after Mother Duck’s eggs hatch, five ducklings appear pretty and yellow, but one large egg finally hatches to reveal a duckling who looks odd — grey, awkward, and different. The other ducks, hens, and animals mock him; he is ostracized, mocked, and lonely. He runs away, facing rejection and hardship. Over winter he struggles, but with the change of seasons he grows up, and in spring sees his own reflection in a pond and realises he has become a beautiful swan — finally finding his place among others who are like him.