Hans Christian Andersen. The Ugly Duckling. Good story, but the whole "It's all right because he would grow up to be pretty!" was... unfortunate. Then a conversation on this very wiki pointed out that ducks were quite cute, and it was a matter of opinion. I also looked up baby swans (they're technically cygnets). They're really cute. The point wasn't that the "duckling" grew up and became beautiful, it was that the swan, with the benefit of looking like what he was, found people who accepted him.
Gee, given how ferocious swans are, the "ugly duckling" would be perfectly able to heap retribution on those who tormented him growing up. I can see it now: "Revenge of the Ugly Duckling" With the tagline: They tormented him as a cygnet...and now they will pay.
. They're really cute. The point wasn't that the "duckling" grew up and became beautiful, it was that the swan, with the benefit of looking like what he was, found people who accepted him.