feel a bit too big and out of reach, the duckling is faced with a decision: to give up or to work even harder to see results. Let's see what she does. Relax, get sleepy, and let’s begin!
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The No1 kids bedtime stories & sleep meditations podcast that helps children sleep like a dream. Hosted by the world's biggest fan of bedtime stories, Abbe Opher! All episodes are safe for babies, children and really big kids 0 to 100, so settle down tonight and get sleepy with the world's greatest bedtime stories & sleep meditations for kids.
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Narrator 🎙 Abbe Opher
Author ✍️ Elisha Ainsley
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
00:00:10
Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome back to Kowala Moon, a podcast of
00:00:14
Speaker 1: original children's bedtime stories and meditations designed to make bedtime
00:00:19
Speaker 1: a dream, as has become our habit. Coco and I
00:00:23
Speaker 1: want to start by welcoming some new friends into the clubhouse.
00:00:27
Speaker 1: Welcome to Kyle Koch who's five and a half, Winnie
00:00:31
Speaker 1: from Vermont, and von and Everly from Ottawa, Canada. Welcome
00:00:35
Speaker 1: and thanks for joining us, and enjoy all your extra
00:00:38
Speaker 1: bonus episodes from now on. I wonder whether the person
00:00:42
Speaker 1: who sent in the idea for tonight's story about a
00:00:45
Speaker 1: ballet dancing duck is listening. You forgot to leave your name,
00:00:48
Speaker 1: so I'll say thank you and hope it reaches your
00:00:51
Speaker 1: ears somehow. It was such a gorgeous concept that Alicia
00:00:54
Speaker 1: couldn't resist giving it her special bedtime story treatment and
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Speaker 1: turning it into this sweet snoozy tail. I should say
00:01:03
Speaker 1: to each and every one of you, parents, grandparents, older
00:01:06
Speaker 1: siblings included, feel free to send us your story ideas,
00:01:10
Speaker 1: no matter how brief or detailed, or funny or silly.
00:01:14
Speaker 1: We read everything, and although we have loads of ideas
00:01:17
Speaker 1: in our writer's room, there's always room for more. We'll
00:01:20
Speaker 1: give you a shout out to so Disney know exactly
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Speaker 1: who to call. Right soon, we're going to meet a
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Speaker 1: little duckling with a big dream. However, when that dream
00:01:31
Speaker 1: starts to feel a bit too big and out of reach,
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Speaker 1: the duckling is faced with a decision to give up
00:01:39
Speaker 1: or to work even harder to see results. What would
00:01:44
Speaker 1: you do? Whilst you ponder on that, make sure you
00:01:48
Speaker 1: know where your teddy is and get comfy in bed,
00:01:52
Speaker 1: close your eyes and gently circle your ankles and wrists
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Speaker 1: to release any tightness from the day. Maybe you also
00:02:02
Speaker 1: shrug your shoulders and gently scrunch up your face. Then
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Speaker 1: let everything goes still and just relax in bed, lovely,
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Speaker 1: snuggle down a little bit more and relax even more
00:02:26
Speaker 1: perfect Shall we find out what our little duckling decides
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Speaker 1: to do. This is The Clumsy Duckling and the Bird
00:02:36
Speaker 1: Ballet by Alicia Ainslie. There once was a little duckling
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Speaker 1: called Crackers. Crackers had bright yellow, fuzzy fur all over
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Speaker 1: her body that would one day turn brown and transform
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Speaker 1: into feathers. She had a sweet pink bee, a pair
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Speaker 1: of beady black eyes, and two orange, flappy webbed flippers
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Speaker 1: for feet. Quackers lived on a lake in sleepy forest
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Speaker 1: with her parents and six duckling brothers and sisters. Quackers
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Speaker 1: might only have been a young duck of fifteen days old,
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Speaker 1: but she already knew what she wanted to be when
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Speaker 1: she grew up. Quackers wanted to be a ballerina in
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Speaker 1: the Royal Bird Ballet. Only the finest feathered dances made
00:03:34
Speaker 1: it into the Royal Bird Ballet, and they all started
00:03:37
Speaker 1: by attending classes from a young age to perfect their pirouettes,
00:03:42
Speaker 1: plaise and padadeu. So when Crackers was old enough, she
00:03:46
Speaker 1: started her first class. That afternoon, her mother picked her
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Speaker 1: up from school and took her to the dance studio,
00:03:55
Speaker 1: where Quackers excitedly slipped into her tutu and ballet slippers.
