The Ugly Duckling

The Last Egg

Once upon a time, on a sunny farm, a mother duck sat on her nest. She was waiting for her eggs to hatch.

Crack! Crack! Crack! One by one, the little eggs opened. Out came four fluffy yellow ducklings. "Peep, peep!" they cried.

But one big egg had not hatched yet. Mother Duck sat and sat. At last — crack! — the big egg opened too.

Out came a duckling. But this one was not small and yellow. He was big and grey, with funny long feathers.

"My, what a strange-looking duckling," said Mother Duck. But she loved him just the same.

Teased and Lonely

The next day, Mother Duck took her babies down to the pond. The four yellow ducklings jumped in. Splash, splash! And the big grey duckling jumped in too. He could swim just as well as the others.

But the other animals on the farm looked at him and laughed.

"What an ugly duckling!" quacked the ducks. "He is too big! He is too grey! He doesn't look like us at all!"

"Go away," they said. "We don't want you here."

The poor little duckling felt very sad. Even his brothers and sisters began to tease him. So one cold morning, he ran away from the farm to find somewhere he belonged.

All Alone

The ugly duckling wandered far away. He hid in the tall reeds by a big lake. He was lonely, and the days grew cold.

Winter came. Snow fell, soft and white. The lake froze, and the little duckling was cold and hungry and all alone. He missed his mother very much.

"Why is everyone so unkind to me?" he wondered. "Why am I so different?"

He tucked his head under his wing and waited for the long winter to end.

Spring Comes Again

At last the snow melted. The sun grew warm. Flowers popped up, and the lake sparkled blue again. Spring had come!

The little bird, who was now much bigger, swam out onto the water. And there, on the lake, he saw three beautiful white birds. They had long, graceful necks and soft white feathers. They were swans — the loveliest birds he had ever seen.

"Oh," he sighed. "I wish I could be as beautiful as they are. But they are sure to laugh at an ugly thing like me."

Still, he swam closer. He could not help it.

A Wonderful Surprise

To his surprise, the swans did not laugh. They swam right up to him and dipped their heads kindly.

"Hello, friend," they said. "Come and join us!"

The little bird was puzzled. "But I am only an ugly duckling," he said.

"Look at yourself," said the swans gently. "Look in the water."

The little bird looked down at his reflection in the smooth, clear lake. And what did he see? Not a grey, ugly duckling at all — but a beautiful white swan, with a long neck and soft, shining feathers!

He had never been a duck. He had been a baby swan all along. He had simply needed time to grow up.

Where He Belonged

The young swan was so happy that his heart felt like it might burst. He stretched his great white wings and flew with his new friends across the sparkling lake.

He was never lonely again. And he never forgot how it felt to be teased — so he was always kind to anyone who seemed sad or different.

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The moral: Never tease someone for being different — everyone is special, and we all grow into who we are meant to be.

Want more read-along tales? Try The Friendly Dragon or The Lion and the Mouse next.