The well-known tale of “The Ugly Duckling” examines the predicament of the outcast in human society. One day in spring, a mother duck is brooding her eggs when they all begin to crack open. From one particularly large egg, a very ugly little bird hatches. As he grows, the other ducks dislike him and bully him until he flees. He comes to the hut of an old woman who keeps an uncombed cat and a cross-eyed hen. Her two creatures can’t make any sense of the duckling, so they criticize him, too. Saddened not to have found a home, the duckling continues on his way.

After he gets stuck in a block of ice on the river, a farmer rescues him temporarily. Spring returns, and the duckling’s wings have grown large enough for him to fly far away until he spies a group of beautiful white birds on a pond. He lands in the water beside them, expecting more abuse. When he looks at his reflection in the water, he realizes he is just like these white birds. He is a swan, and the others all welcome him into their flock.

Various stages of the duckling’s journey parallel the soul development of the wildish woman who doesn’t fit into prescribed cultural norms.