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Speaker 1: In the waiting room, there were a number of other
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Speaker 1: young birds waiting for class to begin, including Quacker's friend
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Speaker 1: from school, Becky the Blackbird. It seemed to be that
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Speaker 1: all the other young birds had been coming to class
00:04:13
Speaker 1: for a while, and they stretched their wings and feet
00:04:16
Speaker 1: as they waited patiently to be let into the classroom.
00:04:21
Speaker 1: Quackers felt a little bit like a duck out of water,
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Speaker 1: but she was eager to get started and begin learning.
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Speaker 1: The door to the dance studio finally opened, and the
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Speaker 1: young birds said goodbye to their parents As they shuffled
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Speaker 1: inside the classroom. Quackers's mother gave her a kiss on
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Speaker 1: the top of her head and whispered, have fun, my
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Speaker 1: sweet Huckling. Then Quackers followed the other students. Inside. The
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Speaker 1: studio was massive, with a yellow wooden floor and tall,
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Speaker 1: shiny mirrors lining the walls all the way around the room.
00:05:01
Speaker 1: Ballet bars were set alongside the mirrors, and gentle tinkling
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Speaker 1: piano music played through the music speakers. As the young
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Speaker 1: birds gathered for class, Quackers's beak hung open with wonder
00:05:16
Speaker 1: as she looked around. It was just like she had
00:05:20
Speaker 1: imagined it would be. Good afternoon, every one. A soft,
00:05:28
Speaker 1: French accented voice announced. All the students stopped still and
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Speaker 1: paid attention as a tall, beautiful white swan walked soundlessly
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Speaker 1: across the front of the room. Quackers thought that the
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Speaker 1: magnificent bird looked familiar, but she couldn't put her wing
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Speaker 1: on it. The swan continued, we have a new student
00:05:57
Speaker 1: joining our class to day, everybody say hallo to Quackers.
00:06:05
Speaker 1: Every little Bird's head swiftly turned to stare at Crackers,
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Speaker 1: and she blushed as she shyly waved her wing. Welcome
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Speaker 1: to ballet, The Swan smiled, am your teacher, Miss Ciggy Swan.
00:06:25
Speaker 1: Quackers gasped as she realized where she recognized her teacher from.
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Speaker 1: Siggy Swan had once been a prima ballerina for the
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Speaker 1: Royal Bird Ballet, and Quackers had seen several videos of
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Speaker 1: her performing in shows like The duck Quacker, Sleeping Budgy,
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Speaker 1: and of course, Swan Lake. Quackers had heard lots about
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Speaker 1: Miss Ciggy Swan's captivating dancing and graceful demeanor. She was
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Speaker 1: rumored to be one of the best bird dancers around.
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Speaker 1: The young Duckling was so excited to be taught by
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Speaker 1: a ballet legend. Crackers gauped at Miss Siggy Swan with
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Speaker 1: admiration as she spoke to her. Miss Ciggy asked if
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Speaker 1: this was Crackers his first time attending a ballet class,
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Speaker 1: and Crackers nodded her head. Miss Ciggy assured her that
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Speaker 1: she would soon pick up the moves, but if Crackers
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Speaker 1: had any questions or needed anything explaining further, then all
00:07:36
Speaker 1: she had to do was raise her wing to ask.
