Quotes from The Ugly Duckling

Hans Christian Andersen ·  40 pages

Rating: (34.2K votes)


“It doesn't matter if you're born in a duck yard, so long as you are hatched from a swan's egg!”
― Hans Christian Andersen, quote from The Ugly Duckling


“His own image; no longer a dark, gray bird, ugly and disagreeable to look at, but a graceful and beautiful swan. To be born in a duck's nest, in a farmyard, is of no consequence to a bird, if it is hatched from a swan's egg.”
― Hans Christian Andersen, quote from The Ugly Duckling


“He now felt glad at having suffered sorrow and trouble, because it enabled him to enjoy so much better all the pleasure and happiness around him;”
― Hans Christian Andersen, quote from The Ugly Duckling


“I never dreamed of such happiness as this, while I was an ugly duckling.”
― Hans Christian Andersen, quote from The Ugly Duckling


“It is only with the heart that one can see clearly, for the most essential things are invisible to the eye.”
― Hans Christian Andersen, quote from The Ugly Duckling



“Autumn came, and the leaves in the forest turned to orange and gold. Then, as winter approached, the wind caught them as they fell”
― Hans Christian Andersen, quote from The Ugly Duckling


“I think I will sit on it a little while longer," said the duck, "as I have sat so long already, a few days will be nothing." "Please yourself," said the old duck, and she went away.”
― Hans Christian Andersen, quote from The Ugly Duckling


“And, above all, beware of the cat.”
― Hans Christian Andersen, quote from The Ugly Duckling


“I will fly to those royal birds,”
― Hans Christian Andersen, quote from The Ugly Duckling


“Oh," said the mother, "that is not a turkey. How well he uses his legs, and how upright he holds himself! He is my own child, and he is not so very ugly after all if you look at him properly. Quack, quack! Come with me now. I will take you into grand society, and introduce you to the farmyard, but you must keep close to me or you may be trodden upon. And, above all, beware of the cat." When they reached the farmyard,”
― Hans Christian Andersen, quote from The Ugly Duckling



“cry so strange that it frightened him.”
― Hans Christian Andersen, quote from The Ugly Duckling


“The Ugly Duckling The classic story by Hans Christian”
― Hans Christian Andersen, quote from The Ugly Duckling


“Pop, pop," sounded in the air, and the two wild geese fell dead among the rushes, and the water was tinged with blood.”
― Hans Christian Andersen, quote from The Ugly Duckling


“the heart that one can see clearly, for the most essential things are invisible”
― Hans Christian Andersen, quote from The Ugly Duckling


“Early in the morning, a peasant, who was passing by, saw what had happened. He broke the ice in pieces with his wooden shoe, and carried the duckling home to his wife. The warmth revived the poor”
― Hans Christian Andersen, quote from The Ugly Duckling



“push it myself." On the next day the weather was delightful, and the sun shone brightly on the green burdock”
― Hans Christian Andersen, quote from The Ugly Duckling


“language, which he had learnt from his mother. The corn-fields and meadows were surrounded by large forests, in the midst”
― Hans Christian Andersen, quote from The Ugly Duckling


“flew out and bit him in the neck. "Let him alone," said the mother, "he is not doing any harm." "Yes, but he”
― Hans Christian Andersen, quote from The Ugly Duckling


“It is only with the heart that one can see clearly, for the most essential things are invisible to the eye." – ANTONIE DE SAINTE EXUPERY”
― Hans Christian Andersen, quote from The Ugly Duckling


“he reached a poor little cottage that seemed ready to fall, and only remained standing because it could not decide on which side to fall first”
― Hans Christian Andersen, quote from The Ugly Duckling



“It was a lovely summer weather in the country, and the golden corn, the green oats, and the haystacks piled up in the meadows looked beautiful. The stork walking about on his long red legs chattered in the Egyptian language, which he had learnt from his mother. The corn-fields and meadows were surrounded by large forests, in the midst of which were deep pools. It was, indeed, delightful to walk about in the country. In a sunny spot stood a pleasant old farm-house close by a deep river, and from the house down to the water side grew great burdock leaves, so high, that under the tallest of them a little child could stand upright. The spot was as wild as the centre of a thick wood. In”
― Hans Christian Andersen, quote from The Ugly Duckling


About the author

Hans Christian Andersen
Born place: in Odense, Denmark
Born date April 2, 1805
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“I guess no matter what your family is like, you're not surprised.”
― Audrey Niffenegger, quote from Her Fearful Symmetry


“You can run. You can keep running to the ends of the earth. But I won’t be far behind you.”

“Ethan—”

“No. I will never be far behind you.” He tipped up my chin so that I could do nothing else but look back into his eyes. “Do the things you need to do. Learn to be a vampire, to be a warrior, to be the soldier you are capable of being. But consider the possibility that I made a mistake I regret—and that I’ll continue to regret that mistake and try to convince you to give me another chance until the earth stops turning.”
― Chloe Neill, quote from Hard Bitten


“This was the tenth month of my "fellowship" in oncology - a two-year immersive medical program to train cancer specialists - and I felt as if I had gravitated to my lowest point. In those ten indescribably poignant and difficult months, dozens of patients in my care had died. I felt as if I was slowly becoming inured to the deaths and the desolation - vaccinated against the constant emotional brunt.”
― Siddhartha Mukherjee, quote from The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer


“...the young swans as big as their parents now, but still grey and it looks peculiar, like two different species swimming in a line, alike in all their movements, and no doubt they think they are the same, while everyone can see that they are not.”
― Per Petterson, quote from Out Stealing Horses


“Y todas las personas que participaban en ese programa parecían viajeros del tiempo llegados del año 1963.”
― Stephen King, quote from Firestarter


Interesting books

The God Delusion
(190.1K)
The God Delusion
by Richard Dawkins
The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson
(63.3K)
The Complete Poems o...
by Emily Dickinson
Johnny Got His Gun
(29K)
Johnny Got His Gun
by Dalton Trumbo
The One
(262.9K)
The One
by Kiera Cass
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time
(298.8K)
Three Cups of Tea: O...
by Greg Mortenson
The Witching Hour
(91.3K)
The Witching Hour
by Anne Rice

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.