Ugly Duckling - A story about a case of mistaken identity that called for a great deal of braveness.

When the tale begins, it was a quiet still day and there wasn't a breath of wind when a mother duck's eggs hatch. One of the little birds doesn't look like a duck and the other birds and animals on the farm tell him to go jump in a lake and they tell the little bird to buzz off . He wanders sadly from the barnyard hoping that their hatred would blow over. He finds a home with an old woman, but her cat and hen who both had a chip on their shoulders tease him. He couldn't take it and he leaves. 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 find the duckling and says, "Hold it, I can't leave this poor bird to die," and carries the freezing little duckling home. The duckling is frightened by the farmer’s noisy children and decides to chuck it and flees the farmer's house. He spends a miserable winter alone in the outdoors, mostly hiding in a cave. When spring arrives a flock of swans landed on the lake.

The ugly duckling, now having fully grown and matured, unable to make friends , 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, he has a change of heart when he realizes that he takes after the swans and that he has grown into a swan and wasn't a duckling. The flock takes to the air, and the ugly duckling (now a swan) spreads his beautiful large wings big time and the flock zoomed away.

Moral of the Story:

Everyone looks different, don't let it bother you because when you are older, you will find out that what is in your heart is more important!

Idioms in this story:

case called for breath of wind go jump in a lake buzz off blow over a chip on your shoulder take it hold it chuck it make friends a change of heart takes after big time zoom