Finally the eggs began to crack. "Peep, peep," said the newly hatched ducklings. "Quack, quack," said their mother. "You are the sweetest little yellow ducklings that I have ever seen! Are you all here?" She stood up to look in the nest. She saw that the biggest egg hadn't hatched yet.

The tired mother duck sat down again on the last egg. When it finally cracked open, out tumbled a clumsy, grey baby bird. He was bigger than the others, and he didn't look like them. In fact, compared to other baby ducks, he was rather funny looking.

"Peep, peep," said the big baby. The mother duck looked at him. "He's awfully big for his age," she thought to herself. "I wonder if he can swim?"

Then he got an idea. "I'll practice my swimming!" he said to himself.

The ugly duckling went to the pond and swam and swam and swam. When he stopped, he was very tired. Then he looked around. The ugly duckling had no idea where he was!

What was that noise? A big hunting dog was right there scouting out the area! The ugly duckling tried to make himself as small as possible. He was so afraid to move that he stayed in the water all night.

When morning came, the ugly duckling was sure the dog had gone away. The baby duck was still lost, and now he was hungry, too. He was also a little bit scared. The duckling knew he needed to do something. "I'll just have to try to find something to eat," said the ugly duckling. He hopped out of the pond and looked around. There was a farm down the road. He waddled closer to take a look. Near the farmhouse he saw a woman. "Peep," said the duckling.

The woman said, "You look hungry. Come get something to eat." When they got inside the house, the ugly duckling saw a cat and a pet hen. The cat and hen stared right at the ugly duckling. The duckling stared at the floor.

The duckling couldn't lay eggs like the hen or purr like the cat. They picked on him because he was different. After a few days, the duckling remembered how much he liked to be in the fresh air and how much he missed swimming in the water. One night he quietly left the house.

The duckling waddled farther down the road and soon found a lake where other wild ducks lived. In this lake the duckling could dive to the bottom and pop back up again to float.

All the swimming helped him to grow bigger and stronger. Still, none of the wild ducks who lived there would even talk to him because they thought he was too ugly.

Soon the seasons changed. It was fall now. The leaves turned colors, and the air got cooler. The duckling found that the water was getting colder, too.

One evening, just at sunset, a flock of beautiful birds flew overhead. Their feathers were shiny white, and they had long, graceful necks. The birds were flying south to find a warmer place to live for the winter.