Plot
A plot varies somewhat in retelling, however a basic elements come uniform. a mother duck hatches her eggs, & when virtually all of her ducklings come normal, of these is gray, overlarge, & as well clumsy to harmonise among the others. Though she endeavors to assume him, the entire barnyard understands that he just doesn't belong, & when a period of harrassment he leaves (or even is caused away) to defend himself. He wanders for the entire summertime & fall, for there are no 1 may require him around, & he about freezes to demise within an icy pool. Though he is rescued by the variety human being, he can't sleep in captivity, & he goes back to the uncivilized.

Per prevent of wintertime he is miraculously however alive. He comes to the pool within the park or even garden, in which beautiful whiten swans come playing. He is drawn to their beauty, though he has there are no understanding to believe it may address him any better than anyone else has. However, he thinks, possibly whenever it obliterate him, he must approach the children. To his surprise, a beautiful animals welcome & assume him; gazing at his reflection, he understands that he as well occurs as swan. Occasionally versions have a baby present world health organization declares, "Look, there is a new swan, and he is the most beautiful of all!"

Significance
This wry & realistically told story, by having its droll burlesque of petty human self-self-esteem, is typically considered the metaphor for the experience of an awkward stage inside the kid's incubation. As a fairy tale, it is utilized to produce toddlers less ashamed of their differences. (Within an episode of the popular U.s. sitcom Full House the attempt to thus comfort the kid backfires badly. "So you're saying I'm ugly?" ) Its unostentatious social lesson is buried in a tale: ''To exist as innate inside the duck's nest, around the farmyard, is of there are no effect to the bird, in case these are hatched from either the swan's egg.'' a individual parallel would concern the tyke world health organization looks or even acts different from either the more youngsters about him/her. By owning a fairy tale comes hope that people differences might effect within favorite rewards & new greatness: Anderson uses the story to explain his early life. Born into lower middle-class, he frequently felt the part of the ugly duckling. He was an admittedly effeminate youth who later reveals his homosexual feelings through correspondence. This further explains his feelings of being out of place in his day. Today, the story's significance has grown to become a metaphor for anything neglected continually, or anything neglected at first, then becoming popular or good. For example: ''"I personally may't think Sara's therefore accomplished currently! She utilized to become such an horrible duckling."

The tale can also be considered a simplified variant on the idea that all persons have an inherent worth and status which cannot be degraded by situation (compare this to the ancient Greek idea that all persons are formed of particular materials, some of better value than others). While the story is uplifting to those currently suffering harrassment because of difference, it also encourages belief that the tormentors are simply destined to remain lower class, giving an otherwise innocent story a tinge of elitism and classism.

Walt Disney produced two Silly Symphonies'' animated shorts based on the story, one in 1931 in black and white, and one in 1939 in Technicolor. The latter film is the more notable version, as it won the 1939 Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoons). In this version, the baby swan's sufferings are significantly shortened, as he is found by his real mother and father, and brothers and sisters, after only a few minutes of rejection and ostracism, instead of a whole year. This abbreviated version is read by Lilo to Stitch in the 2002 Disney film Lilo and Stitch. The story has a deep impact on Stitch, who sets out to look for his real family.