00:07:40
Speaker 1: Then Miss Siggy clapped her wings twice, and everyone in
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Speaker 1: class round a space in the studio and froze in
00:07:48
Speaker 1: a starting position. Cuckers copied what everyone else was doing
00:07:54
Speaker 1: by standing with her spindly little legs together, touching her heels,
00:07:59
Speaker 1: and turned out her feet to the sides. A fuzzy
00:08:04
Speaker 1: black moor hen with enormous feet whispered the Crackers that
00:08:09
Speaker 1: this position was called first position, and they always started
00:08:13
Speaker 1: class in this way. Crackers was appreciative for the more
00:08:18
Speaker 1: hen's help, she would need a lot while she caught
00:08:21
Speaker 1: up to speed. A slow piano melody began to play
00:08:26
Speaker 1: over the studio speakers, and Miss Siggy called out instructions
00:08:31
Speaker 1: to guide the students in a ballet warm up. At first,
00:08:36
Speaker 1: Crackers had no idea what any of the words meant
00:08:39
Speaker 1: that her teacher was calling out, and so she simply
00:08:42
Speaker 1: copied what everyone else was doing. However, as the music
00:08:47
Speaker 1: went on, Crackers started to recognize the words and needed
00:08:51
Speaker 1: to watch her fellow classmates less and less. By the
00:08:56
Speaker 1: end of the warm up, Crackers understood what first and
00:09:00
Speaker 1: second position were, knew that a plier was a bend
00:09:05
Speaker 1: of the knees, and could just about wave her wing
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Speaker 1: in the right direction as her feet moved and her
00:09:11
Speaker 1: knees bent. The class went on and Quackers learnt several
00:09:17
Speaker 1: different ballet moves, from spinning pirouettes to big jumps called Granette's.
00:09:25
Speaker 1: Every new move the young duckling learned was thrilling, and
00:09:29
Speaker 1: Crackers could almost imagine herself performing on the big stage
00:09:34
Speaker 1: at the Royal Bird Ballet. Already with her first class
00:09:39
Speaker 1: under her feathers, Quackers returned home that evening, gushing to
00:09:43
Speaker 1: her family about how wonderful ballet had been, what a
00:09:47
Speaker 1: lovely teacher Miss Siggy was, and expressing how she couldn't
00:09:51
Speaker 1: wait to attend class again next week. The next week
00:09:57
Speaker 1: came around fast, and so did ballet. This week, klass
00:10:02
Speaker 1: was a little bit harder for Quackers. There were even
00:10:06
Speaker 1: more moves to learn, plus a third and fourth position
00:10:11
Speaker 1: to get her head and her feet around. Quackers needed
00:10:15
Speaker 1: a bit more help with picking up the moves as
00:10:18
Speaker 1: they became more advanced. Quackers had originally thought that ballet
00:10:23
Speaker 1: would be easy to learn, but actually it was turning
00:10:27
Speaker 1: out to be quite tricky. After the third time of
00:10:32
Speaker 1: having to ask Miss Ciggy for extra help, Quackers was
00:10:36
Speaker 1: starting to feel a little deflated. Why was nobody else
00:10:41
Speaker 1: struggling to pick up the moves as much as she was.
00:10:46
Speaker 1: Miss Ciggy could sense that Quackers was being a bit
00:10:49
Speaker 1: hard on herself, and she reassured Quackers that she was
00:10:53
Speaker 1: doing very well for a beginner. Quackers sighed and replied,
00:11:01
Speaker 1: is it supposed to be this hard? All the ballerinas
00:11:06
Speaker 1: I have watched make it look easy? Maybe I'm not
00:11:11
Speaker 1: meant to be a ballet dancer after all? But Miss
00:11:17
Speaker 1: Siggey reassured Crackers that she was only on her second lesson.
00:11:23
Speaker 1: She couldn't expect to be a great ballet dancer after
00:11:26
Speaker 1: such a short time. The kind teacher explained to Crackers,
00:11:33
Speaker 1: we ballerinas make it look easy, but that is only
00:11:40
Speaker 1: because we have worked very, very hard for many years
00:11:46
Speaker 1: to make it feel easy. Motivated by her teacher's words,
00:11:53
Speaker 1: Quackers persevered as best as she could for the rest
00:11:56
Speaker 1: of the lesson, and by the end she had a
00:11:59
Speaker 1: better handle on her third and fourth positions. Before bed
00:12:05
Speaker 1: that night, Quackers watched more videos of prima ballerinas performing
00:12:10
Speaker 1: magnificent dance solos. They all floated around the stage so effortlessly.
