Here is the great Hans Christian Andersen, immortalised in bronze, with the Ugly Ducking. (not me...the small bronze bird). I have always loved what HCA managed to convey in that story- that despite what other people say about us, despite the feeling of being different from the others, we can all become as beautiful as swans.
I had four brothers and no sisters and that alone of course had me feeling 'different'!
Sometimes it's a lifelong story, becoming less ugly duckling and more swan. And these life stories are fabulous, challenging and unique to each person.
This photo shows one of the up moments in my story. My heart was full of joy telling stories beside this statue! Every summer since 1956, a great array of storytellers have entertained children and adults alike there, every Saturday morning. It was an honour to participate.
This summer, wherever you are in the world, you can join the lovers of stories, online as some of HC Andersen's classics: The Tinder Box, The Nightingale, The Red Shoes, The Wild Swans. and many, many other stories, are told by storytellers from all over the world.
If you would like to hear me, come on Saturday June 12th when I will tell The Travelling Companion, along with Hugh Lupton telling Tobias and the Angel, a Jewish story.