"Did I count the eggs wrongly?" Mother
Duck wondered. But before she had time to
think about it, the last egg finally
hatched. A strange looking duckling with
grey feathers that should have been yellow
gazed at a worried mother. The ducklings
grew quickly, but Mother Duck had a
secret worry.

"I can't understand how this ugly
duckling can be one of mine!" she said
to herself, shaking her head as she
looked at her lastborn. Well, the grey
duckling certainly wasn't pretty, and
since he ate far more than his brothers,
he was outgrowing them. As the days went
by, the poor ugly duckling became more
and more unhappy. His brothers didn't
want to play with him, he was so clumsy,
and all the farmyard folks simply laughed
at him. He felt sad and lonely, while
Mother Duck did her best to console him.

"Poor little ugly duckling!" she would
say. "Why are you so different from the
others?" And the ugly duckling felt
worse than ever. He secretly wept at
night. He felt nobody wanted him.

"Nobody loves me, they all tease me!
Why am I different from my brothers?"

Then one day, at sunrise, he ran away
from the farmyard. He stopped at the
pond and began to question all the other
birds. "Do you know of any ducklings
with grey feathers like mine?" But
everyone shook their heads in scorn.

"We don't know anyone as ugly as
you." The ugly duckling did not lose
heart, however, and kept on making
inquiries. He went to another pond,
where a pair of large geese gave him the
same answer to his question. What's
more, they warned him: "Don't stay here!
Go away! It's dangerous. There are men
with guns around here!" The duckling
was sorry he had ever left the farmyard.

Then one day, his travels took him
near an old countrywoman's cottage.
Thinking he was a stray goose, she
caught him.

"I'll put this in a hutch. I hope
it's a female and lays plenty of eggs!"
said the old woman, whose eyesight was
poor. But the ugly duckling laid not a
single egg. The hen kept frightening him:

"Just wait! If you don't lay eggs,
the old woman will wring your neck and
pop you into the pot!" And the cat
chipped in: "Hee! Hee! I hope the
woman cooks you, then I can gnaw at
your bones!" The poor ugly duckling was
so scared that he lost his appetite,
though the old woman kept stuffing him
with food and grumbling: "If you won't
lay eggs, at least hurry up and get
plump!"

"Oh, dear me!" moaned the now
terrified duckling. "I'll die of fright
first! And I did so hope someone would
love me!"

Then one night, finding the hutch
door ajar, he escaped. Once again he
was all alone. He fled as far away as
he could, and at dawn, he found himself
in a thick bed of reeds. "If nobody
wants me, I'll hid here forever." There
was plenty a food, and the duckling
began to feel a little happier, though
he was lonely. One day at sunrise, he
saw a flight of beautiful birds wing
overhead. White, with long slender
necks, yellow beaks and large wings,
they were migrating south.

"If only I could look like them,
just for a day!" said the duckling,
admiringly. Winter came and the water in
the reed bed froze. The poor duckling
left home to seek food in the snow. He
dropped exhausted to the ground, but a
farmer found him and put him in his big
jacket pocket.

"I'll take him home to my children.
They'll look after him. Poor thing, he's
frozen!" The duckling was showered
with kindly care at the farmer's house.
In this way, the ugly duckling was able
to survive the bitterly cold winter.

However, by springtime, he had
grown so big that the farmer decided:
"I'll set him free by the pond!" That
was when the duckling saw himself
mirrored in the water.

"Goodness! How I've changed! I
hardly recognize myself!" The flight of
swans winged north again and glided on
to the pond. When the duckling saw them,
he realized he was one of their kind,
and soon made friends.

"We're swans like you!" they said,
warmly. "Where have you been hiding?"

"It's a long story," replied the young
swan, still astounded. Now, he swam
majestically with his fellow swans.
One day, he heard children on the river
bank exclaim: "Look at that young swan!
He's the finest of them all!"