00:12:18
Speaker 1: When Quackers wondered how many ballet lessons they had to
00:12:23
Speaker 1: attend to become as spectacular as they were. During Quackers's
00:12:29
Speaker 1: third lesson, Miss Siggy announced that all students would be
00:12:33
Speaker 1: taking their first ballet exam at the end of the term.
00:12:37
Speaker 1: They would perform two short dances and demonstrate a variety
00:12:42
Speaker 1: of different ballet positions for the examiners who would watch.
00:12:46
Speaker 1: Then the students would each be graded and given a certificate.
00:12:52
Speaker 1: All the students were excited by the prospect of doing
00:12:55
Speaker 1: a ballet exam, especially Quackers. She knew that if she
00:13:00
Speaker 1: did lots of exams and worked her way up to
00:13:03
Speaker 1: the top level, she could maybe one day perform with
00:13:09
Speaker 1: the Royal Bird Ballet, just like Miss Ciggy once did.
00:13:15
Speaker 1: With this new goal in sight, the students started learning
00:13:19
Speaker 1: two dance routines to prepare for their exam. One routine
00:13:25
Speaker 1: was slow and graceful, full of lots of balancing positions
00:13:30
Speaker 1: and floaty wings. Meanwhile, the other was a little bit faster,
00:13:36
Speaker 1: packed with fancy footwork and multiple jumps. Miss Ciggy was
00:13:42
Speaker 1: a good teacher, and the students picked up and practiced
00:13:46
Speaker 1: the exam piece as well, all except for Quackers. Quackers
00:13:52
Speaker 1: was finding it rather hard to keep up. Miss Ciggy
00:13:56
Speaker 1: would demonstrate each ballet move at the front of the class,
00:14:00
Speaker 1: and then all the students would have a go at copying.
00:14:05
Speaker 1: Some little birds got it right the first time, some
00:14:09
Speaker 1: took a few attempts but eventually got the hang of it,
00:14:13
Speaker 1: and a couple of them struggled for a bit longer.
00:14:17
Speaker 1: Quackers was one of the students who couldn't help getting
00:14:20
Speaker 1: her feet in a tangle each time she tried to
00:14:23
Speaker 1: perform a new move. Ballet didn't feel like it was
00:14:28
Speaker 1: coming naturally to Quackers, and she couldn't help comparing her
00:14:33
Speaker 1: struggles with the students who seemed to be getting it
00:14:37
Speaker 1: right the first time. But Quackers pushed on. Miss Siggi
00:14:43
Speaker 1: directed the students to perform a graceful assemble, which was
00:14:48
Speaker 1: a jump in the air, springing off one leg, joining
00:14:52
Speaker 1: the legs together in mid air, and then landing on
00:14:56
Speaker 1: two feet. Quackers attempted to perform an assemble just as
00:15:02
Speaker 1: Miss Siggy had demonstrated, but as she swept her webbed
00:15:07
Speaker 1: foot up and lifted off the floor, she swept a
00:15:12
Speaker 1: little too hard and threw herself backwards onto the ground
00:15:16
Speaker 1: in a feathery heap, Quackers looked up at the ceiling
00:15:22
Speaker 1: and watched as a few classmates faces came into view.
00:15:25
Speaker 1: As they checked she was okay. Are you all right, Quackers?
00:15:31
Speaker 1: A fuzzy yellow and brown gosling called Brent asked meekly.
