“The Ugly Duckling” is a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. It tells the story of a mother duck whose eggs are hatching. The last of her baby birds to hatch is a larger bird than the other ducklings, and the other birds and animals around on the farm consider it to be “ugly.” The story is associated with Andersen’s own life, and the three trials of the ugly duckling correspond to the three stages of Andersen’s life. The duckling spent the winter in a marshy pond and finally, spring arrived.
Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875) was born in Odense, Denmark, the son of a poor shoemaker and a washerwoman. As a young teenager, he became quite well known in Odense as a reciter of drama and as a singer. When he was fourteen, he set off for the capital, Copenhagen, determined to become a national success on the stage. He failed miserably, but made some influential friends in the capital who got him into school to remedy his lack of proper education. In 1829 his first book was published. After that, books came out at regular intervals. His stories began to be translated into English as early as 1846. Since then, numerous editions, and more recently Hollywood songs and Disney cartoons, have helped to ensure the continuing popularity of the stories in the English-speaking world.View all by Hans Christian Andersen
