Fairy tales are some of the most enduring forms of literature. The reasons for this are that fairy tales teach eternal truths about human existence. There is never doubt about right and wrong in fairy tales, and this helps children judge situations and make positive moral choices.
Since the writers of fairy tales understand that there is such a thing as unchangeable moral truth, these stories threaten the cultural relativism of contemporary society. As a result, modern people want to constantly rewrite fairy tales since they stand in opposition to the current belief that truth is only what we want it to be. This white-washing of fairy tales is disastrous and ruins the value of the literature. With their superior understanding of morality, traditional writers of fairy tales have a great deal to teach modern society. Among the great writers of fairy tales is Hans Christian Andersen, and one of his most famous stories is "The Ugly Duckling."
As the story begins, a large, unsightly egg rests in a nest with some nicely-formed duck eggs. The mother duck is quite pleased when the chicks begin to hatch. Since the large egg is taking so long to hatch, an old duck comes by and states that the last egg is actually a turkey egg. The mother duck decides to sit on the egg for a little longer and at last it cracks open. Out comes the oddest, ugliest chick the ducks have ever seen.
The mother duck doesn’t really know if this large chick is a duck, so she calls all of her chicks to the water to see if they can swim. Sure enough, the ugly chick can swim. But all the farm animals begin insulting and biting the odd-looking chick. At last the mother duck can’t stand the persecution anymore, and turns on the odd baby.
Completely devastated by this rejection, the downtrodden chick flees the attacks and flies to a nearby marsh. There he sees some majestic, graceful swans swimming in the pond and wants to join them. Then to the ugly duckling’s amazement, they spread their beautiful wings and soar into the sky. But he doesn’t know where to go or what he should do. So he continues to swim around the pond as winter sets in.
Soon the bitter cold brings great suffering to the rapidly-growing ugly duck. But he perseveres throughout the difficult winter of ice and snow and happily sees the swans flying back to his pond. He wants to be with the swans and then a wonderful thing happens to the now grown ugly duck.
What is it that transforms the life of the Ugly Duckling? Why is he such a noble bird? Why has his suffering been so helpful in developing his charitable personality? Have you ever felt odd or out of place or seen someone else in this condition? What did you do? And finally what happens to the Ugly Duckling. To find out, go to the library and check out this wonderful story, "The Ugly Duckling" by Hans Christian Andersen, as retold by Stephen Mitchell.
Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was considered a national treasure in his native Denmark during his lifetime. "The Little Mermaid," "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "Thumbelina" and "The Snow Queen" are also among his many famous fairy tales. Andersen’s stories are poignant and beautiful and children should become acquainted with them at a young age.
Many modern artists have illustrated many of Andersen’s fairy tales for modern picture books. Please take the time to go to the library and check out any of these wonderful fairy tales. You and your family will have a delightful time reading them. I enjoyed revisiting Andersen’s fairy tales and think you will as well.
