In the Appalachian community, there lived a beautiful swan named Rose and an ugly duckling named Trash. Rose enjoyed swimming in a crystal clear pond filled with gorgeous lily pads and outlined with very tall cattail, which shaded certain areas of the pond. Trash lived nearby in a smaller, polluted pond with his friends Can, Papertowel, and Bottle. Trash always thought of Rose to be full of pride, thinking she was better than everyone else. One day, Trash and his friends took a walk through their community, passing by Rose. “Just look at Rose! She thinks she is so high and almighty that she swims in her pond with her head held high in the air,” Trash exclaimed to his friends as they passed by Rose. They began speaking impolitely about her by making jokes and ridicules about her. Let’s leave. I don’t want to be associated with Rose. She is stuck up!” exclaimed Can. The friends continued their journey and ended up at their pond where they played for hours. The next day, Trash’s friends moved away to another pond with their families that were in another community far away. Trash became very lonely since his friends moved away and didn’t know what he was going to do. He decided to take a walk by himself through the community to ponder about making new friends. He came upon the pond where Rose lived. He decided to introduce himself to Rose. “Hey Rose! My name is Trash,” shouted Trash. Rose replied, “Hey Trash! It’s nice to finally meet you.” “All of my friends have gone away and I have no one to talk to,” Trash said. “You are more than welcome to share this beautiful pond with me and become friends with me if you’d like,” Rose exclaimed. Trash entered the pond and began to swim with Rose. “I have been so lonely for many years. I noticed that you and your friends have walked by many times and I wished to talk to you but didn’t because you all laughed at me,” Rose stated. “I am sorry that I judged you by your appearance. You are very kind and fun to be around. I guess that I was intimidated by you and was jealous therefore I never really got to know you,” said Trash. Swan replied, “I am so glad that you finally got to know me. We will never have to live lonely any more and will become the best of friends that there are.” Trash agreed.
You can’t judge a book by its cover.