The Ugly Duckling (1931 film)

Plot

A hen sleeps as her eggs begin to hatch. She is delighted to see six female chicks emerge, but the final egg produces a duckling that was accidentally mixed in with the farmyard chickens. The hen and her chicks walk away from him. The duckling tries hard to fit in with his chick sisters, but fails.

He attempts to befriend a dog, a cow, and even a frog, but none accept him. After mocking his own reflection, he laments his supposed ugliness. Soon, the cow moos a warning that a tornado is coming. The hen and chicks rush inside the hen house, but the duckling is forced to hide underneath it because they will not let him in.

The tornado catches the hen house and drops it into a river, where the hen's chicks are threatened by a waterfall. The duckling swims through debris to rescue them. The hen cries out in fear for her daughters. The duckling enters the hen house, but a tree crashes through.

He and his sisters climb onto it, and he quickly tells them to run back inside, saving them just as a second tree destroys the first. He then orders his sisters to run to the fireplace blower, which he jumps on several times to carry them to safety. His sisters cheer him as a hero. The hen picks up the duckling, recognizes him as her son, and hugs him to his great joy.