From“TheUglyDuckling”to“TheWildSwan”

易行健

Hans Christian Anderson， “father of the modern Fairy Tales”， was once the ugly duckling—a man of humble birth， and he achieved great success， becoming the wild swan. What is his way to success？A survey of his career reveals that his success can be attributed to three factors—the aspiration， determination and diligence.

Like “the Ugly Duckling”， born in a humble duck-yard， Anderson was the son of a poor cobbler. But the little boy loved reading and dreamed to become a writer of plays. After his fathers death， driven by his intense aspiration， he left home to make his fame and fortune on his own. Though he had tried his best， working as hard as he could， his efforts never paid off.

A youth other than Anderson might have crumbled under this blow， but throughout his life， he never lost faith in himself， no matter how often he faced rejection. There is no doubt that it is his strong will that made him possess the remarkable confidence.

He spent all the little money he had on books even if he often suffered from starvation. The great perseverance finally brought his luck to him—the first book he published was a great success， quickly selling out. Throughout his life， Anderson wrote more than 200 fairy tales， which were translated into many foreign languages， making him one of the best-known writers of the world.

It is his dream， determination and diligence that made Anderson “The Wild Swan” from “ The Ugly Duckling”.

Our life is full of difficulties， and only if we stick to our dreams， then go forward with strong will as well as great diligence， will we get closer to perfection， and in the end to stand on the pinnacle of our life.