The Ugly Duckling

Tonight I am reading, The Ugly Duckling, by Hans Christian Andersen. This classic story is perfect for adults or children who love adventure and imaginative concepts. Allow this reading to help relax you and fall into a deep, restorative sleep.

Transcript

The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen It was lovely summer weather in the country, And the golden corn, The green oats, And the haystacks piled up in the meadows looked beautiful. The stork walking about on his long red legs chattered in the Egyptian language, Which he had learned from his mother. The cornfields and meadows were surrounded by large forests, In the midst of which were deep pools. It was, Indeed, Delightful to walk about in the country. In a sunny spot stood a pleasant old farmhouse close by a deep river, And from the house down to the water side grew great burdock leaves so high that under the tallest of them a little child could stand upright. The spot was as wild as the center of a thick wood. In the snug retreat sat a duck on her nest, Watching for her young brood to hatch. She was beginning to get tired of her task, For the little ones were a long time coming out of their shells, And she seldom had any visitors. The other ducks liked much better to swim about in the river than to climb the slippery banks and sit under a burdock leaf to have a gossip with her. At length one shell cracked, And then another, And from each egg came a living creature that lifted its head and cried, Peep, Peep, Quack, Quack, Said the mother, And then they all quacked as well as they could and looked about them on every side at the large green leaves. Their mother allowed them to look as much as they liked, Because green is good for the eyes. How large the world is, Said the young ducks, When they found how much more room they had now than when they were inside the egg shell. Wait till you've seen the garden. It stretches far beyond that to the parson's field, But I have never ventured to such a distance. Are you all out? She continued rising. No, I declare, The largest egg still lies there. I wonder how long this is to last. I am quite tired of it. And she seated herself again on the nest. Well, How are you getting on, Asked an old duck who paid her a visit. One egg is not hatched yet, Said the duck. It will not break. But just look at all the others. Are they not the prettiest little ducklings you ever saw? They are the image of their father, Who is so unkind, He never comes to see. Let me see the egg that will not break, Said the duck. I have no doubt it's a turkey's egg. I was persuaded to hatch some once, And after all my care and trouble with the young ones, They were afraid of the water. I quacked and clucked, But all to no purpose. I could not get them to venture in. Let me look at the egg. Yes, That is a turkey's egg. Take my advice, Leave it where it is, And teach the other children to swim. I think I will sit on it a little while longer, Said the duck, As I have sat so long already. A few days will be nothing. Please yourself, Said the old duck, And she went away. At last, The large egg broke, And a young one crept forth crying. Peep! Peep! It was so large and ugly. The duck stared at it and exclaimed, It is very large and not at all like the others. I wonder if it really is a turkey. We shall soon find it out. However, When we go into the water, It must go in if I have to push it in myself. On the next day, The weather was delightful, And the sun shone brightly on the green burdock leaves, So the mother duck took her young brood down to the water. Quack! Quack! Cried she, And one after another the little ducklings jumped in. The water closed over their heads, But they came up again in an instant and swam about quite prettily with their legs paddling under them as easily as possible, And the ugly duckling was also in the water swimming with them. Oh, Said the mother, That is not a turkey, How well he uses his legs and how upright he holds himself. He is my own child, And he is not so very ugly after all, If you look at him properly. Quack! Quack! Come with me now. I will take you into grand society and introduce you to the farmyard, But you must keep close to me or you may be trodden upon, And above all, Beware of the cat. When they reached the farmyard, There was a great disturbance. Two families were fighting for an eel's head, Which after all was carried off by the cat. See children, That is the way of the world, Said the mother duck, Wetting her beak, For now she would have liked the eel's head herself. Come now, Use your legs and let me see how well you can behave. You must bow your heads prettily to the old duck yonder, She is the highest born of them all and has Spanish blood, Therefore she is well off. Don't you see she has a red flag tied to her leg, Which is something very grand and a great honor for a duck. This shows that everyone is