The Ugly Duckling was written by Danish poet and writer Hans Christian Andersen. Some have said that it speaks symbolically about his own life and experiences. Several morals may be inferred from it. However one moral that could most obviously be inferred from it is how appearances can be deceiving by the differences between inner beauty and external beauty.
The ugly duckling is bullied and abused by his fellow farm animals because in their eyes he is ugly and does not deserve to be loved or respected. Later, we learn that the ugly duckling was actually a baby swan that would grow up and transform to become a beautiful swan. More beautiful than those animals who bullied him and hurt him. Therefore it teaches us to love and respect one another despite our external differences because bullying hurts people and also because there is much more about us than just our physical appearance.
