The Ugly Duckling by H. C. Andersen

When I came across this tale now as an adult I was touched by the beauty of the wording and remembered how it was the most normal thing in my childhood to spend a rainy afternoon in the company of Andersen’s tales. My favourite cousin and I would sit in front large format books with beautiful depictions of the characters of Europe’s most popular tales. I heard that there is a thinking that children today must be spared the cruelty of Grimm’s and Andersen’s stories. Nothing could be more wrong. Spontaneously I recorded this story hoping someone would reconnect and enjoy.

This is a read by me as found written on the website of the Hans Christian Andersen Center.