Chapter One
The Boy Who Lived
The chapter starts with description of the Dursley family, who are proud to be "perfectly normal". We learn that Mrs Dursley has a sister, Mrs Potter, but their families haven't met for several years. Both families have sons.
Then the story begins on a "dull, grey Tuesday". Mr Dursley notices a lot of strange things hapenning - owls flying in town, people in cloaks, a strange cat sitting on the wall of his garden, unusual news on TV. The Dursleys go to bed wondering what it all could mean. At night, a tall, thin and very old man appears near their house. It's Albus Dumbledore. The cat turns out to be Professor McGonagall, and the two are professors from Hogwarts, a school of witchcraft and wizardry. Then comes Hagrid, a giant, who brings little Harry Potter. Harry's parents were killed by Lord Voldermort, a dark wizard, but Harry survived and Voldermort's power "somehow broke" .
So little Harry is left asleep on the doorstep of the Dursley's house with a letter written by Dumbledore. The professors and Hagrid go to join the celebrations.
Once upon a time lived a duck family, and Mother Duck had been sitting on a clutch of new eggs. One nice morning, the eggs hatched six ducklings. But one egg was bigger than the rest, and it didn't hatch. The little prisoner was pecking inside his shell. A strange looking duckling with grey feathers that should have been yellow gazed at a worried mother. A little duckling was very sad because he thought he was the ugliest amongst all his brothers and sisters. One day, he saw his reflection in the water and cried, "Nobody likes me. I am so ugly." He decided to leave home and went far away into the woods.
It's been a long time. When he saw his own reflection in the water but a handsome young swan! Now, he knew why he had looked so different from his brothers and sisters. "They were ducklings but I was a baby swan!" he said to himself.
Колись жила качина родина, а мама качка сиділа на кладці нових яєць. Одного ранку яйця вилупилися шість каченят. Але одне яйце було більше, ніж інші, і це не висиджувалося. Маленький ув'язнений клював усередині його оболонки. На матір дивилося дивна каченя з сірими пір'ям, які мали бути жовтими. Невелике каченя було дуже сумним, тому що він думав, що він найгірший серед усіх своїх братів і сестер. Одного дня він побачив своє відображення у воді і закричав: "Ніхто мене не любить. Я такий потворний". Він вирішив піти з дому і пішов далеко в ліс.
Минуло багато часу. Коли качення побачило у воді своє власне відображення, то це було гарним молодим лебідем! Тепер він знав, чому він виглядав настільки відрізняється від своїх братів і сестер. "Вони були каченятами, але я був лебедям!" - сказав він собі.