It was gloriously beautiful that summer in the meadows with an old farmhouse and a serene canal by the side. A mother duck decided it would be a good place to sit on her eggs and hatch them. At last, one of the eggs cracked open, and then another and another until eight new little yellow ducklings cried, 'Peep! Peep! How big the world is!'
'But this isn't the whole world,' the mother said. 'It extends far beyond the other side of the garden. Now, let me see, are we all here"'
She looked but found that the largest of her eggs hadn't hatched yet. So she sat down on the nest again. Finally, the big egg cracked and broke open. Out came two big feet and a head but it wasn't a soft little yellow head like the other ducklings. This one was big and white, with a long scrawny neck and a fuzzy body.
'My, my! I wonder how he got to be so funny-looking"'
'He's ugly!' quacked the other ducklings. 'We don't want to play with him. I'll bet that the big ugly white brother of ours can't swim!' exclaimed one of the little yellow ducklings.
But the ugly duckling, seeing them all swimming, jumped in and swam too. The mother and the other ducklings were shocked by his ability.
The next day, the mother duck said, 'Come, I'll introduce you to the animals in the poultry yard. You see that big haughty-looking duck with the red ribbon around her leg"' she asked. 'That is a very important person - a Spanish grandee.'
The ducklings were asked to curtsy to her politely. But the Spanish grandee took one look at the ugly duckling and bit him in the neck.
'You leave him alone!' commanded his mother. 'He may not be as pretty as some, but he is the best swimmer of the lot.'
However, all the creatures in the yard made fun of the ugly duckling just the same. The ducks pushed him and the chickens teased him and the turkeys bit him. Even his own brothers and sisters were mean to him.
One day, when he couldn't stand it any longer, he decided to fly away until he came to the marsh where the wild geese lived. When they saw the poor duckling, they said, 'My, how ugly you are! But we don't really mind so you can stay here if you want to as long as you don't marry any of us.'
So, the poor duckling got down to get some rest. Suddenly, two gunshots were heard and two of the wild geese fell down dead in the marsh. A hunter had shot them, and the ugly duckling was frightened to death. When the gunshots stopped, it began to rain but the duckling just had to get away. So he flew over the meadows in the rain till he came to a shack.
The door opened and the duckling slipped in. Inside, he found a woman with a cat and a pet hen. No one noticed him so the duckling fell asleep immediately. But in the morning, the woman saw the duckling.
'Can you lay eggs"' the hen asked.
'No,' replied the duckling.
'Can you purr"' asked the cat.
'No.'
'Then what can you do"' the woman probed.
'I can swim.'
But the cat and the hen scoffed at his pastime so the duckling left. He swam and flew but everyone shunned him because he was so ugly.
At last, summer was over but the duckling was all alone and miserable in the cold cruel world. One evening, a flock of pretty white swans with long graceful necks came out of the bushes. They spread their wings and rose higher and higher as they flew to warmer regions. The ugly duckling thought he had never seen such beautiful creatures. But they did not notice him.
Soon it was winter and the lake froze and the duckling too almost froze to death. But early the next morning, a farmer found him and took him home. The farmer's children liked playing around him but he was so frightened that he fluttered into the milk-pan and spilled the milk. The farmer's wife was furious so the duckling flew out of there too. He lay behind a bush in the snow and stayed there until the winter was over.
At last, it grew warm and sunny. It was spring and the ugly duckling was beginning to grow a little. The duckling could flap his wings and one day, he found himself in a beautiful garden. Suddenly, three glorious white swans appeared. They swam lightly across the water.
The ugly duckling thought, 'If I dare go near them, they will kill me as I'm so ugly. But I don't care. It's better to be killed by these beautiful creatures than to be bitten by ducks and hens, chased by turkeys or starve in the winter.'
So he swam to the swans. 'Kill me!' cried the poor creature, bending his head down to the water.
But what was this he saw reflected in the clear water" It was his own image! For the first time, he saw himself as he really was. To his utter amazement, the ugly duckling saw that he was not an ugly duckling -- or a duckling at all -- but a swan! In fact, a beautiful white swan!
You see, a bird, which comes out of a swan's egg, is a swan even if the egg happens to be hatched by a duck, and ducks think that anyone who doesn't look like a duck is ugly. But now, the 'ugly duckling' knew he was as beautiful himself as they were. The swans too recognized him to be one of them and readily accepted him.
Later, some children came down to the lake to throw breadcrumbs to the swans.
'Look!' cried the youngest. 'There's a beautiful new swan!'
And the other children shouted, 'Yes, and he is the most beautiful one of all!'
The new swan swelled with pride and was very happy. But he never became vain as he always remembered how it felt to be despised and teased, and he was very sorry for all creatures that were so treated merely because they are different from others.
But now that he was appreciated at last, he rustled his wings, lifted his slender neck, and sighed happily, 'To think that this joy should come to one who has always been considered an ugly duckling ... it's almost too good to be true.'