TWO RHYMING RIDDLES

1)
My gray beginnings a story relates,
To be ugly and awkward seemed my fate;
Yet into beauty did I grow,
Time changes all, my tale did show.

Alabaster white or black as night,
My grace is known world-wide;
And yet, noisy, vain, and vicious I can be,
What we truly are is often hard to see.

2)

Four pretty gems that sparkle and shine,
Find them if you can in the following lines:
The first is purple, fit for a king,
The second green, where Dorothy did her thing;
The third is red, July's birthstone as well,
The fourth's found on strings and inside a shell.
The first letter of each, when put in due order,
Will give you the name of an imitator.

Answers:

1. Duckling and swan

2)
The first gem is amethyst.
The second is emerald (Emerald City in Oz).
The third is ruby.
The fourth is pearl.

APER - an imitator