The Ugly Duckling
Once upon a time, in the middle of green trees, there was a small farm. On this farm lived happy animals. Near a pond at the edge of the farm, a mother duck was patiently waiting for her eggs to hatch in her nest.
One sunny morning, the eggs began to crack one by one. Tiny, yellow-feathered ducklings popped out and greeted the world with cheerful “chirp chirp” sounds.
The mother duck looked at them lovingly.
But one egg hadn’t cracked yet.
This egg was much bigger than the others.
The mother duck became a little worried:
“Why is this egg so big?” she wondered.
Finally, the big egg cracked, too. Out came a big baby bird with gray feathers and a very different look.
He didn’t look cute and yellow like the others.
The other ducklings were surprised when they saw him, and they started to laugh:
“What a strange-looking bird!”
“How ugly he is!” they said.
The mother duck loved her baby very much, but it made her sad that everyone was making fun of him.
The other animals on the farm also left the ugly duckling out:
“You can’t even be a duck!” they shouted.
The ugly duckling was very sad.
As days passed, he felt more and more lonely.
One day, he couldn’t take it anymore and ran away from the farm.
He walked and walked into the forest...
There, he met many different animals — sparrows, rabbits, hedgehogs...
But they all laughed at him too:
“Who are you supposed to be?”
“What a weird creature!”
The ugly duckling took shelter in a swamp.
He met some wild ducks there, but they didn’t want him either.
Winter was coming.
The weather turned cold, and the ponds froze over.
The ugly duckling was freezing and hungry.
Sometimes he ate a few crumbs left by kind farmers.
After a cold and lonely winter, spring finally arrived.
Flowers bloomed, and the sun came out.
One morning, the ugly duckling, now very weak, came to a pond.
He leaned over the water and saw his reflection.
He couldn’t believe his eyes!
The gray, ugly baby was gone.
In his place was a magnificent swan with elegant, snow-white feathers!
Just then, a few swans were swimming on the pond.
They gracefully glided toward him and nodded their heads with love.
The ugly duckling was now one of them.
He spread his wings with confidence and swam gently across the lake.
No one laughed at him anymore.
Everyone watched him with admiration.
The ugly duckling had discovered his true identity and beauty.
From that day on, he lived a life full of love.
And he never judged anyone by their appearance again.
Because true beauty appears with patience and time.
And he lived happily ever after.
Comments
Post a Comment