On other occasions we have told you the story of the smug little rat or the tortoise and the hare . Today is the turn of the story of the ugly duckling ! A story that will help us accept that each person is different and that we have to love ourselves just as we are.

The tale of the ugly duckling

The story of the ugly duckling takes place near a pond, where on a summer morning a duck is incubating its eggs and feels that the time has come for them to hatch. With great excitement she waits with them for them to break the shells, and little by little her chicks begin to appear .

The mother watched them full of joy, until she discovered that one of them was larger than the rest , with a darker color and an expression on her face that was not entirely familiar to her. But, who have you dated?, his mother told him. However, although no one appreciated his beauty, the little ugly duckling was able to jump into the water and swim , while his brothers and sisters were still too small to do so.

Because of this quality, the little one was pecked by the rest of the animals and the center of all their ridicule. So when he grew a little bigger and was able to look for his own food, he decided to leave . He began to explore the fields in the area in search of a place to stay, but nothing seemed to convince him.

He stood next to some wild ducks, but they were too busy fighting. Later, when he had little energy left, he came across a woman who lived with a cat and a chicken, and as he saw that both species respected each other, he asked her permission to stay there for a few days.

Happy for a while, one day he begins to miss his natural surroundings . That is, swimming and splashing in the water. So again, he decided to leave in search of a place where he could be himself and do what he liked without anyone making fun of him for it.

Happiness is near

Walking aimlessly again, he sits down one afternoon to rest, and when he looks up at the sky, he sees a group of large white birds receding . I wish I could be like them! he thought to himself. Sad for feeling like he didn't fit in anywhere, he let himself sleep, unfazed when a frost surprised him. The ugly duckling was lucky again, and this time it was a farmer who picked him up and gave him shelter until he had the strength to leave again.

He survived like this for a whole year, until spring came again. Now an adult, he began to fly, when suddenly he came across a flock of swans that joined him.

- Hello! How beautiful you are! Could I stay with you?
- Well of course! Are you one of us! Have you never seen your reflection in the water? Run to the pond and watch yourself in the water.

And that's how the ugly duckling discovered that instead of a duck, he had always been a swan . “Nothing has ever happened to your body,” the swan lady told him. “ Nature made no mistake and made you just as you were meant to be. If others didn't accept you for who you are, that doesn't make you a mistake. You must learn to love yourself , and thus, one day you will be able to surround yourself with those who also love you.” And from that day on, the swan could be happy being who he was.