One evening, the sun was just setting in with true splendor when 1)a flock of beautiful large birds appeared out of the bushes. The duckling had never seen anything so beautiful. They were dazzlingly white with long waving necks. They were swans and uttering a peculiar cry. They spread out their magnificent broad wings and flew away from the cold regions toward warmer lands and open seas.
They 2)mounted so high, so very high, and the ugly little duckling became strangely uneasy. He circled around and around in the water like a wheel, 3)craning his neck out into the air after them. Then he uttered the shriek so 4)piercing and so strange that he was quite frightened by himself. Oh, he could not forget those beautiful birds, those happy birds and as soon as they were out of sight. He 5)ducked right down to the bottom and when he came up again, he was quite beside himself. He did not know
what the birds were or where’d they flew. But all the same, he was more drawn towards them than he had ever been by any creatures before. He did not envy them in the least. How could it occur to him even to wish to be such a marvelous beauty? He wouldn’t be thankful if only the ducks would have tolerated him among them, the poor ugly creature. 译文
一天晚上，当太阳正在美丽的霞光中落下去的时候，有一群漂亮的大鸟从灌木林里飞出来，小鸭从来没有看到过这样美丽的东西。他们白得发亮，颈项又长又柔软。这就是天鹅。他们发出一种奇异的叫声，展开美丽的长翅膀，从寒冷的地带飞向温暖的国度，飞向不结冰的湖上去。
他们飞得很高--那么高，丑小鸭不禁感到一种无名的兴奋。他在水上像一个车轮似地不停地旋转着，同时，把自己的颈项高高地向他们伸着，发出一种响亮的怪叫声，连他自己也吓着了。啊！他再也忘不了那些美丽的鸟儿，那些幸福的鸟儿。当他看不见他们的时候，就沉入水底；但是当他再冒到水面上来的时候，却感到非常寂寞。他不知道那些鸟儿的名字，也不知道他们要飞去什么地方。不过他爱他们，好像他从来还没有爱过什么东西似的。他并不嫉妒他们。他怎能梦想有他们那样的美丽呢？只要别的鸭儿准许他跟他们生活在一起，他就已经很欣慰了--可怜的丑东西。
