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Chapter4

Ugly duckling flew back to his lake. He felt safe there. Finally winter

turned into spring. The days were warmer, the trees turned green again,

and the flowers bloomed.

One morning, the beautiful white birds came back to the lake. Ugly

duckling had been sad and alone for so long. He decided to try to make

friends. He swam up to one of the white birds.

Hello. Welcome to my lake. what kind of bird are you?

We’re swans. Don’t you know what swans are?

Swans?That’s a beautiful name. may I be your friend?

Well,of course.

Really?You like me , even if I’m ugly?

You’re not ugly. You’re very handsome.

This surprised ugly duckling. All his life, every one said he was ugly.

Now a beautiful swan said he was handsome. He looked down at the

water.

When he saw his reflection, he was even more surprised. He was not ugly!

He was a swan!

What happened to me? I was gray and ugly. Now I have beautiful white

feathers.

Of course. All our babies are gray. When we grow up, our feathers

become white. We must fly away soon. Would you like to fly with us?

Yes, please. But could we visit the farm first? I’d like to say good-bye to

my mother.

The swans flew away from the lake, and ugly duckling flew with them.

Soon they landed in the pond by the farm. All the animals stared at the

beautiful swans swimming in their pond. Ugly duckling found mother

duck and swam over to her.

Hello mother, do you remember me ? I’m your ugly duckling who ran

away.

You are? I’m so happy to see you again. Look at how big you’ve grown.

You’re not a duck after all . what are you?

I’m a swan. I wanted to say good-bye to you, before I flew away with the

other swans.

You can stay with us on the farm. I missed you when you ran away.

No, I will stay with my new friends. I want you to know that I am very

happy now.

Thank you for being a good mother to me . good bye.

Fly safely, my son. I’m glad you are happy. Good bye .

The swans flew away to their summer home. One day, some children

came to the lake with bread. They broke the bread into pieces , and fed

the pieces to the swans.

Look! There’s a new swan.

He’s so graceful. He’s the most beautiful swan of them all.

But ugly duckling was not proud. He remembered how he felt when he

was ugly. He was never mean to any one because of how they looked.

A few years later, he married a lady swan. When their eggs hatched, their

babies were gray and ulgy. But ugly duckling smiled. He knew they

would grow up to be beautiful swans like him.