The Ugly Duckling's Big Surprise

One sunny morning, Mother Duck heard a sound. CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! Her eggs were hatching!

Out popped five fluffy yellow ducklings.

"Peep! Peep!" they chirped.

But the last egg was bigger. CRACK! Out tumbled a gray duckling with big feet and a long neck.

"You don't look like the others," said Mother Duck. But she loved him anyway.

The yellow ducklings swam in circles. They played chase in the pond. But they wouldn't play with the gray duckling.

"Your feathers are the wrong color," they said. "Your feet are too big!"

The gray duckling felt very sad. His heart hurt.

The chickens in the farmyard laughed at him. "What a funny-looking duck!" they clucked.

Even the cat said, "You're too ugly to be a duck!"

The poor duckling ran away. He hid in the tall grass by the pond. He stayed there all alone through the cold winter.

Snow fell. Ice covered the pond. The duckling shivered and shook. He had no friends. He felt lonely and cold.

But then spring came! The sun felt warm. Flowers bloomed. Birds sang happy songs.

The duckling stretched his long neck. He flapped his wings. They felt strong and powerful!

He flew to the pond and looked down at the water. But wait! Who was that beautiful bird looking back at him?

The duckling looked closer. He had snowy white feathers! He had a graceful curved neck! He had beautiful wings!

"I'm not an ugly duckling," he whispered. "I'm a swan!"

Three other swans swam over. "Come swim with us!" they called. "You're the most beautiful swan we've ever seen!"

The young swan's heart filled with joy. He wasn't ugly at all. He was just different because he was special.

Children came to the pond with bread. "Look at that beautiful swan!" they shouted. "He's amazing!"

The swan remembered when everyone called him ugly. He remembered feeling sad and alone. But now he understood something important.

Being different wasn't bad. Being different made him exactly who he was supposed to be.

He spread his magnificent white wings and soared into the bright blue sky, happy at last.