00:15:37
Speaker 1: Quackers blushed and got back up on her feet again quickly. Yeah, yes,
00:15:43
Speaker 1: I'm fine, she giggled with embarrassment. The floor is a
00:15:48
Speaker 1: little slippy, that's all. Quackers tried to join in with
00:15:54
Speaker 1: class again, but it wasn't the only time she slipped
00:15:57
Speaker 1: up that day. For the graceful slow exam dance, Miss
00:16:03
Speaker 1: Siggy had the students all congregate in a line to
00:16:07
Speaker 1: perform a single pirouette, one by one like a domino
00:16:11
Speaker 1: effect down the line. Starting at the far end, an
00:16:17
Speaker 1: elegant dove named Diamond performed a perfect pirouette, turning on
00:16:23
Speaker 1: the spot on one leg and landing gracefully on two
00:16:27
Speaker 1: feet in the same spot. One by one, each student
00:16:33
Speaker 1: performed their pirouette, landing them expertly, but when it got
00:16:38
Speaker 1: to Crackers, things took a rocky turn. Quackers prepared for
00:16:44
Speaker 1: her turn and hopped up onto her tiptoes on one
00:16:48
Speaker 1: webbed foot, but as she spun her body around, she
00:16:53
Speaker 1: moved too fast and turned the wrong way. Quackers' wings
00:16:58
Speaker 1: flew out to the sides when she lost her balance,
00:17:01
Speaker 1: wobbling and falling over flat on her beak, knocking into
00:17:06
Speaker 1: the student on her right as she tumbled. Just like
00:17:11
Speaker 1: a set of dominoes, the young birds standing in the
00:17:15
Speaker 1: line all fell down to the floor as they knocked
00:17:19
Speaker 1: into each other, one after the other. It wasn't quite
00:17:24
Speaker 1: the domino effect Miss Ciggy had been hoping for. Miss
00:17:29
Speaker 1: Siggy stared at her students with surprise, and then ruffled
00:17:34
Speaker 1: her feathers and sighed, Oh, why don't we try that again?
00:17:43
Speaker 1: She purred softly with a slight giggle. The young birds
00:17:49
Speaker 1: all got up and trudged back into their starting positions,
00:17:53
Speaker 1: and Quackers bowed her head with embarrassment. It had been
00:17:58
Speaker 1: going quite well until she tripped over. All of a sudden,
00:18:03
Speaker 1: she felt a nudge of her wing, and she looked
00:18:06
Speaker 1: at her side to see her friend from school, Beaky,
00:18:10
Speaker 1: the blackbird, smiling at her. Don't worry about it, Quackers,
00:18:16
Speaker 1: Beeky whispered, We all trip and stumble sometimes. What's important
00:18:23
Speaker 1: is that we try again, Quackers tried to muster up
00:18:28
Speaker 1: a smile and prepared to have another shot at the routine.
00:18:34
Speaker 1: The music played once more and the class performed the
00:18:38
Speaker 1: choreograph moves, but still Quackers couldn't get the steps right
00:18:44
Speaker 1: and wobbled in and out of her pirouette like jelly
00:18:47
Speaker 1: on a plate. She just couldn't find her balance. At
00:18:53
Speaker 1: the end of class, Quackers and the other students headed
00:18:57
Speaker 1: out of the studio towards the waiting room where their
00:19:00
Speaker 1: parents were. Quackers was so disappointed in herself, and she
00:19:07
Speaker 1: sulked as she headed towards the door. Noticing that something
00:19:12
Speaker 1: was troubling her, Beki placed her wing across Crackers's back.
00:19:19
Speaker 1: I think I'm going to quit, Quackers sniffed. I'll never
00:19:26
Speaker 1: be in the Royal Bird Ballet. I'm far too clumsy.
00:19:34
Speaker 1: Don't give up, Cuackers implored, Beaki. I found it hard
00:19:40
Speaker 1: when I first started ballet too, but it has got
00:19:45
Speaker 1: easier with time. Overhearing their conversation, Diamond the Dove chirped in, yes,
00:19:55
Speaker 1: and you love ballet. Don't give up and something you
00:20:00
Speaker 1: loved just because you've had a bad class. Next time
00:20:06
Speaker 1: will be different. Quackers smiled. Unconvincingly and rushed out of
00:20:13
Speaker 1: the dance studio into the waiting room. It was nice
00:20:17
Speaker 1: of Beakie and Diamond to say, but they didn't understand
00:20:21
Speaker 1: how hard it was. They appeared to find ballet easy,
00:20:27
Speaker 1: so they could never understand. Quackers's mother greeted her with
00:20:33
Speaker 1: a big grin and open wings. There's my little ballerina,
00:20:39
Speaker 1: she beamed, How is class to day? Quackers kicked off
00:20:45
Speaker 1: her ballet slippers and fell into her mother's wings for
00:20:49
Speaker 1: a hug. She told her that she had an awful
00:20:53
Speaker 1: lesson and she wanted to quit ballet. Quackers's mother was shocked.