anxious not to lose her, As she can be recognized both by man and beast. Come now, Don't turn your toes, A well-bred duckling spreads his feet wide apart just like his mother and father, In this way. Now bend your neck and say quack. The ducklings did as they were bid, But the other duck stared and said, Look here comes another brood, As if there are not enough of us already, And what a queer looking object one of them is, We don't want him here, And then one flew out and bit him in the neck. Let him alone, Said the mother, He is not doing any harm. Yes, But he is so big and ugly, Said the spiteful duck, And therefore he must be turned out. The others are very pretty children, Said the old duck with the rag on her leg, All but that one, I wish his mother would improve him a little. That is impossible, Your grace, Replied the mother, He is not pretty, But he has a very good disposition and swims as well or even better than the others. I think he will grow up pretty and perhaps be smaller. He has remained too long in the egg, And therefore his figure is not properly formed. And then she stroked his neck and smoothed the feathers, Saying, It is a drake, And therefore not of so much consequence. I think he will grow up strong and able to take care of himself. The other ducklings are graceful enough, Said the old duck, Now make yourself at home, And if you can find an eel's head, You can bring it to me. And so they made themselves comfortable, But the poor duckling, Who had crept out of his shell last of all, And looked so ugly, Was bitten and pushed and made fun of, Not only by the ducks, But by all the poultry. He is too big, They all said. And the turkey-cock, Who had been born into the world with spurs, And fancied himself really an emperor, Puffed himself out like a vessel in full sail, And flew at the duckling, And became quite red in the head with passion, So that the poor little thing did not know where to go, And was quite miserable because he was so ugly, And laughed at by the whole farmyard. So it went on from day to day, Till it got worse and worse. The poor duckling was driven about by everyone, Even his brothers and sisters were unkind to him, And would say, Ah, You ugly creature, I wish the cat would get you. And his mother said she wished he had never been born. The ducks pecked him, The chickens beat him, And the girl who fed the poultry kicked him with her feet, So at last he ran away, Frightening the little birds in the hedge, As he flew over the palings. They are afraid of me because I am ugly, He said, So he closed his eyes and flew still further until he came out on the large moor, Inhabited by wild ducks. Here he remained the whole night, Feeling very tired and sorrowful. When the wild ducks rose in the air, They stared at their new comrade. What sort of duck are you, They all said, Coming round him. He bowed to them and was as polite as he could be, But he did not reply to their question. You are exceedingly ugly, Said the wild ducks, But that will not matter if you do not want to marry one of our family. Poor thing, He had no thoughts of marriage, All he wanted was permission to lie among the rushes and drink some of the water on the moor. After he'd been on the moor two days, There came two wild geese, Or rather goslings, For they had not been out of the egg long, And were very saucy. Listen, Friend, Said one of them to the duckling, You are so ugly that we like you very well. Will you go with us and become a bird of passage? Not far from here is another moor, In which there are some pretty wild geese, All unmarried. It is a chance for you to get a wife, And you may be lucky, Ugly as you are. Pop, Pop, Sounded in the air, And the two wild geese fell dead among the rushes, And the water was tinged with blood. Pop, Pop, Echoed far and wide in the distance, And the whole flocks of geese rose from the rushes. The sound continued from every direction, For the sportsmen surrounded the moor. The blue smoke from the guns rose like clouds over the dark trees, And as it floated away across the water, A number of sporting dogs bounded in among the rushes, Which bent beneath them wherever they went. How they terrified the poor duckling! He turned away his head to hide it under his wing, And at the same moment a large terrible dog passed quite near him. His jaws were open, His tongue hung from his mouth, And his eyes glared fearfully. He thrust his nose close to the duckling, Showing his sharp teeth, And then, Splash, Splash, He went into the water without touching him. Oh, Sighed the duckling, How thankful I am for being so ugly, Even a dog will not bite me. And so he lay quite still, While the shot rattled through the rushes, And gun after gun was fired over him. It was late in the day before all became quiet, But even the young poor thing did not dare to move. He waited quietly for several hours, And then, After looking carefully