Once upon a time, a duck laid five eggs. Normally, this would not be an event of much significance. However, one egg was slightly larger than the others, and took slightly longer to hatch. The other ducks waited impatiently, complaining that their brother or their sister was very tardy indeed.
Finally, the egg hatched, and out came the ugliest duckling they’d ever seen. They’d seen admittedly few other ducklings, since they had after all just been born only minutes before, but this duckling was impressively ugly.
As they grew up and met other ducklings, their belief that their brother was in fact a very ugly duckling was confirmed, and they began to mock him, tease him, make up songs about his big head and squashed bill.
After a little while of this treatment, the ugly duckling decided he deserved better, and set off to make his fortune.
First, he moved in with some geese, who tolerated him as long as he promised not to make any moves on the lady geese.
Next, he tried his luck with wild ducks, figuring they would be more accepting of his physique. They were not.
Finally, he joined a farm where a cat and a hen seemed to be in charge of everyone else. Although life on the farm was comfortable, and the duckling enjoyed watching the humans who lived on it, the cat always seemed to be licking his lips, or researching good duck recipes, in his presence The duckling decided to keep his time there short.
So, before he left, he observed carefully, and learned how to use a computer. From that point on, the duckling, who had long resolved to make his own way in life, since everyone else just wanted to mock or maybe eat him, worked harder than ever.
He bought stock.
He learned how to program.
He worked all day and all night on new software, software he patented and then sold for millions of dollars.
He became a software mogul, with a corporate empire. He had thousands of employees, every last one an ugly duckling.
The End.
Source: The Ugly Duckling, Hans Christian Andersen.