00:21:00
Speaker 1: Her little duckling loved ballet. It was all she ever
00:21:03
Speaker 1: talked about. Why was she having a sudden change of heart.
00:21:09
Speaker 1: She decided to get to the bottom of what was
00:21:12
Speaker 1: really going on. As they walked home to the lake,
00:21:17
Speaker 1: Quackers told her mother all about her embarrassing fools, her
00:21:22
Speaker 1: inability to get her head around the steps, and how
00:21:26
Speaker 1: she felt inferior next to all her class mates. Her
00:21:31
Speaker 1: friend Bakie was so much better at ballet than she was.
00:21:36
Speaker 1: Quackers felt she would never be as good as the
00:21:39
Speaker 1: other dancing birds. Her mother nodded her head in acknowledgment
00:21:44
Speaker 1: as she listened. Then she eventually spoke, how long has
00:21:51
Speaker 1: your friend Beakie been attending ballet class? She asked Quackers.
00:21:58
Speaker 1: Quackers replied, I'm not sure by longer than I have.
00:22:07
Speaker 1: Her mother responded, okay, then how can you expect to
00:22:14
Speaker 1: be as good as Bekie when Beki has had more
00:22:17
Speaker 1: practice than you. Quackers didn't know what to say. She
00:22:23
Speaker 1: supposed her mother was right, Biki had attended many more
00:22:27
Speaker 1: ballet classes than she had. Quackers recalled what Miss Siggy
00:22:32
Speaker 1: said last week in class, Ballerinas make it look easy
00:22:38
Speaker 1: because they have worked very hard for many years to
00:22:42
Speaker 1: make it feel easy. Maybe Crackers was being too hard
00:22:48
Speaker 1: on herself. Her mother suggested, why don't I help you
00:22:54
Speaker 1: practice at home? You can show me and your brothers
00:22:58
Speaker 1: and sisters your move to gain your confidence performing in
00:23:02
Speaker 1: front of other birds. The more you practice, the better
00:23:06
Speaker 1: you'll become. Quackers thought that was a great idea. She
00:23:12
Speaker 1: needed to catch up with her glassmates, and by practicing
00:23:15
Speaker 1: at home it would be like having lots of extra
00:23:19
Speaker 1: dance lessons. Quackers smiled and nuzzled against her mother's wing.
00:23:26
Speaker 1: She could always rely on her to help her feel better,
00:23:31
Speaker 1: Her mother whispered in her ear. Remember, nothing worth having
00:23:37
Speaker 1: is ever easy. You've got to work to achieve your dreams.
00:23:44
Speaker 1: Quackers decided to do just as her mother suggested. She
00:23:48
Speaker 1: decided to start rehearsing regularly at home. She demonstrated to
00:23:54
Speaker 1: her brothers and sisters all the different ballet positions on
00:23:58
Speaker 1: the edge of the lake, and they counted for her
00:24:01
Speaker 1: while she rehearsed her footwork. She woke up every morning
00:24:07
Speaker 1: and stretched her wings and practiced walking on her tiptoes
00:24:11
Speaker 1: whenever the family went down to the river. Quackers started
00:24:16
Speaker 1: becoming so light on her feet that her mother even
00:24:20
Speaker 1: had to keep regularly checking over her shoulder to ensure
00:24:24
Speaker 1: that Quackers was following the line of ducklings. The more
00:24:29
Speaker 1: Quackers practiced at home, the quicker she started to see progress.
00:24:35
Speaker 1: Her wings were more graceful, her pliaise bent down deeper,
00:24:42
Speaker 1: and her footwork was getting swifter and more precise. And
00:24:47
Speaker 1: it wasn't just at home that Quackers could see the change.
