The ugly duckling

The countryside is really beautiful. It was summer! Wheat is golden, oats are green. Hay was piled up in the green pasture, and the stork was walking about on her long red legs, chattering in the Egyptian language. (Note: Because, according to Danish folklore, the stork flew from Egypt.) It's a language he learned from his mother. There were large forests around the fields and pastures, and deep pools in the forests. Indeed, the country was very beautiful, and the sun was shining on an old-fashioned house with deep Brooks running round it. From the corner of the wall to the water, they were covered with great burdock leaves. The largest leaves grew so tall that a child could stand upright under them. As in the thickest forests, it was desolate. Here was a duck sitting in a nest; she had to hatch her ducklings. But by this time she was exhausted. Few visitors came to see her. All the other ducks liked to swim about in the stream, instead of coming under the burdock and talking to her.

Finally, one by one, the eggs burst open. "Chip! Chip!" The eggshells crackled. All the yolks are now small animals. They stick their little heads out.

"Honk! Honk!" Mother duck said. They began to quack loudly. They looked around under the green leaves. Mother told them to look as far and wide as they could, because green is good for their eyes.

"What a big world! "Said the young ones. It was true that their world was very different now than when they were inside the eggshell.

'You think this is the whole world! Mother said. 'It goes as far as the other side of the garden, as far as the parson's field! I've never even been there myself! You're all here, I suppose?" She stood up. "No, I haven't brought you all out yet! The biggest egg still lay motionless. How long will it have to lie down? I'm really tired of it." So she sat down again.

"Well, how did it go? "Asked an old duck who came to visit her.

"How long this egg is taking!" "Said the sitting duck. "It won't crack. Please look at something else. They were some of the sweetest ducklings! All like their father -- the bad thing has never come to see me once! '

"Let me see the egg that will not crack," said the old guest. "Believe me, it is a Turkey's egg. I was cheated once too, you know, and the little ones gave me a great deal of trouble and trouble, because they were afraid to get into the water. I could hardly get them to try it in the water. My words are useless! -- Let me have a look at the egg. Oh dear! It is a Turkey's egg! Let him lie down and tell the other children to swim."

"I will sit on it a little longer," said the duck. "I have sat on it so long that another week will not make any difference."

"Please yourself, then," said the old duck. So she took her leave.

At last the big egg cracked. "Chip! Chip!" The new baby cried and began to crawl outside. He is big and ugly. Mother duck looked at him. "This duckling is terribly big," she said. "There is no one else like him; But he is nothing like a little Turkey! All right, let's give it a try. He has to go into the water, and I'll kick him into it."

The next day was sunny and beautiful. The sun shone on the green burdock. Mother duck took all her babies to the brook. Ordinary! She jumped into the water. "Quack! Quack!" "She cried, and one by one the ducklings jumped down. The water was over their heads, but they rose up again and swam beautifully. Their calves were moving very well. They were all in the water, and even the ugly little gray one swam with them.

"Oh, he is not a Turkey," said she. "See how well his legs move, and how steadily he floats! He's my biological child! If you take a closer look at him, he is rather handsome. Honk! Honk! Come with me and I will take you out into the wide world and show you the chicken farm. But keep close to me, that no one tread on you. And you have to watch out for cats!"

So they came to the chicken farm. There was a terrible noise in the yard, for two families were fighting for an eel's head, and the cat carried it off.

"You see, that's the way the world is! "Said mother Duck. Her mouth watered a little, for she wanted to eat the eel's head, too. "Now use your legs! She said. "Keep your spirits up. If you see an old duck there, you must bow your heads, for she is the most famous duck there. She has Spanish blood - because she is very fat. You see, she has a red strip on her leg. It was a wonderful thing, and a possible honor for a duck: it meant so much that people did not want to lose her, and she had to be known to all animals and men. Brace yourself don't pull your legs in. A well-bred duck always spreads its legs apart, like mother and father

The same. All right, hang down your head and say: Quack!"

And they did. The other ducks stood and watched, and said in a rather loud voice:

"Look! And now here comes another group of guests looking for food, as if we didn't have enough of them already! Bah! Look at the ugly face of that duckling! How we hate it!"

Immediately a duck flew over and pecked him on the neck.

"Please leave him alone," said his mother. "He is not hurting anyone."

"Yes, but he is so big and special," said the duck that had pecked him, "that he must be beaten!"

"The mother duck's children are very beautiful," said the one with the red cloth on her leg, "they are all beautiful except one. It's a shame. I wish I could hatch him again."

"No, ma 'am," answered the duck, "he is not handsome, but he is very good-natured. He swam as well as any man -- better, I might say. I think he will grow handsome, or perhaps shrink a little in due time. He has been in the egg so long that he does not look very natural." She gave him a peck on the neck and straightened his feathers. "Besides, he's a drake," she said, "so it doesn't matter very much. I think he is strong enough to find his way in the future."

"The other ducklings are very nice," said the old duck. "You are welcome here. If you can find an eel's head, please bring it to me."

They make themselves at home here now.

But the duckling that came out of the egg was so ugly that it was beaten and laughed at everywhere, not only by the ducks but also by the chickens.

"He's so big and thick!" "Everyone said. A male Turkey was born with a distance on his feet, so he thought himself an emperor. Blowing himself like a windswept sailboat, he came menacing toward him, his eyes wide and his face red. The poor duckling did not know where to stand, or where to go. He felt very sad because he was so ugly and had become a laughingstock of all the chickens and ducks.

This is the first day. Then it got worse every day. The poor duckling was driven away; Even his own brothers and sisters became angry with him. They always say, "You ugly monster! I wish the cat would get you!" Then mother said, "I wish you would go away!" The ducks pecked him. The chickens beat him, and the maid who fed them kicked him.