around him, Hastened away from the moor as fast as he could. He ran over field and meadow till a storm arose, And he could hardly struggle against it. Towards evening he reached a poor little cottage that seemed ready to fall, And only remained standing because it could not decide on which side to fall first. The storm continued so violent that the duckling could not go any further. He sat down by the cottage, And then he noticed that the door was not quite closed in consequence of one of the hinges having given away. There was, Therefore, A narrow opening near the bottom large enough for him to slip through, Which he did very quietly, And got his shelter for the night. A woman, A tomcat, And a hen lived in this cottage. The tomcat, Whom the mistress called My Little Son, Was a great favorite. He could raise his back and purr, And could even throw out sparks from his fur if it were stroked the wrong way. The hen had very short legs, So she was called Chickie Shortlegs. She laid good eggs, And her mistress loved her as if she had been her own child. In the morning the strange visitor was discovered, And the tomcat began to purr, And the hen began to cluck. What is that noise about? Said the old woman, Looking round the room, But her sight was not very good. Therefore, When she saw the duckling, She thought it must be a fat duck that had strayed from home. Oh, What a prize! She exclaimed. I hope it's not a drake, For then I shall have some duck's eggs. I must wait and see. So the duckling was allowed to remain on trial for three weeks, But there were no eggs. Now the tomcat was the master of the house, And the hen was mistress, And they always said, We and the world, For they believe themselves to be half the world, And the better half too. The duckling thought that others might have a different opinion on the subject, But the hen would not listen to such doubts. Can you lay eggs? She asked. No. Then have the goodness to hold your tongue. Can you raise your back, Or purr, Or throw out sparks? Said the tomcat. No. Then you have no right to express an opinion when sensible people are speaking. So the duckling sat in a corner, Feeling very low-spirited, Till the sunshine and the fresh air came into the room through the open door, And then he began to feel such a great longing for a swim on the water that he could not help telling the hen. What an absurd idea, Said the hen. You have nothing else to do, Therefore you have foolish fancies. If you could purr or lay eggs, They would pass away. But it is so delightful to swim about on the water, Said the duckling, And so refreshing to feel it close over your head while you dive down to the bottom. Delightful indeed, Said the hen. Why, You must be crazy, Asked the cat. He is the cleverest animal I know. Ask him how he would like to swim about on the water, Or to dive under it, For I will not speak of my own opinion. Ask our mistress, The old woman. There is no one in the world more clever than she is. Do you think she would like to swim, Or let the water close over her head? You don't understand me, Said the duckling. We don't understand you? Who can understand you, I wonder? Do you consider yourself more clever than the cat or the old woman? I will say nothing of myself. Don't imagine such nonsense, Child, And thank your good fortune that you've been received here. Are you not in a warm room, And in society from which you may learn something? But you are a chatterer, And your company is not very agreeable. Believe me, I speak only for your own good. I may tell you unpleasant truths, But that is a proof of my friendship. I advise you, Therefore, To lay eggs, And to learn to purr as quickly as possible. I believe I must go out into the world again, Said the duckling. Yes, Do, Said the hen. So the duckling left the cottage, And soon found water on which it could swim and dive, But was avoided by all other animals because of its ugly appearance. Autumn came, And the leaves in the forest turned to orange and gold. Then as winter approached, The wind caught them as they fell and whirled them into the cold air. The clouds, Heavy with hail and snowflakes, Hung low in the sky, And the raven stood on the ferns, Crying, Croak, Croak. It made one shiver with cold to look at him. One evening, Just as the sun set amid radiant clouds, There came a large flock of beautiful birds out of the bushes. The duckling had never seen any like them before. They were swans, And they curved their graceful necks, While their soft plumage shone with dazzling whiteness. They uttered a singular cry as they spread their glorious wings and flew away from these cold regions to warmer countries across the sea. As they mounted higher and higher in the air, The ugly duckling felt quite a strange sensation as he watched them. He whirled himself in the water like a wheel, Stretched out his neck towards them, And uttered a cry so strange that it