"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 in the
cold air. The clouds, heavy with hail and snow-flakes, 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. All this was very sad for the poor little
duckling.
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 shown with dazzling whiteness. They uttered a singular cry, as they
spread their glorious wings and flew away from those cold regions to warmer
countries across the sea. As they mounted higher and higher in the air, the
ugly little 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 out of his 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.
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