The Ugly Duckling
"The Ugly Duckling" is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. Andersen lavished great care on this story, spending a year perfecting it. It was first published in 1844. A mother duck hatches six pretty little ducklings. A seventh bird is hatched. He is homely. The other ducks abuse him. He runs away. He is given a home by an old woman. Her cat and hen do not like him. He runs away again. Winter comes and a kind farmer gives him a home. The little bird almost dies. Spring comes. The "ugly duckling" has grown into a beautiful swan. The other swans welcome him as their own. They bow to him. He is happy for the first time in his life. The moral of the tale: "it does not matter if you were born in a duck yard if you have lain in a swan's egg." Andersen considered the story "a reflection of my own life."
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The Ugly Duckling
"The Ugly Duckling" is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. Andersen lavished great care on this story, spending a year perfecting it. It was first published in 1844. A mother duck hatches six pretty little ducklings. A seventh bird is hatched. He is homely. The other ducks abuse him. He runs away. He is given a home by an old woman. Her cat and hen do not like him. He runs away again. Winter comes and a kind farmer gives him a home. The little bird almost dies. Spring comes. The "ugly duckling" has grown into a beautiful swan. The other swans welcome him as their own. They bow to him. He is happy for the first time in his life. The moral of the tale: "it does not matter if you were born in a duck yard if you have lain in a swan's egg." Andersen considered the story "a reflection of my own life."
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The Ugly Duckling

The Ugly Duckling

by Hans Christian Andersen

Narrated by Judy Kriz

Unabridged — 24 minutes

The Ugly Duckling

The Ugly Duckling

by Hans Christian Andersen

Narrated by Judy Kriz

Unabridged — 24 minutes

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Overview

"The Ugly Duckling" is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. Andersen lavished great care on this story, spending a year perfecting it. It was first published in 1844. A mother duck hatches six pretty little ducklings. A seventh bird is hatched. He is homely. The other ducks abuse him. He runs away. He is given a home by an old woman. Her cat and hen do not like him. He runs away again. Winter comes and a kind farmer gives him a home. The little bird almost dies. Spring comes. The "ugly duckling" has grown into a beautiful swan. The other swans welcome him as their own. They bow to him. He is happy for the first time in his life. The moral of the tale: "it does not matter if you were born in a duck yard if you have lain in a swan's egg." Andersen considered the story "a reflection of my own life."

Editorial Reviews

An unusually beautiful version of an old favorite.

Hans Christian Andersen

An unusually beautiful version of an old favorite.
Book

Kirkus Reviews

A gentler, milder version of Andersen's classic tale of the misunderstood cygnet, inexplicably despised for his comparatively large size and definite lack of yellow but not for any real ugliness. Vainio reveals through delicate watercolors the whitish-gray fluff of a charming, tender baby desperately alone in a soft, beautiful world. Though the illustrations are lovely, they lack power. In every situation where the innocent swan is abused and finds no respite from hatred, the art handles this horror too gently. His reactions to rejection and verbal abuse are revealed in the illustrations, with a slight incline of his head showing his dejection. He is also unnaturally slow in growing, remaining a fuzzy baby over the course of months and then suddenly growing to adulthood in a page turn-a problem inherent in most illustrated versions of the tale. The unnamed translator has edited out the most violent verbal and physical abuse found in the original, making a place for it in collections for younger picture-book readers yet losing the story's raw spark. (Picture book/fairy tale. 4-6)

Product Details

BN ID: 2940192740668
Publisher: Strelbytskyy Multimedia Publishing
Publication date: 04/15/2024
Edition description: Unabridged
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