So he flew over the fence and escaped; When the birds in the bushes saw him, they flew into the air in alarm. "It's because I'm ugly!" The duckling thought. So he closed his eyes and ran on. He ran to a swamp inhabited by wild ducks. He lay here all night, for he was so tired and discouraged.

When morning came, the wild ducks were flying. They looked at their new friend.

"Who are you? They asked. The duckling turned this way and that way, and saluted as respectfully as he could.

"You are very ugly indeed," said the wild ducks, "but it will not matter much to us if you do not marry any of the ducks in our family." Poor little thing! He had no idea of marriage at all; All he wanted was permission to lie among the reeds and drink from the marsh.

He lay there for two whole days. Then two geese -- or rather, two gongs, for they were two men -- flew in. They are not long out of their mother's eggshells, so they are very naughty.

"Now, friend," they said, "you are so delightfully ugly that EVEN I can't help liking you. Will you be a migratory bird and fly away with us? There was another swamp near here, where there were several lovely wild geese. They're all ladies, and they say: 'Ah! 'You're so ugly, you can take your luck with them!'

"Chip! Pa!" There was a noise in the sky. The two wild geese fell into the reeds and died, turning the water red. "Chip! Pa!" There was another noise. The whole flock of wild geese flew up from the reeds, and there was another shot. It turned out that someone was hunting on a large scale. All round the marsh lay hunters, some even sitting on branches that overhung the reeds. Blue clouds of smoke hung over the black trees, drifting slowly away over the water. The hounds now came running through the mud, as usual, and the rushes and reeds fell on either side. What a terrible thing for the poor duckling! He turned his head and hid it under his wing. At that moment, however, a terrifyingly large hound was standing close to the little house

Beside the duck. It had a long tongue sticking out of its mouth, and its eyes glowed horribly and horribly. He put his nose on the duckling and showed his sharp teeth, but -- ordinary! Ordinary! - It ran away and did not carry him away.

'Oh, thank God! The duckling sighed, "I am so ugly that the hounds will not bite me!"

He lay down quietly. The gun was still ringing through the reeds, and one shot after another came out.

It was almost dark before everything became quiet. But the poor duckling did not dare to get up. He had waited hours before he dared to look about him, and then he ran out of the marsh as fast as he could, across the fields and across the pasture. A strong wind was blowing and it was very difficult for him to run.

When it was dark, he came to a humble farmhouse. It was so broken that it did not even know which side to fall on -- and so it did not fall. The wind howled so hard around the duckling that he sat down facing it. It blew harder and harder. Then he saw that one of the hinges was loose, that the door was crooked, and that he could get into the room through the gap, and he did so.

In the house lived an old woman, her cat, and a hen. She called the cat "little Son". He could arch his back so high that he uttered a purring sound; He can still get sparks out of him, but to do that you have to touch his hair. The hen's legs are short and small, so she is called "short legs". The eggs were so good that the old woman loved her as if she were her own child.

The next morning people noticed the duckling at once. The cat began to purr and the hen cackled.

"What is this? 'said the old woman, looking round. But her eyes were not very bright, so she thought he was a fat duck that had gone astray. 'That's a rare piece of luck! "Now I can have duck eggs. I only wish he wasn't a drake! Let's find out!"

So the duckling was put to the test for three weeks, but no eggs were laid. The cat was the gentleman of the house, and the hen was the lady, so they began to say, "We and the world!" Because they think they're half the world, and half the world. The duckling thought he could have a different opinion, but the hen could not bear his attitude.

"Can you lay eggs?" She asked.

"No!"

"Then hold your opinion."

So the tomcat said, "Can you arch your back and purr and emit sparks?"

"No!"

"Then there is no need for you to express your opinion when sensible men are speaking!"

The duckling sat in a corner and was very unhappy. Then he thought of the fresh air and the sun. He felt a strange longing: he wanted to swim in the water. At last he could bear it no longer, and had to tell the hen what was on his mind.

"What are you thinking?" Asked the hen. "You have nothing to do, and that's why you have these fantasies. All you have to do is lay some eggs, or squeal a little, and all your queer ideas will go away."

"But how delightful it is to swim in the water!" The duckling says. "What a pleasure it would be to have the water over your head and to go under!"

"Yes, it must be delightful!" "Said the hen." You are crazy. Ask the cat -- he's the cleverest of all my friends -- ask him if he likes swimming in water, or getting into it. I'm not going to talk about myself. Ask your master -- that old woman -- there is no one wiser than her in the world! Do you think she wants to go swimming and have the water over her head?"

"You don't know me," said the duckling.

"We don't know you? Who knows you? You can't be cleverer than the cat and the mistress -- I'll leave myself alone. Don't flatter yourself, child! You should thank God for the care you're getting. Aren't you in a warm house now, with some friends, and a lot to learn from? But you're a loser, and I'm not happy with you. You may believe me that I say such unkind things only to help you. Only then will you know who your real friends are! Please learn to lay eggs, or purr, or make sparks!"

"I think I will go out into the wide world," said the duckling.

"All right, you go! The hen said.

So the duckling went away. He swam and dived; But all the animals looked at him because of his ugliness. Autumn is coming. The leaves in the woods turned yellow and brown. The wind picked them up and carried them up into the air, where it was very cold. Clouds hung low, heavy with hail and snow. The crow stood on the fence and cried, "Caw! Quack!" Yeah, you get cold just thinking about it. The poor duckling never had a good time.

One evening, just as the sun was setting beautifully, a flock of beautiful large birds appeared out of the bushes. The duckling had never seen anything so beautiful. They were shiny white, with long, soft necks. This is the swan. They made a strange cry, spread their beautiful long wings, and flew from the cold regions