Ugly as a Goose

Once upon a time, there was a little pond. And in that pond, swans would come and roost, and all their grey little cygnets would swim about.

There was one cygnet that stood out from the rest. He wasn't ugly, or pretty. He was just... Plain.

Some cygnets could swim around the pond faster than all the others. But Plain, well, he could only paddle so quickly.

Some cygnets could dive very deep. But Plain only wobbled and thrashed, his downy tail never quite leaving the surface.

Other cygnets were clever, and knew where to find the best plants and bugs to eat. But Plain, who couldn't keep up with them, would flounder around, just getting the best he could.

And there were some cygnets who were very cruel. Who teased Plain for being so ordinary. All of the cygnets were special in their own way. But not Plain.

Plain's mother promised him that he was handsome, and had a wonderful personality. Plain's father assured him that he had been awkward when he was a cygnet. But after his first winter, he'd gotten his bright white coat of feathers, and the black bar above his bill. Plain was somewhat encouraged, since he knew his father was one of the most handsome swans in the pond. And so, he patiently waited.

Summer neared its end, and as the leaves turned red and gold, Plain met a lovely young cygnet named Bella, whom he like very much. Like his friends and siblings, her coat of feathers had already started to turn white. Plain, who's feathers remained tinged with grey, did not pout or complain. He knew that his beautiful white feathers, and black bar would come soon.

When the last leaf fell, they flew south, towards warmer climes. Bella flew with her own flock, but she told him they'd return to the same pond, once winter ended.

One day, as they swam in the warmer waters of the south, waiting for winter to end, his brother came up to him. "What worries you?"

"Nothing," said Plain.

"You have not eaten today. Or yesterday."

"Haven't I?" Plain was surprised to realize that he was, in fact, rather hungry. "I didn't notice until now!"

He started to swim off, but his brother stopped him. "What is wrong? You don't usually act this way."

Plain sighed. "I'm just worried about Bella. Supposing she meets someone with a whiter coat of feathers. Or a stronger bar of black? Suppose she meets them over the winter, before we return?"

Plain's brother seemed to think for a bit. "Well, I suppose you'd just have to find someone else. We swans do bond for life. And nothing you do or say can change that. Come, eat something. It will cheer you up."

But it did not cheer Plain up. Not in the slightest. He'd tried to ignore it. Tried to ignore what he'd seen. How all of his siblings had started to get their white coats, and black bars. But when he saw his reflection. His bill was still ordinary orange. And his feathers, while mottled here and there with brown, were still mostly grey.

But he had an idea. He saw how his siblings, and other swans, dove under the water. So it was simplicity to do it himself, and wash his feather clean. Yet, no matter how many times he dived, he remained brown and grey.

Finally, spring came, and they flew back north to their pond. And there, he saw Bella, white as snow, and a beautiful black bar across her bill. And surrounding her, dozens of swans, all vying for her attention. And there he was. Plain. Grey and dirty looking.

When he joined them, they didn't shun him, or turn him away. But they would interrupt, or talk over him, as if he wasn't nearly as important as any of them. Bella, who was still very nice to him, would turn her head away the moment another spoke up.

Dejected, and desperate, Plain dove again, trying to wash off his dirty grey and brown feathers. But when he surfaced, gasping for air, they remained, stuck fast. Looking back at the group, he saw that no one had even seen him dive.

The rest of spring, summer, and fall when very much the same. But with winter, Plain felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe, he was just a late bloomer. And his white feathers simply hadn't grown yet. So, after they had flown south to their warm waters, he spent every day diving, hoping beyond hope to wash away the dirty brown and grey.

But, yet again, it was much the same as before. He hoped for Bella to notice him, hoped to be considered as handsome and beautiful as the otherse. But not one other swan paid him any heed. Not in spring. Not in summer. And not in fall. And so, he flew back south with his flock, and spent the winter diving and scrubbing himself as much as possible, desperate to finally gain his beautiful coat of white feathers, and a black bar across his bill!

When spring came, and they were flying back north, Plain saw a flock of geese traveling nearby. He saw that they all had dirty grey and brown feathers, and ordinary orange bills. At first, he thought they all looked like him. Then, he thought, maybe he looked like them. He stared at them as he flew, and after a time, he came to a truly horrendous realization.

"I'm as ugly as a goose!"

When they returned to their pond, he again saw Bella. Plain straightened his dirty grey feathers, armed himself with as much confidence as he could muster, and asked her outright if she would be with him.

Bella's smile was kind. But her eyes were sad, and pitying. She told him that she dearly loved him as a friend, and that any other swan would be lucky to have him. Deflating, Plain recognized the beautiful white swan next to her as her mate.

He had taken too long to change.

His bill stiff, his tone pleasant, Plain congratulated her, and thanked her for her kind words. Then, once the rest of the group had gone back to their conversation, he dived.

He dived deeper than he had ever dove before. Past the bugs, past the tops of the plants. And still, his dirty grey goose feathers stuck to him. Angry, furious, he tore at the feathers on his breast. He ripped them out with his bill, trying to find the white feathers underneath. And when he didn't find any, he tore again, and again, and again.

He felt something grab his leg, and he flailed. He was being dragged backwards, the water swirling around him. He was pulled, and pulled, and pulled, until at last he was yanked back to the surface.

"You were down there a lot longer than usual." His brother said, panting for breath. "Did you find anything down there?"

Plain coughed, looking down at the water. A dirty grey and brown face stared back, hidden behind floating feathers.

"That's new!" His brother pointed at his breast. Plain looked down, to see that beneath the grey and brown, some of the feathers on his breast were red. "Is that a new color you found?"

"No." Plain sighed. "I'm not turning red. Or white. I'm just going to be grey and brown forever.

"Ugly as a goose."

The End