The Ugly Duckling is a classic tale, retold here in calm, simple words for children to enjoy with a grown-up. A grey baby bird who looks different from the ducklings grows up and finds out he is a swan, and finds friends who are like him.
Before you start: Has a part where others are unkind and a cold winter part — both are short and the ending is warm and happy.
Listen together Read aloud by Amy · 2 min 46 s
Read the story: The Ugly Duckling
Once, by a pond, a mother duck sat on her eggs. She sat and she waited. She kept the eggs warm.
One day, the eggs began to crack. Crack, crack, crack. Out came little yellow ducklings. “Peep, peep!” they said. Mother Duck felt happy.
But one egg was bigger than the others. It had not opened yet. Mother Duck waited a little longer.
At last, the big egg cracked. Out came a baby bird. He was big. He was grey. He did not look like the yellow ducklings.
Mother Duck took all her babies to the pond. The yellow ducklings swam. The big grey bird swam too. He was a good swimmer.
But the other animals on the farm looked at the grey bird. “You look different,” said the hens. “You are not like the others,” said the geese. Some of them were unkind.
The grey bird felt sad. He felt lonely. He thought, “Nobody here is like me.”
So one morning, the grey bird walked away from the farm. He walked to a big lake with tall reeds.
He stayed by the lake. He swam. He ate little plants. Summer ended. The leaves fell from the trees.
Then winter came. It was cold. Snow fell. The grey bird found a quiet place in the reeds. He tucked his head under his wing to stay warm.
A kind farmer found the grey bird in the snow. He wrapped him in a warm cloth. He kept him safe in his barn until the cold weather was over.
At last, spring came. The sun was warm. Flowers grew. The bird went back to the lake.
On the lake, he saw some beautiful white birds. They had long necks and big white wings. They were swans.
The bird swam closer. He felt shy. He felt a little worried. He looked down into the water.
In the water, he saw himself. He was not small and grey any more. He had grown. He was white. He had a long neck and big white wings.
He was a swan!
The swans swam over to him. “Hello,” they said. “Come and swim with us.”
The young swan felt surprised. Then he felt very, very happy. He was not alone. He had found friends who were like him.
Children on the shore pointed and smiled. “Look at the new swan,” they said. “He is lovely.”
The young swan spread his wings. He was glad he had kept going. He swam with his new friends across the bright lake. The end.
On this page
Picture cards to talk about
- Mother Duck sits on eggs
- Big grey bird hatches
- Grey bird feels lonely
- Grey bird in the winter snow
- He sees himself in the water
- Swimming with the swans
Talk about The Ugly Duckling together
- How did the grey bird feel when others were unkind?
- What did he see in the water?
- How did he feel when the swans said hello?
- What makes you special?
Feelings in this story
Happy, Sad, Lonely, Shy, Surprised.
What the story teaches: It is all right to be different, and there are friends out there who will understand you.
This version is our own gentle retelling of a public-domain tale. You can read about the history of the original story on Wikipedia.
Find more calm stories on our Stories page, or play together in the Playground.