In the barnyard, a mother duck’s eggs are just hatching. But one of the little ducklings looks very different. He’s kind of gray while the others are yellow and brown. They tease and bully him.  One day, he sadly wanders from the barnyard and goes to live with wild ducks and geese until hunters slaughter the flocks. Then, he finds a home with an old woman, only to be picked on by her hen and bullied by her cat. Once again he sets off alone.

The duckling sees a flock of migrating wild swans. He flaps his little wings in excitement, 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.  Again, he flees. He spends a miserable winter alone in the outdoors, mostly hiding in a cave on the lake that partly freezes over.

Then, Spring arrives. He sees a flock of swans descending to the lake. Still in despair, the now full-grown ugly duckling rushes forward, throwing himself at the flock, believing it is better to be killed by such beautiful birds than to live a life of ugliness and misery.

Much to his surprise, the swans welcome and accept him. Seeing his reflection in the water, he discovers that all along he has been, not a duckling, but a cygnet – a baby swan. The flock takes to the air, and the now-beautiful swan spreads his great wings and takes flight with the rest of his new family.

Some scholars say that The Ugly Duckling reflects Hans Christian Andersen’s own struggle to overcome his ungainly looks and humble background. Some believe it was also an expression of his struggle with his homosexuality in an era in which same-sex relations were illegal.

The deep truth of the Ugly Duckling, like Hans Christian Andersen himself, is that he kept going. He didn’t give up.

Knowing to just keep on keeping on, has pulled me through in many situations. As a child we moved mid-school-year over and over, making it hard to find friends – tough on an only child. And later when I became a lawyer at a time the few women who practiced law were treated as glorified clerks. As I entered the practice of law, one great appellate lawyer – a woman – left her employment at a large law firm after discovering the newest law school graduates were being paid more than she was. I was so proud of her.

All ugly ducklings welcome in our Pocket Grandma Virtual Coaching Webinar during the Covid19 Pandemic: real, non-therapy coaching here. You may find you’re actually a beautiful swan.

I was reminded of this story by a message from daily@delanceyplace.com. Their brief daily emails offer stories from interesting books you likely never heard of.  Sign up at delanceyplace.com.