frightened himself. Could he ever forget those beautiful, Happy birds? And when at last they were all out of sight, He dived under the water and rose again almost beside himself with excitement. He knew not the names of these birds, Nor where they had flown, But he felt towards them as he had never felt for any other bird in the world. He was not envious of these beautiful creatures, But wished to be as lovely as they. Poor ugly creature, How gladly he would have lived even with the ducks, Had they only given him encouragement. The winter grew colder and colder. He was obliged to swim about on the water to keep it from freezing, But every night the space on which he swam became smaller and smaller. At length it froze so hard that the ice in the water crackled as he moved, And the duckling had to paddle with his legs as well as he could to keep the space from closing up. He became exhausted at last, And lay still and helpless, Frozen fast in the ice. Early in the morning, A peasant, Who was passing by, Saw what had happened. He broke the ice in pieces with his wooden shoe and carried the duckling home to his wife. The warmth revived the poor little creature, But when the children wanted to play with him the duckling thought they would do him some harm, So he started up in terror, Fluttering into the milk pan and splashed the milk about the room. Then the woman clapped her hands, Which frightened him still more. He flew first into the butter cask, Then into the meal tub, And out again. The woman screamed and struck at him with the tongs. The children laughed and screamed and tumbled over each other in their efforts to catch him, But luckily he escaped. The door stood open. The poor creature could just manage to slip out among the bushes and lie down quite exhausted in the newly fallen snow. It would be very sad were I to relate all the misery and privations which the poor little duckling endured during the hard winter, But when it had passed he found himself lying one morning in a moor amongst the rushes. He felt the warm sun shining and heard the larks singing and saw that all around was beautiful spring. Then the young bird felt that his wings were strong as he flapped them against his sides and rose high into the air. They bore him onwards until he found himself in a large garden before he well knew how it had happened. The apple trees were in full blossom and the fragrant elders bent their long green branches down to the stream which wound round a smooth lawn. Everything looked beautiful in the freshness of early spring. From a thicket close by came three beautiful white swans rustling their feathers and swimming lightly over the smooth water. The duckling remembered the lovely birds and felt more strangely unhappy than ever. I will fly to those royal birds, He exclaimed, And they will kill me because I am so ugly and dare to approach them, But it does not matter, Better be killed by them than pecked by the ducks, Beaten by the hens, Pushed about by the maiden who feeds the poultry, Or starved with hunger in the winter. Then he flew to the water and swam towards the beautiful swans. The moment they espied the stranger they rushed to meet him with outstretched wings. Kill me, Said the poor bird, And he bent his head down to the surface of the water and awaited death. But what did he see in the clear stream below? His own image. No longer a dark gray bird, Ugly and disagreeable to look at, But a graceful and beautiful swan. To be born in a duck's nest in a farmyard is of no consequence to a bird if it is hatched from a swan's egg. He now felt glad at having suffered sorrow and trouble because it enabled him to enjoy so much better all the pleasure and happiness around him. For the great swan swam around the newcomer and stroked his neck with their beaks as a welcome. Into the garden presently came some little children and threw bread and cake into the water. See, Cried the youngest, There is a new one. And the rest were delighted and ran to their father and mother dancing and clapping their hands and shouting joyously, There is another swan come, A new one has arrived. And they threw more bread and cake into the water and said, The new one is the most beautiful of all. He is so young and pretty. And the old swans bowed their heads before him. Then he felt quite ashamed and hid his head under his wing, For he did not know what to do. He was so happy and yet not at all proud. He had been persecuted and despised for his ugliness. And now he heard them say he was the most beautiful of all the birds. Even the elder tree bent down its boughs into the water before him. And the sun shone warm and bright. Then he wrestled his feathers, Curved his slender neck and cried joyfully from the depths of his heart, I never dreamed of such happiness as this, While I was an ugly duckling. And that is the end of our story this evening. Until next time, Sweet dreams.