The Swan
 by Rev. Robert J. Hermley
                                                                                                                            

Stories for Life Index
Home Page

The ugly duckling was not ugly at all, he was, in truth, a beautiful swan.  He was out of place with the ducks because he was not one of their kind.  He was different, and they did not like it because he stood out.

It was only when he returned to the swans that he realized how beautiful he truly was, and that with them, he was finally at home.  There, in his solid pure color, he could swim about with others who were like him.  How often a truly beautiful person grovels along with fowl companions, floating in a pond where they do not belong.  They try to live amongst a different breed, but they are never at peace, because they are out of place.  They are nervous and restless until they fly from there to the place where God and nature intended them to be.

Never let peer pressure drag you down to a lower level.  Try with all your might to live and associate with friends who value the things you do.  An old, old saying tells us, "Birds of a feather flock together."