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The Ugly Duckling

The story follows an ugly duckling hatched from an egg in a mother duck's nest. Though his mother loves him, the other ducklings make fun of how he looks. He runs away and spends time alone, wondering what kind of animal he is. Over time, he grows and transforms into a beautiful white swan, realizing he was never ugly at all.

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And Hal
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433 views5 pages

The Ugly Duckling

The story follows an ugly duckling hatched from an egg in a mother duck's nest. Though his mother loves him, the other ducklings make fun of how he looks. He runs away and spends time alone, wondering what kind of animal he is. Over time, he grows and transforms into a beautiful white swan, realizing he was never ugly at all.

Uploaded by

And Hal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Ugly Duckling: A Folktale from Denmark

It was summer in Denmark. A mother duck s


at on her nest.
One morning, the eggs began to move. Then th
ey began to crack open. Baby ducklings hopped o
ut into the bright sun.
“Quack! Quack!” said the mother duck. “You ar
e sweet ducklings.”
The mother duck wanted to play with her duckl
ings. But there was one large egg left in her nest
.

She got back on the nest to keep the egg war


m. That afternoon, the big egg cracked. A very bi
g baby hopped out.
The mother smoothed her baby’s feathers. “Yo
u don’t look like the others. But I love you just th
e same,” said the mother duck.
The mother duck took her baby to the water. S
he began teaching her ducklings to swim.
The mother duck and her babies swam up and
down the pond. They met other ducklings. These
other ducklings were not kind.
“Look at that funny duck!” cried one.
“He’s so ugly!” cried another.

The ugly duckling was very unhappy. He ran a


way. He came to a lake. He swam in big circles.
He was happy.
“I don’t know what I am,” said the ugly ducklin
g. “But I know on the water is where I belong.”
The duckling swam every day. Then winter ca
me. He was trapped in the ice. He was lucky bec
ause a man came along. The man saved the du
ckling.
The duckling stayed with the man’s family for t
he night. But in the morning, the children chased
him.
“Look at that funny duck!” cried one child.
“He’s so ugly!” cried the other child.
The duckling ran away. He found a hollow tree
and lived there all winter.

Spring came. The ugly duckling spread his win


gs. He could fly! Soon he was in a garden. Three
beautiful white swans were swimming in a pond.
He flew to them.
“Will they peck at me?” the ugly duckling said t
o himself.
When they saw him, the swans puffed out their
chests. They spread their wings.
“I am different,” said the ugly duckling sadly.
Then he looked in the water. He saw himself. H
e was not an ugly duckling! He, too, was a swan!
The swans gathered around him.
“Look at the new one!” cried a little girl.
“He is the most handsome of all,” said her brot
her.
The ugly duckling puffed out his chest. He spre
ad his wings. He said, “I never dreamed of such
happiness when I was an ugly duckling.”

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