The Ugly Duckling

It was a beautiful spring morning on the farm. In a cozy nest by the pond, a mother duck sat on her eggs. One by one, the eggs cracked open, and out popped fluffy yellow ducklings — peep, peep, peep! But one big egg was left. It was larger and grayer than the rest. At last, crack! Out came a big, gray duckling. He was not yellow and fluffy like his brothers and sisters. "Oh my!" said the mother duck, but she loved him just the same and nuzzled him warmly.

Everyone Laughs

The very next day, the mother duck took her babies to the duck-yard to meet the other animals. But everyone stared at the big gray duckling. "How ugly he is!" quacked the other ducks. "He is so big and so gray!" Even the hens clucked and laughed. The poor duckling felt very sad. Nobody wanted to play with him, and nobody was kind to him. "Why am I so different?" he wondered, with tears in his eyes.

A Long Cold Winter

At last the sad little duckling ran away from the farm. He found a big quiet lake and lived there all alone. Summer passed, and then came the cold, cold winter. Snow covered the ground, and the wind howled through the reeds. The duckling was hungry and shivery, and he hid among the tall reeds to stay warm. A kind old farmer's duck sometimes shared her food with him, and that kept him alive. Slowly, he grew bigger and stronger, and his feathers began to turn soft and white.

The Beautiful Surprise

Then spring came again, with warm sunshine and flowers everywhere. One morning, three beautiful white swans landed on the lake. Their necks were long and graceful, and their feathers shone like snow. The duckling felt shy, but he swam out to meet them. "They will laugh at me too," he thought, and he bent his head low. But when he looked down at the clear water, he saw his own reflection — and gasped! He was not a gray duckling anymore. He was a beautiful white swan! The other swans swam around him and welcomed him with joy. "The new swan is the most beautiful of all!" they sang. And the ugly duckling — who was never ugly at all — lived happily ever after.

The mother duck was so happy to see her lost baby that she cried tears of joy. "My dear child, I always knew you were special," she quacked softly. The other farm animals felt ashamed of how they had laughed at him. The rooster, the hens, and even the proud ducks all gathered by the lake to admire the beautiful swan. From that day on, nobody on the farm ever teased anyone for looking different.

Moral of the Story

It is okay to be different. With kindness and time, sadness can turn into something beautiful.