The Not So Ugly Duckling

Back when trees could walk and stones could talk, there was a huge family of ducks. The ducklings were dark spotty yellow feathered, with dark gray beaks. The adult ducks were a pee-stained yellowish-white color with feathers that looked like you'd plucked them, and light gray beaks.

A new family of ducks had moved by the pond where all the ducks lived. This family was a cream color with yellow-hued beaks. They were considered the ugliest ducks in the whole pond. The Mommy Duck was eagerly awaiting her new chicks to arrive so that she and her husband could start a life and raise their kids.

She was perched on top of the eggs when she could hear a taping sound coming from her eggs. A few moments later a baby duckling was born. He was a soft shade of yellow similar to the native adult ducks around the pond. She named this duck Quakers. The second one was finally starting to hatch, she was a small light cream duckling that appeared similar to Mommy Duck. She named this duckling Daisy. The last egg finally started to crack, Mommy Duck wiggled her tail and stared at her hatching egg. When this little duckling popped out of the egg it almost blinded all the ducks watching. It was the brightest white duck they had ever seen. Its feathers were as smooth as silk and its beak and orange as the pumpkins that were growing nearby. Mommy Duck announced that he would be called Waddles.

The other ducks did not like Waddles. They called him all sorts of mean names. Imposter, different, gross, and worst of all ugly. As Mommy Duck heard all of this she started to agree with them. She too was nasty to her little duckling baby. Waddles started feeling alone and soon became isolated. Mommy Duck taught him the essentials and abandoned him. Waddles alone on his own with no one to love or care for him, left the pond in search of someone who would love him. He made his way to a river a sadly floated along it until he saw some animals along the shore. He quickly waddled his way onto land to see if they would accept him.

What did he see? He saw brown stocky creatures with long buck teeth and a big scaly tail.

" Excuse me? What are you doing?" He asked the mysterious creatures that were gnawing on wood. The creatures looked at him and one made its way to Waddles. " UH chewing wood for our home. Can we help you?" Waddles contemplated that question for a minute.

" I'm looking for someone that can love me." He said the creatures looked confused, but agreed to take him in and teach him their ways. He found out they are Beavers and they make their homes on the water. He tried to fit in and soon it became too much of a challenge. He couldn't chew logs or pat the logs in with a tail. So, after about a week he thanked the beavers and headed back on the river.

He thought back to how they treated him. They never called him names or were mean to him because he was different. They accepted him and even loved him. This feeling left him happy and wanting to stay, but he knew he couldn't.

He came across another group of creatures. They were green, had beady black eyes, with webbed feet, and bumps all over their bodies. He hopped up on land and told them what he was looking for and asked if they could help him. The leader of these strange hopping creatures agreed to let him join. He tried to settle in. From hopping along the fields of grass and catching bugs to sliding in the water at night a croaking. Something just didn't feel right. So, he thanked them and went on his way.

As he continued down the river he was upset he didn't get their species, but glad they let him in with no questions and open arms. He quietly floated down the river deep in thought for many days.

When it opened up into a big pond. He saw fish and those green creatures, and evidence of beavers. He floated around the pond until he looked ahead and saw ducks that looked just like him. Silky white feathers and bright orange feet and beaks. These looked...looked...looked like him. He swam up to them exclaiming " I'm not ugly, because you guys are like me!" He was so excited and introduced himself to everyone there. They smiled, laughed, and accepted him for who he was. When he had told them why he was in search for ducks like him, they decided to go meet all of the people who were mean to him.

They traveled up the river by the green creatures, that he learned were frogs, by the beavers, and into the pond where he had never been accepted. When the ducks saw not only him but all of these other ducks they started to rethink how they had treated him. He had never once called them mean names and always tried to help. They had been the ugly ducks all along. His mother wept and wept for she had made a grave mistake sending him away. They apologized to him.

He accepted their apologies but decided he was not going to live by them. He wanted to live with the people who had always accepted him no matter what he looked like. He went back with the pretty ducks and stayed in contact with the ducks he grew up with. He was finally accepted for who and what he was.

THE END