The Ugly Duckling

It was lovely out in the country; it was summer, the wheat was golden, the oats were green, and the hay was stacked in the green meadows. The stork walked about on his long red legs, talking Egyptian, the language he had learned from his mother. Around the fields and meadows lay great forests, and in the middle of the forests were deep lakes. Yes, it really was lovely out in the country.

In the sunniest spot stood an old farmhouse surrounded by deep canals. From the wall down to the water grew great burdock leaves, so tall that a small child could stand upright under the biggest of them. Among these thick leaves a duck was sitting on her nest, hatching her eggs. But she was getting tired of it, because the ducklings were taking so long to hatch, and she seldom had visitors. The other ducks preferred swimming in the canals to sitting under a burdock leaf and gossiping with her.

At last the eggs began to crack, one after another. "Peep, peep!" All the egg yolks had come to life and were poking out their heads. "Quack, quack!" said the mother duck, and they quacked as well as they could and looked around in every direction under the green leaves. Their mother let them look as much as they liked, because green is good for the eyes. "How big the world is!" said all the ducklings. "Do you think this is the whole world?" said their mother. "The world stretches far beyond the other side of the garden, right into the parson's field. But I've never been there. Are you all here?" She stood up. "No, not all of you. The biggest egg is still lying there. How long is this going to take? I'm sick of it!" And she sat down on the nest again.

An old duck came to visit her. "How's it going?" "This one egg is taking so long," said the mother duck. "It just won't crack. But look at the others! They're the prettiest ducklings I've ever seen." "Let me see that egg that won't crack," said the old duck. "You can be sure it's a turkey's egg. I was fooled like that once myself. Leave it, and teach the others to swim." "I'll sit on it a little longer," said the mother. "I've sat so long already, I can sit a day or two more."

At last the big egg cracked. "Peep, peep!" said the young one, and he crawled out. He was very big and very ugly. The mother looked at him: "What a terribly big duckling! None of the others looks like that. Could it really be a turkey chick? We'll soon find out. Into the water he goes, even if I have to push him in myself."

The next day the weather was fine, and the sun shone on the green burdock leaves. The mother duck went down to the canal with her whole family. "Quack!" she said, and jumped into the water. One after another the ducklings jumped in after her. The water closed over their heads, but they came up again at once and swam beautifully; their legs paddled by themselves. They were all there, and the ugly grey duckling was swimming with them too. "No, he's not a turkey," said the mother. "Look how nicely he uses his legs, and how straight he holds himself. He's my own child. And really, if you look at him properly, he's quite handsome. Quack, quack! Now come with me, and I'll take you into the great world and introduce you in the duck yard."

They came to the duck yard. Inside there was a terrible noise; two families were fighting over an eel's head. In the end the cat got it. "That's the way of the world," said the mother duck. "Now use your legs and bow to that old duck over there. She's the grandest of all; she has Spanish blood." The ducklings did as they were told. But the other ducks round about looked at them and said out loud: "Look, another family, as if there weren't enough of us already! And look at that one! We don't want him!" And one duck flew straight at the ugly duckling and bit him in the neck.

"Leave him alone," said the mother. "He's not doing anyone any harm." "But he's too big and peculiar," said the duck that had bitten him, "so he needs to be pushed around." The old duck with Spanish blood said, "That mother has pretty children, except for that one. He didn't turn out well." "He isn't handsome, but he's very good-natured, and he swims as well as the others, even better," said the mother. "I think he'll grow handsome in time, or perhaps get a bit smaller. He stayed too long in the egg, so he's a little out of shape." She stroked his neck and smoothed his feathers.

But the poor duckling who had come out of the egg last and looked so ugly was pushed, pecked and teased by the ducks and the hens alike. "He's too big!" they all said. The turkey cock, who had been born with spurs and thought himself an emperor, puffed himself up like a ship in full sail and marched straight at him, turning bright red. The poor duckling did not know what to do; he was so unhappy because he was so ugly and the whole duck yard made fun of him.

So passed the first day, and after that things grew worse and worse. Everyone chased the poor duckling; even his brothers and sisters were nasty to him and said, "If only the cat would get you, you ugly thing!" Even his mother said, "I wish you were far away." The ducks bit him, the hens pecked him, and the girl who fed the animals kicked him. At last he flew over the fence and ran away. The little birds in the bushes flew up in fright. "That's because I'm so ugly," thought the duckling, and he closed his eyes and ran on.

He came to a great marsh where the wild ducks lived. He spent the whole night there, very tired and very sad. In the morning the wild ducks flew up and looked at their new companion. "What are you?" The duckling turned this way and that and greeted them as well as he could. "You're very ugly," said the wild ducks, "but that doesn't matter to us, as long as you don't marry into our family." The poor duckling was not thinking of marrying at all; all he wanted was to lie among the reeds and drink the marsh water.

