The Ugly Duckling

The Ugly Duckling - El Patito Feo
Once upon a time. . . down on an old farm, lived a duck family, and Mother Duck had been sitting on
a clutch of new eggs. One nice morning, the eggs hatched and out popped six chirpy ducklings. But
one egg was bigger than the rest, and it didn't hatch. Mother Duck couldn't recall laying that seventh
egg. How did it get there? TOCK! TOCK! The little prisoner was pecking inside his shell.
"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 a 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 enquiries. 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!"
And he almost burst with happiness.
By Hans Christian Anderston

The Ugly Duckling

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The Ugly Duckling - El Patito Feo

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