13.The Ugly Duckling

It was a warm, sunny autumn day, and a Mother Duck sat warming her new eggs. Suddenly, she noticed that one of the eggs had rolled away from the others. Oh my, don't be in such a rush to hatch ! You are not ready yet. Mother Duck was so intent on caring for her eggs that she hadn't eaten or slept in days. She couldn't wait to see her new ducklings.

Then one day, she saw one of the eggs begin to crack, and soon a charming little duckling waddled out of the broken shell. The other eggs followed, and soon, almost all the eggs had hatched. Quack-quack!!.. all except one. There was still one egg left that showed no signs of hatching. Mother Duck was very concerned. Perhaps it's taking so long because this one will be the prettiest duckling of all! The thought comforted her, and she concentrated on keeping it warm and waiting patiently. A few days passed, and the egg began to crack. The shell split, and her final duckling emerged. Mother Duck was shocked when she saw him. He was not like the other ducklings at all. He was large, and ugly, and covered in dark grey fluff. Mother Duck tried to stay calm. It will be alright. He will become more beautiful when he grows up.

Days went by, but still the youngest duckling remained odd and not at all pretty. All the other ducks, including his brothers and sisters, laughed at him and called him the ugly duckling. Why don't you ever let me play with you? Go away, we don't need an ugly brother like you. That’ s right. How could our mother have had such a hideous baby like you? Mother Duck looked upon her ducklings with sadness in her heart. Even she had trouble believing that the youngest one was her own. Rejected and abandoned by his family, the ugly duckling was left to fend for himself. He wandered the forest all alone, looking for food and a warm place to sleep. Soon winter came, and it grew cold and snowy. The ugly duckling couldn't find any food and shivered in the icy wind. I am so hungry. My brothers must be warm and cosy, having delicious food with Mother.

Overcome with hunger and exhaustion, he collapsed. An old lady passed him lying there and took pity on him. Oh, why is that poor duckling lying there in the cold? I will take him home and care for him The old lady brought him to her farm and put him in with her chickens. When the ugly duckling woke up, the chickens surrounded him and began to jeer and taunt him. What kind of bird is that? I don‘t know, it s so ugly! What is it doing in our coop? We don t have to live with this nasty thing, let’s throw him out! The chickens gathered around the ugly duckling and began to peck at him with their sharp beaks. Ouch! Ow! That hurts! Wait, stop that! I just want to be your friend! Friend? Oh, you must be joking! Who would want to be friends with a sad, ugly thing like you?

Desperate to escape the chickens abuse, the ugly duckling ran off to the forest. He was alone again. Those chickens were right. I am too ugly to have friends. I will always be alone. The ugly duckling decided to get used to being lonely.

Winter passed, and the warmth of spring slowly began to creep into the air. Drinking in the warm sunshine, the ugly duckling stretched his wings. I am so glad spring has returned, I am so weary of being cold! The duckling stretched towards the sun and spread his wings. Suddenly, something amazing happened. His wings began to flap and he could feel himself rising into the air. What? what's happening to me? Am I flying? I m flying! I m flying! Excited, he rose higher and higher into the sky. He flew around for a while, getting used to the feeling, when he saw a pond below him. Wait, this is the pond where I grew up!

The ugly duckling landed softly on the surface of the pond, remembering his childhood and his family. As he landed, the swans floating on the water turned to look at him and he could hear them muttering among themselves. Hey, who's that handsome swan over there? Oh, look at his glossy feathers! The ugly duckling was confused, and didn't understand what they were talking about. He saw the swans swimming toward him. Do you want to be our friend? Friend? Yes. We've never seen a swan as beautiful as you before. Come play with us. Swan? I am no swan. At that moment, he looked down and glimpsed his reflection in the still surface of the pond and there he was a gorgeous white swan! Oh, it s true! I'm, I'm a swan! For the first time in his life, he felt elegant and beautiful as he drifted around the pond. He was never lonely again. The awkward, ugly duckling had grown into a magnificent swan, and all those who had taunted him were green with envy.