Wenzu is worried he'll have an unhappy Christmas. He is all alone and feeling unwanted. Why can't they see he is a duck, just like them?
Wenzu is only different from the outside, from the inside he is the same as all the others. But how can he make them see this and make him part of the duck family?
Wenzu decides to make the most of his unfortunate situation. He is a good swimmer and dives to catch fish at one end of the lake. He looks at the other ducks that are laughing at his featherless body. They are so mean but he cannot change their minds. He has to put up with it and live his life.
He sees the other ducks, day after day. The weather starts to get colder and colder but Wenzu notices the other ducks don't leave the lake to go to a hotter climate. They stay in the lake. Why?!
While winter gets colder, Wenzu sees that his feathers are growing back and soon he will be able to leave this unfriendly lake. How happy he will be to find his old friends and warm weather. He now sees the other ducks looking at him in a different way. They stare and stare and move closer and closer to him. Why won't they leave him alone? Are they going to attack him just before he leaves for good?
Just then he looks at them more closely. There is something strange about them. All their wings are clipped. They cannot fly. That is why they didn't leave the lake. They are different too!
The duck family finally speak to Wenzu. They can now see him as one of them, as Wenzu had always seen them. They now become friends for life.
It is Wenzu's time to leave. He bids them goodbye and flies off to find his family. But he will never forget the ducks from the lake. They will always be his friends and he now knows that he should never judge a book by its cover. Everyone is different but everyone is the same. And the ducks on the lake have learnt a lesson for life.
Matthias's story is the winner in our Diversity Ducks competition. Below is the story from our second winner.
20080130-junior--onceupon.jpgWhat happens to Wenzu, by Mitchell Garrett, seven, of Swatar
One of the ducks sees Wenzu crying and takes pity on him. This duck tells the others that Wenzu is really a duck. They make friends and start playing games. They also huddle together to keep Wenzu warm, as he has no feathers.
Wenzu becomes so happy that his feathers grow very quickly and he can return home to his family on the river.
So it turns out to be a happy Christmas for Wenzu, after all.
Wenzu is only different from the outside, from the inside he is the same as all the others. But how can he make them see this and make him part of the duck family?
Wenzu decides to make the most of his unfortunate situation. He is a good swimmer and dives to catch fish at one end of the lake. He looks at the other ducks that are laughing at his featherless body. They are so mean but he cannot change their minds. He has to put up with it and live his life.
He sees the other ducks, day after day. The weather starts to get colder and colder but Wenzu notices the other ducks don't leave the lake to go to a hotter climate. They stay in the lake. Why?!
While winter gets colder, Wenzu sees that his feathers are growing back and soon he will be able to leave this unfriendly lake. How happy he will be to find his old friends and warm weather. He now sees the other ducks looking at him in a different way. They stare and stare and move closer and closer to him. Why won't they leave him alone? Are they going to attack him just before he leaves for good?
Just then he looks at them more closely. There is something strange about them. All their wings are clipped. They cannot fly. That is why they didn't leave the lake. They are different too!
The duck family finally speak to Wenzu. They can now see him as one of them, as Wenzu had always seen them. They now become friends for life.
It is Wenzu's time to leave. He bids them goodbye and flies off to find his family. But he will never forget the ducks from the lake. They will always be his friends and he now knows that he should never judge a book by its cover. Everyone is different but everyone is the same. And the ducks on the lake have learnt a lesson for life.
Matthias's story is the winner in our Diversity Ducks competition. Below is the story from our second winner.
20080130-junior--onceupon.jpgWhat happens to Wenzu, by Mitchell Garrett, seven, of Swatar
One of the ducks sees Wenzu crying and takes pity on him. This duck tells the others that Wenzu is really a duck. They make friends and start playing games. They also huddle together to keep Wenzu warm, as he has no feathers.
Wenzu becomes so happy that his feathers grow very quickly and he can return home to his family on the river.
So it turns out to be a happy Christmas for Wenzu, after all.