00:24:51
Speaker 1: She could see it in ballet class too. The once
00:24:56
Speaker 1: rather clumsy duckling was now tripping over less, getting frustrated less,
00:25:03
Speaker 1: and feeling more confident. Miss Ciggy and the other young
00:25:08
Speaker 1: Birds noticed too. One day, after a particularly successful run
00:25:15
Speaker 1: of their dance exam pieces, Miss Ciggy sasheyed her way
00:25:20
Speaker 1: over to Quackers. Quackers, she said, I, I've noticed a
00:25:27
Speaker 1: great improvement in you recently. I'm very impressed with your progress.
00:25:36
Speaker 1: Quackers smiled with pride. She had been working very hard
00:25:41
Speaker 1: at home and it was paying off. Their dance exam
00:25:46
Speaker 1: was just around the corner now, and everyone was starting
00:25:50
Speaker 1: to get a little nervous, so Quackers decided to double
00:25:55
Speaker 1: her practice at home. Every waking moment when she was
00:26:00
Speaker 1: at school or swimming on the lake with her family,
00:26:03
Speaker 1: Quackers rehearsed the ballet routines. Every time she did them,
00:26:09
Speaker 1: they felt a little easier within her body, and after
00:26:14
Speaker 1: some time, she felt like she could perform the routines
00:26:18
Speaker 1: in her sleep. In fact, she did perform the routines
00:26:22
Speaker 1: in her sleep quite often. Quackers would dream each night
00:26:27
Speaker 1: of performing on the Royal Bird Ballet stage next to
00:26:32
Speaker 1: Miss Siggy Swan. When she took her final curtsy after
00:26:37
Speaker 1: a dazzling performance, the audience would erupt with rapturous applause,
00:26:43
Speaker 1: and roses of appreciation would be flung onto the stage
00:26:47
Speaker 1: at her feet. Quackers felt on top of the world
00:26:52
Speaker 1: in her imagination, and when she woke, she felt even
00:26:57
Speaker 1: more determined to reach for her dream. The day of
00:27:03
Speaker 1: the ballet exam came around and Crackers's body was buzzing
00:27:07
Speaker 1: with anticipation. She waited outside the dance studio with her
00:27:13
Speaker 1: fellow students as the examiners got themselves ready inside. Curacker's
00:27:21
Speaker 1: mother had but a little pink bow in her fuzzy
00:27:24
Speaker 1: yellow hair to day to wish her good luck, and
00:27:28
Speaker 1: as she stood outside the room in her shiny pink
00:27:31
Speaker 1: tutu and well worn ballet slippers, she felt like a
00:27:36
Speaker 1: proper ballerina for the first time. Miss Siggy eventually opened
00:27:43
Speaker 1: up the studio door and the students all filed inside quietly,
00:27:50
Speaker 1: barely making a sound as they tiptoed across the wooden
00:27:54
Speaker 1: studio floor. They all stood in first position and waited
00:28:01
Speaker 1: for the music to begin. As the soft, slow piano
00:28:07
Speaker 1: music began to play, Quackers and the other students moved
00:28:13
Speaker 1: through their graceful routine delicately. Quackers fought through her nerves
00:28:20
Speaker 1: and focused on the moves. It was harder performing the
00:28:24
Speaker 1: routine with the examiners watching, Quackers could feel her legs
00:28:29
Speaker 1: wobbling more in her one leged arabesque, and for a
00:28:33
Speaker 1: moment she worried that she might fall over. However, she
00:28:38
Speaker 1: managed to hold herself together and finished the routine successfully.
00:28:44
Speaker 1: Next there was time for their second, slightly quicker routine.
00:28:50
Speaker 1: Quackers bent her knees in preparation and jumped up into
00:28:54
Speaker 1: the air, pointing her web toes as much as she could.
