On a beautiful farm, the mother duck hatched a brood of ducklings. Among them, there was one duckling that looked particularly strange. Its feathers were grayish, and it had a large beak, which made it out of place among the other cute ducklings. The other ducklings all made fun of it and called it "the ugly duckling". The ugly duckling was very sad and lonely, and it didn't understand why it was different from its brothers and sisters.
The ugly duckling had a tough time on the farm. Not only were the ducklings bullying it, but even the other animals on the farm were unfriendly to it. The chickens would peck at it, and the cat would scare it. It could only hide in the corner and be sad by itself. The ugly duckling felt that it had no joy here at all, so it decided to leave this place that made it sad.
The ugly duckling began its wandering journey. It walked across the fields and through the forests. Along the way, it encountered many difficulties, but it never gave up. In the cold winter, it couldn't find any food and could only shiver in the ice - and - snow - covered land. Once, it was almost caught by a hunter and finally managed to escape with great difficulty.
Finally, spring arrived. The ugly duckling came to a beautiful lake. When it saw its reflection in the lake water, it was surprised to find that it was no longer that ugly duckling but had become a beautiful swan. It had white feathers and a slender neck, looking extremely elegant.
At this time, a group of swans flew over. They welcomed the ugly duckling to join their group. The ugly duckling felt extremely happy and proud. It finally found its own home and also discovered its own value. This story tells children that no matter how different they seem to be at present or how much they are not understood by others, they should always believe in themselves. One day, they will find their own beauty and value.
