I first encountered The Ugly Duckling from a Danny Kaye record. It’s the only one of the stories that I recall hearing in this way, a combination of story and song. I can remember being utterly puzzled by the story, since even at this age I knew that ducklings grew up into ducks and cygnets grew up into swans. It was a long time before the morals of the story – don’t judge by appearances; things can change over time; the ugly can become beautiful – penetrated the haze of literalism which would make me argue the point every time I heard the story.
Literalism and legalism are enemies of the soul. They stop us entering into the wonder of imagination and leave us only with the realm of the material and tangible. Jesus warned that the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (John 6:63). Sometimes we must be prepared to embrace incongruity and imagination in order to grasp truth.
Inauspicious beginnings, rejection and ostracism, a sense of being misunderstood and not fitting in are the backdrop to many of our lives. I always identified with the ugly duckling as a character. I knew all about feeling lonely and picked on as a child; ‘fitting in’ has never been my forte. I have always also admired the serenity of the swan in water, its regal calm and svelte shape holding a deep attraction to me.
This story reminds us that change is possible. The Christian life is all about change: not just the instantaneous change that comes from our transfer from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light when we accept Christ as Saviour (1 Pet 2:9, 2 Cor 5:17) but the daily process of transformation which takes place as we gaze on God’s glory. (2 Cor 3:18)
Self-acceptance is a harder lesson to learn, perhaps. After years of scorn, the duckling did not even see the changes that had occurred in his life. It took others to point them out to him and for him to acknowledge he was no longer such an ugly duckling after all took time. If we are to learn to love ourselves, we have to hear the Father’s voice telling us we are truly loved and beautiful in His sight. Only then can we see ourselves as God sees us – beautiful swans, secure in His love.