00:28:58
Speaker 1: As the plunky piano played, She counted in her head,
00:29:03
Speaker 1: keeping in time to the music, and fixed a smile
00:29:07
Speaker 1: on her beak the whole time. Miss Siggy always said
00:29:12
Speaker 1: that when you smile, you can trick your brain into
00:29:15
Speaker 1: feeling less nervous, and as Crackers tried it now, she
00:29:20
Speaker 1: realized that she was right. Crackers felt much better with
00:29:24
Speaker 1: a smile on her beak. When it was time for
00:29:29
Speaker 1: her grand jette, Quackers leapt into the air with excellent acceleration,
00:29:35
Speaker 1: but stumbled a little as she landed. She hoped that
00:29:39
Speaker 1: nobody had noticed, but she was sure that the examiners
00:29:43
Speaker 1: must have seen her stumble. As the music finished, Cuackers
00:29:49
Speaker 1: kept smiling and tried to trick her brain into forgetting
00:29:53
Speaker 1: that she felt, but she couldn't help feeling disappointed that
00:29:56
Speaker 1: the routine hadn't gone perfectly after all the practice she'd
00:30:01
Speaker 1: put in. The examiners thanked the students for their time,
00:30:06
Speaker 1: and the young birds all filed out of the studio
00:30:09
Speaker 1: to wait outside while the examiners added up their grades.
00:30:14
Speaker 1: Quackers chatted to her friend Bekie and her new ballet
00:30:18
Speaker 1: friend Diamond as they waited patiently in the waiting room.
00:30:24
Speaker 1: How do you think the exam went, Crackers be? He
00:30:28
Speaker 1: asked curiously. Quackers replied, I'm not sure. I messed up
00:30:36
Speaker 1: the landing of my grand Jette and wobbled in my arabesque,
00:30:41
Speaker 1: but otherwise I think I did all right. Diamond Dove
00:30:48
Speaker 1: glanced over at the studio door and whispered, well, I
00:30:53
Speaker 1: think we are about to find out. Miss Siggy opened
00:31:00
Speaker 1: the door and stepped outside with a wing full of certificates.
00:31:05
Speaker 1: She was smiling from feather to feather as she addressed
00:31:08
Speaker 1: the class.
00:31:11
Speaker 2: Bravo everyone, you're all deed wonderful and should be very
00:31:18
Speaker 2: proud of yourselves. Here are your individual marks and certificates. Now,
00:31:27
Speaker 2: I remember this is only your first ever ballet exam,
00:31:32
Speaker 2: so don't be too odd on yourselves. If you didn't
00:31:35
Speaker 2: get the grade you wanted, you were all magnifique. Today,
00:31:43
Speaker 2: Miss Siggy handed out everyone's certificates, and the young birds
00:31:47
Speaker 2: all read them eagerly. When Crackers's certificate landed in her wings,
00:31:54
Speaker 2: she skimmed the writing to find her grade. She had
00:31:58
Speaker 2: got a ninety percent mark. She couldn't believe it. Even
00:32:04
Speaker 2: with her wobble and stumble, she still got a fantastic grade.
00:32:11
Speaker 2: I got eighty seven percent, Beakye announced proudly. What mark
00:32:17
Speaker 2: did you get, Crackers.
00:32:19
Speaker 1: Quackers looked up from her certificate and grinned as she declared,
00:32:25
Speaker 1: I got ninety percent. Beaky and Diamond were amazed at
00:32:32
Speaker 1: Quackers's excellent result and congratulated her on doing so well.
00:32:38
Speaker 1: Quackers glanced at Miss Siggy, who was watching her, smiling
00:32:43
Speaker 1: proudly too. Quackers couldn't wait to get home and share
00:32:48
Speaker 1: her success with her family. To Quacker's amazement, as she
00:32:54
Speaker 1: spoke to more of her classmates, she discovered that she
00:32:59
Speaker 1: had got one of the highest marks in the whole class.
00:33:04
Speaker 1: For a little duckling who was new to ballet, she
00:33:09
Speaker 1: had done rather brilliantly. Maybe Quackers's dream of dancing in
00:33:16
Speaker 1: the Royal Bird Ballet wasn't such a crazy dream after all.
00:33:23
Speaker 1: If she kept persevering, working hard, and believing in herself,
00:33:31
Speaker 1: maybe this clumsy duckling could be destined to be a
00:33:36
Speaker 1: prima ballerina after all.
00:34:04
Speaker 2: Beca