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"The Ugly Duckling" is a fairy tale featured on ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen in 1843.
Traditional Plot
When the tale begins, a mother duck's eggs hatch. One of the little birds is perceived by the other birds and animals on the farm as a homely little creature and suffers much verbal and physical abuse from them. He wanders sadly from the barnyard and lives with wild ducks and geese until hunters slaughter the flocks. He finds a home with an old woman, but her cat and hen tease and taunt him mercilessly and once again he sets off alone.
The duckling sees a flock of migrating wild swans. He is delighted and excited, but he cannot join them, for he is too young and cannot fly. Winter arrives. A farmer finds and carries the freezing little duckling home, but the foundling is frightened by the farmer's noisy children and flees the house. He spends a miserable winter alone in the outdoors, mostly hiding in a cave on the lake that partly freezes over. When spring arrives, a flock of swans descends on the now thawing lake.
The ugly duckling, now having fully grown and matured, unable to endure a life of solitude and hardship any more and decides to throw himself at the flock of swans, deciding that it is better to be killed by such beautiful birds than to live a life of ugliness and misery. He is shocked when the swans welcome and accept him, only to realize by looking at his reflection in the water that he has grown into one of them. The flock takes to the air, and the now beautiful swan spreads his gorgeous large wings and takes flight with the rest of his new kind family.
Show Adaptation
- Emma chooses the last name Swan after reading this story as a child.
- Both Emma and the ugly duckling grew up separated from their genetic parents. Emma was separated from her parents shortly after birth and the ugly duckling ended up in a duck's nest while still inside an egg.
- Emma's adoptive parents preferred their genetic children over her in a similar way that the mother duck preferred her genetic children over the ugly duckling.
Characters Featured
| Original Character | Adapted as | First Featured in |
|---|---|---|
| The ugly duckling | Emma Swan | "Pilot" |
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