The Ugly Duckling

Mother duck sat on her nest. She waited for her eggs to hatch. One by one, the shells cracked open. "Peep, peep!" cried the little ducklings.

One big egg was still left. At last it cracked open too. Out came a large gray duckling, bigger than the rest.

The next morning, mother duck led her family to the pond. "Quack, quack! Come with me now!" she called. She jumped in with a big splash.

One by one the ducklings jumped in. The big gray one jumped in too and swam beautifully. "He is my own dear child!" said the mother.

Mother duck took her family to the farmyard. The other ducks and hens pecked at the gray duckling. They called him ugly. But the little gray one did not give up.

The sad gray duckling ran far away from the farmyard. He found a quiet moor and rested among the rushes.

After leaving the moor, the duckling found a small cottage. A cat and a hen lived there. "Can you lay eggs or purr?" they asked. "No," said the duckling sadly. But the little gray one did not give up.

The duckling found a pond and swam there alone. One evening, beautiful white birds flew overhead. They were swans, the loveliest things he had ever seen.

The swans flew away to warmer lands. Then winter came, and the pond froze around the duckling. A kind farmer found him stuck in the ice. He carried him home to get warm.

The farmer's noisy children frightened the shy duckling. He slipped out the door and spent the cold winter alone. But the little gray one did not give up.

When spring came, the gray duckling had grown. Snow-white feathers covered his strong new wings. He had been a young swan all along. He rose high into the bright morning sky.

He glided down into a garden pond. Three white swans were swimming there. He looked into the still water. A beautiful white swan looked back at him.

The swans swam close and stroked his neck to welcome him. Children on the bank cried, "He is the most beautiful of all!"

He had always been beautiful. Now he knew it too.