The Ugly Duckling by Brothers Grimm

1. The Ugly Duckling
By Hans Christian Andersen

2. Mo the r Duck was o n he r ne st, watching
fo r he r five e g g s to hatch.

3. O ne she llcracke d. Crack! Crack! Crack!
And the n ano the r. Crack! Crack! Crack! A
duckling cam e o ut fro m e ach e g g .

4. The big g e st e g g was no t ye t hatche d.
At last the e g g bro ke , and a ne w duckling
cam e o ut. “Fo ur are q uite pre tty, ” said Mo the r
Duck. “But this o ne lo o ks ve ry plain. ”

5. But its m o the r did
no t lo ve it le ss o n that
acco unt. It co uld
swim ve ry we ll, so
she kne w it was no t a
yo ung turke y, as an
o ld duck had said it
m ig ht be . She to o k it
with all the re st o f the
bro o d to the farm -
yard.

6. “O h, have yo u e ve r se e n such an ug ly
duck!” said the o the r farm anim als. The y all
laug he d at him . The ducks pe cke d him , the
fo wls be at him , the g irl who fe d the chicke ns
dro ve him away with a stick.

7. He was diffe re nt. He was so big and ug ly
that e ve n his bro the rs and siste rs we re unkind
to him .
The y pe cke d at him and said, “Yo u are ug ly.
Go away!”

8. He fe lt m ise rable . So , the ug ly duckling
ran away.

9. He m e t two wild ducks.
“What kind o f a duck are yo u? ” the y aske d.
“Yo u are ve ry ug ly. G o away!”
And so he le ft.

10. He walke d o n untilhe fo und him se lf in the
m iddle o f a hunt. The g un sho ts scare d him
ve ry m uch. In a m o m e nt, a larg e te rrible do g
passe d q uite ne ar, witho ut to uching him .

11. “Iam so ug ly
that e ve n a do g
wo n’t bite m e , ” he
tho ug ht.
And he curle d
him se lf up in the
so ft g rass tillthe
sho ts die d away
in the distance .

12. The n, he m arche d
o n till he g o t to a
sm all co ttag e . He
we nt in and sle pt
the re .
No w in the co ttag e
live d an o ld wo m an,
he r cat, and a he n. It
was o nly ne xt
m o rning that the y
no tice d the ir visito r.

13. “Can yo u lay e g g s? ”
aske d the he n.
“No , Ido n't kno w ho w, ”
re plie d the duckling .
“Can yo u purr whe n yo u
are ple ase d? ” aske d the
cat. The duckling said that
he co uld do no thing but
swim .
The o ld wo m an le t the
duckling live in he r ho use ,
ho ping that by-and-by it
m ig ht lay e g g s.

14. The duckling staye d with the m fo r thre e
we e ks. The n, o ne day the duckling said sadly, "It
is ve ry dullhe re . Ho w m uch Iwo uld like to swim
in the wate r!"
"What a fo o lish ide a, " said the he n.
"Yo u do n't unde rstand m e , "
said the duckling . "Ithink I
m ust g o into the wo rld ag ain. “
“Ve ry we ll, g o , " said the
he n; and the duckling we nt.
The ug ly duckling was by
him se lf. His days we re sad.

15. As tim e passe d,
he g re w and g re w.
O ne e ve ning , a
flo ck o f be autiful
birds cam e o ut o f
the bushe s. The y
we re swans. The
duckling had ne ve r
se e n anything like
the m be fo re . He
wishe d to be as
lo ve ly as the se
be autiful cre ature s.

16. The n, he saw his o wn im ag e o n the wate r.
He was a g race fuland be autifulswan.
“The ne w o ne is the be st o f all, ” said the
childre n whe n the y cam e do wn to fe e d the
swans.

17. He had be e n m istre ate d fo r his ug line ss,
and no w he was the m o st be autifulo f allthe
birds. He was so happy!
The EndThe End
He ne ve r dre am e d o f such happine ss as
this whe n he was an ug ly duckling .