The Ugly Duckling was written by Hand Christian Andersen and was published November 11,
1843
When the story begins, a mother duck's eggs hatch. One of the little birds is perceived by the
other birds and animals on the farm as an ugly little creature and suffers much verbal and
physical abuse from them. He wanders sadly from the barnyard and lives with wild ducks and
geese until hunters slaughter the flocks. He finds a home with an old woman, but her cat and hen
tease and taunt him mercilessly and once again he sets off alone.
The duckling sees a flock of migrating wild swans. He is delighted and excited, but he cannot
join them, for he is too young and cannot fly. Winter arrives. A farmer finds and carries the
freezing little duckling home, but the foundling is frightened by the farmer’s noisy children and
flees the house. He spends a miserable winter alone in the outdoors, mostly hiding in a cave on
the lake that partly freezes over. When spring arrives, a flock of swans descends on the lake.
The ugly duckling, now having fully grown and matured, is unable to endure a life of solitude and
hardship any more and decides to throw himself at the flock of swans deciding that it is better
to be killed by such beautiful birds than to live a life of ugliness and misery. He is shocked when
the swans welcome and accept him, only to realize by looking at his reflection in the water that
he had been, not a duckling, but a swan all this time. The flock takes to the air, and the now
beautiful swan spreads his gorgeous large wings and takes flight with the rest of his new family.