The winter was so bitterly cold that the duckling was obliged to swim about in the water to keep it from freezing over，but every night the hole in which he swam got smaller and smaller.Then it froze so hard that the surface ice cracked，and the duckling had to use his legs all the time so that the ice should not freeze around him.At last he was so weary that he could move no more，and he was frozen fast into the ice.
Early in the morning a peasant came along and saw him.He went out onto the ice and hammered a hole in it with his heavy wooden shoe，and carried the duckling home to his wife.There he soon revived.The children wanted to play with him，but the duckling thought they were going to ill-use him，and rushed in his fright into the milk pan，and the milk spurted out all over the room.The woman shrieked and threw up her hands.Then he flew into the butter cask，and down into the meal tub and out again.Just imagine what he looked like by this time！The woman screamed and tried to hit him with the fire tongs.The children tumbled over one another in trying to catch him，and they screamed with laughter.By good luck the door stood open，and the duckling flew out among the bushes and the newly fallen snow.And he lay there thoroughly exhausted.
But it would be too sad to mention all the privation and misery he had to go through during the hard winter.When the sun began to shine warmly again，the duckling was in the marsh，lying among the rushes.The larks were singing and the beautiful spring had come.
Then all at once he raised his wings and they flapped with much greater strength than before and bore him off vigorously.Before he knew where he was，he found himself in a large garden where the apple trees were in full blossom and the air was scented with lilacs，long branches of which overhung the indented shores of the lake.Oh，the spring freshness was delicious！
Just in front of him he saw three beautiful white swans advancing towards him from a thicket.With rustling feathers they swam lightly over the water.The duckling recognized the majestic birds，and he was overcome by a strange melancholy.
“I will fly to them，the royal birds，and they will hack me to pieces because I，who am so ugly，venture to approach them.But it won't matter！Better be killed by them than be snapped at by the ducks，pecked by the hens，spurned by the henwife，or suffer so much misery in the winter.”
So he flew into the water and swam towards the stately swans.They saw him and darted towards him with rufflted feathers.
“Kill me！”said the poor creature，and he bowed his head towards the water and awaited his death.But what did he see reflected in the transparent water？
He saw below him his own image，but he was no longer a clumsy dark gray bird，ugly and ungainly.He was himself a swan！It does not matter in the least having been born in a duckyard，if only you come out of a swan's egg！
He felt quite glad of all the misery and tribulation he had gone through，for he was the better able to appreciate his good fortune now and all the beauty which greeted him.The big swans swam round and round him and stroked him with their bills.
Some little children came into the garden with corn and pieces of bread which they threw into the water，and the smallest one cried out，“There is a new one！”The other children shouted with joy，“Yes，a new one has come.”And they clapped their hands and danced about，running after their father and mother.They threw the bread into the water，and one and all said，“The new one is the prettiest of them all.He is so young and handsome.”And the old swans bent their heads and did homage before him.
He felt quite shy，and hid his head under his wing.He did not know what to think.He was very happy，but not at all proud，for a good heart never becomes proud.He thought of how he had been pursued and scorned，and now he heard them all say that he was the most beautiful of all beautiful birds.The lilacs bent their boughs right down into the water before him，and the bright sun was warm and cheering.He rustled his feathers and raised his slender neck aloft，saying with exultation in his heart，“I never dreamt of so much happiness when I was the Ugly Duckling！”
