The Ugly Duckling

A duck hatches a brood beside a farm. The last egg produces a youngster much larger and less attractive than the others. Although he swims well, the farmyard birds attack him. Even his family turns against him, and he runs away.

Among wild birds on a marsh, he remains an outsider. Hunters arrive, killing nearby geese, and he narrowly survives. During a storm he shelters with an elderly woman, her cat and her hen. They judge him by whether he can produce eggs or behave like a cat. His longing to swim makes no sense to them, so he leaves.

One evening he sees magnificent white birds flying away and feels drawn to them. Winter brings hunger and freezing water. A farmer rescues him from the ice, but frightened confusion in the farmer’s house sends him fleeing again.

Spring eventually returns. Stronger now, he flies into a garden and sees the beautiful birds again. Expecting them to kill him, he approaches and lowers his head.

His reflection reveals that he is a swan himself: he hatched from a swan’s egg. The others welcome him, and children praise the newcomer. Remembering his suffering, he feels overwhelming happiness without becoming proud.