Once upon a time on a farm near a barn lived a Mother Duck who was about to lay her eggs. Father Duck had taken a lot of time to prepare the nest so everything was ready. So the couple eagerly awaited the day the eggs come with much excitement. And so on one fine morning, the other animals on the farm noticed that Mother Duck was not about her duties and news spread across the farm that she was already nesting. “Ha-ha! I knew it”, said Sir Bu the elderly farm bull. “About time”, replied Grandma Duck the eldest of all the farm ducks. So all the farm animals looked forward to seeing the little beauties mother duck was going to produce.
At last the golden day came and all the farm animals gathered at the barn entrance to view the family procession having heard through the grapevine that all mother duck’s eggs were hatched!
“Cluck, cluck, I am so excited”, said Mother Hen, “Oh the little beauties!”
There was a great hush as Mother Duck came out of the barn leading her young brood of ducklings. “Ooo! Aaah!” “Lovely”, were the whispers of some of the farm animals. But all of a sudden there was a sudden cackle of laughter from a corner of the barn. All heads turned to the direction of the sudden burst of cacophony when they saw just at the last line of the procession an ugly specimen that looked like a duckling! There were sudden exclamations of “What?” “Huh?” and many utterances of disgust laced with shied glances of pity at the poor duckling; which could barely catch up with his brothers and sisters! His head was odd and his webbed feet were far too large for him to tread with!
“Psst! What an ugly duckling!” said Grumpy the farm he-goat. “That’s a nasty thing to say about another folks’ kid, don’t you think?” said Nanny his wife. “I know but I sure know one when I see one!” he replied in a jovial manner.
Poor ugly duckling! His days on the farm were not as he would have loved them to be. Folks ignored him. And as much as Father and Mother Duck tried to encourage him. Things didn’t turn better but worse till he roamed alone. Even his siblings teased him about his oddity.
One day, while lying lazily beside the barn pond, he saw a flock of swan flying in the sky. “Oh, how freeing it would be for me to roam the skies! Huh Haaa! Beautiful creatures indeed!” said Ugly duckling. The farm animals were not left out, they all saw the beautiful graceful swans as they flew overhead. Then one of the small ones landed on the pond and gazed at the little duckling. “Hello” she said, “How are you?” Poor ugly duckling, he had never seen such a sight of raw beauty so he was tongue tied. “Kamela” shouted another Swan, “Let’s go!” “Coming”, said Kamela, “Bye, hope to see you someday soon!” But alas as much as Ugly tried he just couldn’t say a word!
That night Ugly couldn’t sleep. He kept on tossing on his bed wondering what those creatures were and why he was the way he was.
About a few months later, Ugly woke up to get up from his bed as was his custom and discovered that all his family were all staring at him! “Hmm, what is it now? He thought within himself. When they all saw him move, his siblings ran to hide behind their parents shaking.
“I told you Mother. There’s a strange bird in my bed” , that was Orion, Ugly’s immediate elder brother
“Take it easy Orion!” said Mother, “Where’s my little one?”
Ugly stood wondering what was happening when he suddenly hit head against the cart wheel. “Ouch!” he screamed. And everyone scampered off except the Mother. “What’s going on Mother” said Ugly. “I knew it!” muttered Mother, “it is my little one!”
“You are DIFFERENT!” exclaimed Mother Duck
What a day! Ugly was no longer ugly as everyone trudged to take turns to see him as he stood proudly beside the barn pond. He was a graceful swan with a long neck and beautiful feathers.
“What a lovely bird’ said Grumpy the He-goat, “Where did it come from?”. “It’s Ugly” said his wife Nanny, “Mother Duck’s last duckling” “But I thought you said its Ugly?” grunted Grumpy “Obviously this bird is not ugly!”
Darius (formerly called Ugly) looked at his reflection in the farm pond and couldn’t believe it was him. Just at that moment, another swan plodded in the pond. It was Kamela – the beautiful young female swan. “Oh! Hello there again, How do you do? Now I see you are now yourself”, said Kamela. “So you knew?” said Darius. “Of course, silly! When I saw you back then, I was wondering what you were doing here. You’ve always been a Swan!” replied Kamela.
Later that day as more Swans landed in the farm pond, all the farm animals listened to Mother Duck’s tale of how Darius came to be. She had only laid seven eggs but later found that the eggs were eight. The mystery was solved when Kirie the old and wise farm tortoise burst out in a loud guffaw! “I remember” he said amidst much laughter, “I know who to thank for this mystery. It was Farmer Bill! I saw him sneaking into the barn one eve holding a strange looking egg. Now I know where it went!”
The very next day, Darius flew off with other swans and came only to visit the farm regaling them with tales of the swans’ flights.
Not long after he and Kamela settled down together and had a nest full of strange looking birds you could imagine. But we now know what they are. Don’t we?
SO they lived happily for years to come!
MY TAKE:
There is a reason why you are ODD! It does not mean you are bad but it does mean you are different!
Somewhere out there is someone who knows who you really are. If you will stay in there and hold on, you just might meet them sooner than you imagine.
Some folks can’t stand the fact that you are different. Don’t hate them, enjoy your DIFFERENCE.
It’s not what we are now that matters but what we will become! Our true selves are hidden deep within growing forms. We are all still work in progress and
There is much beauty inside of you just waiting to surface!
You are DIFFERENT and you are BEAUTIFUL!
Just the thought of this fact should get you excited!
Say with me,” I AM DIFFERENT AND I AM BEAUTIFUL!” Your difference makes you beautiful.
That’s the exact reason why it should be easy for you to stand out. It is God’s own strategy for your success – your uniqueness!
So, what are you doing? Get up and transform your difference into influence! Maximize your DIFFERENCE!
Do all you can to become the best of YOURSELF!
Don’t copy others because a cheap imitation is the best you will be!
I care.
Adeniyi Adebola Atiba 