U is for...Ugly ducklings!

Ok, so it was really hard to find a 'U' letter for today's post. It was a choice between Unicorns and The Ugly Duckling, so I went with the latter because it's an actual fairy tale, and I don't actually know of any fairy tales that involve Unicorns!
Taken from here
Taken from here
The Ugly Duckling is a story about a baby swan whose egg rolled into the nest of a duck. When he hatched from his egg with the ducklings, they perceived him as 'ugly' and he was therefore teased and bullied by all of the ducklings, and the other animals on the farm. He wanders away and lives with some wild ducks and geese until they are killed by hunters. He then lives with an old woman, but her cat and hen also tease him, so he runs away from there too.

He sees a flock of migrating swans and is excited about the possibility of joining them, but he is too young and can't fly yet. Winter then arrives, and a farmer finds the baby swan and takes it home with him, but he is scared by the farmers children and so flees. During winter, he hides in a cave near a lake that has frozen over, on his own. When Spring arrives, another flock of swans land on the lake, and the ugly duckling decides to throw himself at them, believing that it is better to be killed by such beautiful creatures than to live a lonely life of ugliness and misery. However, the swans welcome him and accept him, and when he looks at his reflection in the water he realises that he has grown up into a beautiful swan. He spreads his wings for the first time and flies away with his new family.
Taken from here
I like this story, because no matter what, the 'ugly duckling' never gave up. He was bullied for being 'ugly' or different, but he kept on looking for people to take him in, and in the end didn't care what other animals thought of him anymore. Fittingly, this is the point where he started perceiving himself as 'beautiful'.
So there's my U post, hope you enjoyed it even though it's very last minute!

Comments

  1. S. L. Hennessy24 April 2012 at 17:36

    I don't care what age group this is intended for...I think this story should be required reading for middle school and high school kids.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laura Clipson24 April 2012 at 17:40

      It should, it carries such a positive message! :)

      Delete
  2. Chiz24 April 2012 at 17:39

    I had the most trouble finding a 'U' word. I was actually thinking of doing the Ugly Duckling myself but decided against it. I'm glad you chose to write about this fairy tale though because it is certainly one of my favorites. Especially since the message is so important for those in school today what with all the bullies and all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laura Clipson24 April 2012 at 17:42

      It's one of my favourites too, and the message is certainly very important. It's one of the reasons why I love it so much :)

      Delete
  3. beccabooklover24 April 2012 at 17:50

    Just a beautiful little tale. Completely sends out the right message for kids these days.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Miss H24 April 2012 at 20:56

    I adore this story too, it's just so beautiful and touching!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laura Clipson24 April 2012 at 21:27

      It really is, I love stories with messages :)

      Delete
  5. Lisa Southard24 April 2012 at 21:14

    I have an Ugly Duckling song on vinyl that I secretly love- have been singing along with it since I was five! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laura Clipson24 April 2012 at 21:28

      Ooh an Ugly Duckling song? That sounds awesome! :)

      Delete
  6. Anonymous24 April 2012 at 22:20

    It is such a gorgeous story, the ugly ducking. Not as well known as it used to be, but i still adore it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laura Clipson25 April 2012 at 00:02

      It's brilliant, I love how he ends up more beautiful than all of the other ducklings who made fun of him :)

      Delete
  7. Unknown24 April 2012 at 22:55

    Those are some not ugly duckling pictures. They are lovely!

    ScribblesFromJenn
    Happy A to Z-ing!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Rob Z Tobor25 April 2012 at 00:07

    I should have remembered the ugly duckling, but I hate the song. It seems a shame the swan was turned into matches so that we could make models of the Taj Mahal.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laura Clipson25 April 2012 at 09:30

      I don't think I've ever heard that song, I'll have to listen to it! :)

      Delete
  9. Violet25 April 2012 at 05:17

    quack honk honk

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laura Clipson25 April 2012 at 09:31

      Yeah, that's probably what he sounded like! :)

      Delete
  10. Youngman Brown25 April 2012 at 05:25

    I vaguely remember the version of the book that I had when I was a little kid being one from China. Either way, it was one of my favorite stories!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Kate OMara25 April 2012 at 07:04

    Excellent choice for U. This was one of my favorite stories as a child. :)
    #84 following
    Kate
    http://whenkateblogs.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laura Clipson25 April 2012 at 09:29

      I love it, it has such a positive message :)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WEP August - Change of Heart

Image
So I actually wrote this piece for April's WEP, but I was ill so didn't get to post it in the end. I'm quite glad, as it suits this month's theme so much more. Change of Heart ‘Are you ready for this?’ Paul asked. Brian nodded, trying to steady his shaking hands. ‘You’re the only one who can defeat him,’ Molly said. ‘We believe in you.’ She stepped back to join Paul. Brian balled his fists as he looked at the huge stone doors before him. He took a deep breath and pushed them open. Before the doors closed, Brian glimpsed Paul and Molly turn and begin to walk away. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness inside. With a whispered word he created light in the palm of his hand, raising it so it would light up the room. It was empty apart from another doorway, much smaller than the first, hidden away in the corner. Brian marched through it and found himself in a large chamber, lit by many flickering candles mounted along the walls. Someone stoo...
Read more

IWSG

Image
The Insecure Writer's Support Group was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh as a place where writers can talk about their insecurities once a month, and receive encouragement and support from other writers. It's such an amazing group, it even has its own website now, which you can visit here . This week I'm a co-host! Be sure to go to Alex's page and visit the other people who are co-hosting.  I had such great plans for my writing this month, but not one of them came through. There were three short stories I wanted to get written, and I also wanted to get back to my NaNo edits, but none of that happened. I still have a little time for one of the short stories, though; it's for Kyra Lennon's cat anthology , and it's due Friday! Not much time to do it, but I made a commitment and I will follow through with it!  Even though I haven't got much writing done in the last month (or the couple before that!) I'm not going to let it get me down. I...
Read more

A is for Arachne and Arlee!

Before I get to my Greek Mythology part of this post, at the request of Alex J. Cavanaugh  (great idea by the way, Alex!), I'd first like to thank Arlee Bird for coming up with the challenge in the first place. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be taking part in this amazing experience every year. Thanks, Arlee! This is one of my favourite tales from Greek mythology, so naturally I chose it for my first letter. Arachne was the daughter of a shepherd, and was famous for the beautiful tapestries she weaved. Nymphs would travel from all over to see her work, and to watch her weave. One day, a nymph asked her if her talent was a gift from the goddess Athena. Arachne protested, saying her skill was all her own, and that her weaving was better than Athena's. Athena heard of this, and challenged the girl to a weaving contest. Both sat at their looms and began to weave, nymphs gathering round to watch. Athena weaved a tapestry based on the glories of the gods, showing the...
Read more