It was a lovely summer day in the country.
Mother Duck sat on her eggs for a long time.
After a while, one by one, ducklings came out of the eggs.
"Peep, peep! Peep, peep!"
"Quack, quack! Are you all out?"
"No, one egg is still here. Look how big it is!"
At last the big egg hatched. This duckling was very big and very ugly.
"Oh my! This duckling is big and different from the others.
I wonder if it is a turkey. We will soon find out."
Mother Duck took her ducklings to the water.
One after another the little ducklings jumped into the water.
The ugly duckling also jumped into the water and swam very well.
"Oh, he is not a turkey. Turkeys can't swim. He is a duckling.
Let's go to the farmyard. But you must stay close to me and watch out for the cat."
"Look at that duckling! He looks so strange."
"He is so big and ugly. Go away!"
"Please, leave him alone. He is not doing any harm."
But the ducks pecked the ugly duckling.
All the animals in the farmyard bit him and pushed him too.
"I wish the cat would eat you!"
"You should never have been born."
So the poor little duckling was very sad. Finally he ran away.
"Why does everyone hate me? Is it because I am so ugly? But I am really nice."
The ugly duckling met two wild ducks.
"What kind of duck are you?"
"You are really ugly. But that's okay if you don't marry a duck from our family."
Then the ugly duckling heard pop, pop! And the two wild ducks fell dead.
Just then many hunting dogs appeared. The ugly duckling was very afraid.
So he tucked his head under his wing.
A hunting dog sniffed the ugly duckling. "Sniff, sniff! You are ugly!"
And they went away without touching the ugly duckling.
"Oh, I am alive! No one wants me. Even a dog doesn't want to bite me."
He felt lucky, but at the same time he felt sad.
The poor duckling waited for several hours and then ran away.
A storm began. The rain and lightning terrified the ugly duckling.
He was so cold and wet! He ran and ran as he looked for shelter from the storm.
Finally he arrived at a cottage. An old woman, a cat, and a hen lived in this cottage. He went inside.
"May I have some food?"
"Oh, what a prize! Is it a fat duck? Now I can have duck eggs."
The old woman's sight was very bad.
So the duckling lived there for a few days.
But the hen and the cat were mean to the duckling.
"I can lay eggs. Can you do that?"
"No."
"I can catch a mouse. Can you do that?"
"No."
"Then what can you do?"
"I can swim."
"Oh, no one should swim! You will surely drown!"
"I won't drown."
"You are a big liar!"
So the poor duckling left the cottage.
Soon summer turned into fall. The ugly duckling swam in the pond.
A group of swans flew over the duckling.
"What beautiful birds! I wish I could be like them."
The weather grew colder and colder. Then winter came.
"I must swim and swim, or the pond will freeze around me."
But every night the ice grew thicker and thicker.
Finally the pond froze over, and the duckling couldn't move anymore.
Early in the morning, a farmer saw the frozen duckling.
"Oh, poor duckling! I'll take you home to my wife and children."
The wife took care of the duckling. Soon the duckling got well.
But the children wanted to play with the duckling.
"Come and play with us! Come and play with us!" The duckling was scared.
The farmer's wife and the children chased the duckling around the farm house. Finally he ran out the door.
Spring came and everything was beautiful. The ugly duckling saw the butterflies dancing and heard the birds singing.
One day his wings felt very strong.
So he flapped them against his sides and flew high into the sky.
"Wow, I can fly so high! What's happened to me?"
The ugly duckling saw a beautiful garden with a pond.
He decided to rest there for a while.
Just then three swans swam out of the bushes by the pond. He remembered the beautiful birds.
"I want to stay with these beautiful birds.
But they will kill me because I am so ugly.
At least I will die happily if I can be with them for a while."
So he swam towards the swans. When the swans saw the young bird, they swam to him.
"Peck me if you must!" And he bent his head down to the surface of the water.
But the ugly duckling saw a beautiful swan looking back at him in the water!
"Oh! Is that really me? I am a beautiful swan!
I am not an ugly duckling after all!"
The three swans welcomed the young swan.
Some children came to the pond and threw pieces of bread into the water.
"Look, there is another swan! This new one is the most beautiful of all."
The ugly duckling was so happy. He was more beautiful than he had ever hoped to be.
And now he knew where he belonged.