The Ugly Duckling

THE UGLY DUCKLING

Author:

First edtion:

Fairy Tales, Told for Children, 1842

Main illustrators:

Bertall Browne Dargent Duroussy Kniffke Laimgruber Larsson Muller Nielsen Pedersen Pocci Pons Rackham Roederer

In short:

A family of ducks get astonished when they see their new-born ducling: black and extremely ugly. The porr animal is left alone, without friends or family, until one day he is no longer considered to be the ugliest animal ever, for he grows and becomes a wonderful white swam.

Selection of edition:

Contes choisis (Little Mermaid, Ugly Duckling), illustrated by Bertall, 40 ill.
Nouveaux Contes, illustrated by Yann Dargent, Garnier, 1875.
Stories ans Fairy Tales (Little Match-Seller, Ugly Duckling), illustrated by Arthur Joseph Gaskin, 1893.
Fairy Tales (Ugly Duckling), illustrated by Arthur Rackham.
Fairy Tales (Little Mermaid, Thumbeling, Ugly Duckling), illustrated by Gordon Browne, Wells Gardner, 1902.
Fairy Tales, illustrated by Harry Clarke, 1916.
Fairy Tales, (Little Mermaid, Ugly Duckling), illustrated by Kay Nielsen, Doran, 1924.
Le Vilain Petit Canard, illustrated by Monika Laimgruber, Albin Michel, 1984.
Le Vilain Petit Canard, illustrated by Sophie Kniffke, Gakken, 1987.
Le Vilain Petit Canard, illustrated by Michel Beurton, Hachette, 1989.
Le vilain petit canard, illustrated by Bernadette Pons, Nathan, 1990.
Le vilain petit canard, illustrated by Ar Roué, Flammarion, 1991.
Le vilain petit canard, illustrated by Charlotte Roederer, Lito, 1994.

More about The Ugly Duckling:

The story of The Ugly Duckling was written by Andersen on July 1842, after the theatrical failure of his play The Nightingale. In this tale, Andersen represents some aspects of his life.

Final excerpt of the tale:

"Then he felt quite ashamed, and hid his head under his wing; for he did not know what to do, he was so happy, and yet not at all proud. He had been persecuted and despised for his ugliness, and now he heard them say he was the most beautiful of all the birds. Even the elder-tree bent down its bows into the water before him, and the sun shone warm and bright. Then he rustled his feathers, curved his slender neck, and cried joyfully, from the depths of his heart, "I never dreamed of such happiness as this, while I was an ugly duckling!"."