The Ugly Duckling

It was a beautiful summer in the countryside. Golden corn waved in the warm breeze, and green meadows stretched beside a quiet river. A tall stork walked slowly through the fields on his long red legs, chattering as he went.

Near the river stood an old farmhouse. Beneath the shade of enormous burdock leaves, a mother duck sat patiently on her nest. She had been sitting there a long time, waiting for her eggs to hatch, and she was beginning to feel quite tired and lonely.

At last, one egg cracked. Then another, and out came little ducklings, peeping softly. “Peep, peep!” “Quack, quack!” said the mother duck happily.

The little ducklings blinked their eyes and looked about at the great green leaves above them. “How large the world is!” they cried.

But the mother duck noticed something. One egg remained. It was much larger than the others.

Just then, an old duck waddled over to visit. “Well,” she said, “how are things going here?”

“All my eggs have hatched except this one,” said the mother duck. “And it’s taking a very long time.”

The old duck examined the egg carefully. “That looks like a turkey egg,” she said. “If I were you, I would leave it alone and teach the other ducklings to swim.”

But the mother duck shook her head. “I have sat on it so long already,” she said. “I will wait just a little longer.”

At last, the large egg began to crack. Out crept a big gray duckling. He was much larger than the others, and he didn’t look like them at all.

The mother duck stared. “My goodness,” she said. “What a large duckling, and how strange he looks. I wonder if he really is a turkey.”

But the next morning, she led all her ducklings down to the water. “Come along, children,” she said. “Now we shall see.” She jumped in the river with a splash. One by one, the little ducklings jumped in after her, and the big gray duckling swam, too, just as well as the others.

“Well,” said the mother duck with relief, “he’s not a turkey after all. See how well he swims.”

Soon she decided it was time to introduce the ducklings to the farmyard. “Stay close to me,” she said, “and beware of the cats.”

The farmyard was noisy and crowded. Ducks and chickens and turkeys wandered everywhere. But when the animals saw the gray duckling, they began to stare.

“What a strange-looking creature,” said one duck. Another pecked him sharply. “Go away,” they cried. “He is far too ugly.”

Even the proud old duck with a red ribbon tied to her leg frowned at him. “The other ducks are quite lovely,” she said. “But that one is terribly awkward.”

Day after day, it grew worse. The ducks pecked him. The chickens beat him with their wings. Even his brothers and sisters turned away from him. “How ugly you are,” they said.

At last, the poor duckling could bear it no longer. He ran away from the farmyard and flew over the hedge into the wide world.

He came to a lonely marsh where wild ducks lived among the tall reeds. They stared at him curiously. “You are certainly very ugly,” they said. “But that does not matter, as long as you do not wish to marry into our family.”

The duckling did not care about such things. All he wanted was a quiet place to rest and drink.

But one day, there was a terrible noise. Bang! Bang! Hunters had come to the marsh. Wild geese fell from the sky. Dogs splashed through the water. The poor duckling hid among the reeds, trembling with fear.

A large hunting dog came close. It showed its sharp teeth, but then it turned away and ran on. “Oh,” sighed the duckling. “I am so ugly that even a dog will not bite me.”

When evening came and the marsh grew quiet again, the duckling ran as far as he could. He wandered over fields and meadows until a storm arose. Wind and rain battered the poor little creature.

At last, he found a small crooked cottage and slipped inside through a crack in the door. An old woman lived there with a cat and a hen. At first, the old woman thought the duckling might be a fine, fat duck who would lay eggs, so she allowed him to stay.

But the cat and the hen soon began to question him. “Can you lay eggs?” asked the hen. “No,” said the duckling. “Can you purr?” asked the cat. “No,” said the duckling again. “Then you have no right to express an opinion,” they said.

The duckling sat sadly in the corner. Soon he began to long for the fresh air and the open water. “I think I must go out into the world again,” he said quietly. So he left the cottage and wandered on.

Autumn passed, then winter came. The wind blew bitterly cold. The ponds froze over. The duckling had to paddle constantly just to keep a small patch of water from freezing. At last, he grew so weak that he became frozen fast in the ice.

Early one morning, a farmer found him and carried him home. But when the children tried to play with him, the frightened duckling fluttered wildly about the room and escaped out the open door. He spent the rest of the winter alone in the snow.

But at last, spring returned. The warm sun shone again. Birds sang in the trees.

One evening, the duckling saw something wonderful. A flock of magnificent white birds flew overhead. They curved their long, graceful necks and spread their shining wings. The duckling had never seen such beautiful birds before. They were swans. He felt a strange longing in his heart as he watched them fly away.

When spring came fully at last, the duckling found himself beside a lovely garden pond. Three beautiful swans glided across the water. “I will fly to those royal birds,” he said. “They will surely kill me for being so ugly, but it does not matter.”

He flew down to the water and swam toward them. The swans came closer. The duckling bent his head and waited, but as he looked into the clear water below him, he saw something astonishing: his reflection.

He was no longer a gray, awkward bird. He had grown into a graceful white swan. The other swans swam around him and gently touched him with their beaks in welcome.

Just then, some children came into the garden. “Look!” cried the youngest. “There’s a new swan.” “The new one is the most beautiful of all,” said the others.

The young swan felt shy and happy all at once. He had once been mocked and chased for being ugly, but now he had found his place in the world. And he spread his wings with joy, saying, “I never dreamed of such happiness as this when I was only an ugly duckling.”