He stayed there for two days. Then two wild geese came along. "Listen, comrade," they said, "you're so ugly that we like you. Will you come with us and be a bird of passage?" Just then there was a "Bang! Bang!" and both wild geese fell dead among the reeds. A great hunt had begun; the hunters had surrounded the marsh, and the hounds came splashing through the water. The poor duckling was so terrified that he tucked his head under his wing. At that very moment a terribly big dog came right up to him, its tongue hanging out and its eyes gleaming. It thrust its nose at the duckling, showed its teeth and... splashed away without touching him. "Thank goodness," said the duckling. "I'm so ugly that even the dog doesn't want to bite me."

When evening came, the duckling reached a poor little farmer's cottage. In the cottage lived an old woman with her cat and her hen. The cat could arch its back and purr, and the hen could lay eggs. Because the old woman's eyes were weak, she took the duckling for a fat duck: "What luck! Now I can have duck eggs too." The duckling stayed there for three weeks, but he did not lay a single egg.

The hen asked him: "Can you lay eggs?" "No." "Then keep quiet." The cat asked: "Can you arch your back and purr?" "No." "Then don't speak when sensible people are talking." The duckling sat in a corner and was very unhappy. He thought about the fresh air and the sunshine, and he felt such a longing to swim in the water that he could not help telling the hen. "What nonsense!" said the hen. "You have nothing to do, that's why you get these silly ideas. Lay eggs or purr, and they'll go away." "But it's so lovely to swim in the water! To put your head under and dive to the bottom..." "You've lost your mind! Ask the cat; he's the cleverest creature in the world. Does he like swimming in the water?" "You don't understand me," said the duckling, and he decided to go out into the wide world.

The duckling went. He swam on the water and dived, but all the animals looked down on him because he was so ugly. Autumn came, the leaves in the forest turned yellow and red, and the wind made them dance. The sky looked cold, and the clouds hung heavy with hail and snow. One evening, as the sun was setting beautifully, a flock of large, beautiful birds came out of the bushes. The duckling had never seen such beautiful birds before. They were dazzlingly white, with long, graceful necks; they were swans. They gave a strange cry, spread their magnificent long wings and flew away from the cold regions to warmer lands and open lakes.

They flew so high that the ugly duckling felt a strange feeling inside. He turned round and round in the water like a wheel, stretched his neck up towards them and gave such a loud, strange cry that he frightened himself. He could not forget those beautiful birds, those happy birds. When they disappeared from sight, he dived to the bottom, and when he came up again he was quite beside himself. He did not know the name of those birds or where they were flying, but he loved them as he had never loved anyone. He did not envy them at all; how could he ever wish for such beauty for himself? He would have been glad if only the ducks had let him stay with them, the poor ugly creature.

The winter was very cold. The duckling had to keep swimming so that the water would not freeze. But every night the hole in which he swam grew smaller. At last he was so tired that he could not move, and he froze fast in the ice. Early in the morning a farmer came by and saw him. He broke the ice with his wooden clog and carried the duckling home to his wife. In the warmth the duckling came back to life. The children wanted to play with him, but the duckling thought they meant to hurt him, and in his fright he flew into the milk pail, splashing milk all over the room. The woman shrieked, and the duckling flew into the butter tub, then into the flour barrel, and then outside. Luckily the door was open; the duckling escaped into the bushes in the snow and lay there exhausted.

It would be too sad to tell of all the hardship and misery he suffered during that harsh winter. But when the sun began to shine warmly again, the duckling was lying among the reeds in the marsh. The larks were singing; lovely spring had come. Suddenly the duckling spread his wings. They beat more strongly than before and carried him up high. Before he knew it, he was in a large garden where the apple trees were in blossom and the scent of lilac filled the air.

Right in front of him, out of the thicket, came three beautiful white swans. They ruffled their feathers and floated lightly on the water. The duckling recognised these magnificent creatures, and a strange sadness came over him. "I will fly to these royal birds. They will kill me for daring to come near them when I'm so ugly. But never mind. It's better than being bitten by the ducks, pecked by the hens, kicked by the girl who feeds the poultry, and suffering through the winter." He flew down to the water and swam towards the beautiful swans. When they saw him, they spread their wings and glided towards him. "Kill me," said the poor creature, and he bowed his head down to the water.

But what did he see in the clear water? He saw his own reflection. But he was no longer a clumsy, dark grey, ugly, hateful bird; he was a swan himself! It does not matter if you are born in a duck yard, if you have come out of a swan's egg. Now he felt glad for all the hardship and misery he had suffered, because now he could understand the happiness and beauty around him all the better. The big swans swam around him and stroked him with their beaks.

Some little children came into the garden and threw bread and grain into the water. The smallest one cried: "There's a new swan!" And the other children shouted with joy: "Yes, a new swan has come!" They clapped their hands and danced, and ran to their fathers and mothers. "The new one is the most beautiful of all, so young and so lovely!" And even the old swans bowed before him.

The young swan felt very shy and hid his head under his wing; he did not know what to do. He was so very happy, but not at all proud, for a good heart is never proud. He thought of how he had been despised and mocked, and now he heard everyone saying that he was the most beautiful of all the beautiful birds. The lilac bent its branches down to the water, and the sun shone warm and bright. He ruffled his feathers, lifted his slender neck, and cried with joy from the bottom of his heart: "I never dreamed of such happiness when I was the ugly duckling!"