The "Ugly Duckling" is a story about a swan that was born into a family of ducklings, and the swan feels like an outcast compared to the other ducklings. The ducks and the other animals that they run into believe the swan is just an, “ugly duckling,” and should not be traveling along with the other ducks. He comes along a path of beautiful, white birds that he one day aspires to be like, then sees his reflection in a pond and realizes that he is not a duckling, but a swan, and is meant to be the most beautiful swan of all.