It was so beautiful out on the country, it was summer- thewheat fields were golden, the oats were green, and down among thegreen meadows the hay was stacked. There the stork minced abouton his red legs, clacking away in Egyptian, which was thelanguage his mother had taught him. Round about the field andmeadow lands rose vast forests, in which deep lakes lay hidden.Yes, it was indeed lovely out there in the country.
In the midst of the sunshine there stood an old manor housethat had a deep moat around it. From the walls of the manor rightdown to the water's edge great burdock leaves grew, andthere were some so tall that little children could stand uprightbeneath the biggest of them. In this wilderness of leaves, whichwas as dense as the forests itself, a duck sat on her nest,hatching her ducklings. She was becoming somewhat weary, becausesitting is such a dull business and scarcely anyone came to seeher. The other ducks would much rather swim in the moat thanwaddle out and squat under the burdock leaf to gossip withher.
But at last the eggshells began to crack, one after another."Peep, peep!" said the little things, as they came to life andpoked out their heads.
"Quack, quack!" said the duck, and quick as quick can bethey all waddled out to have a look at the green world under theleaves. Their mother let them look as much as they pleased,because green is good for the eyes.
"How wide the world is," said all the young ducks, for theycertainly had much more room now than they had when they were intheir eggshells.
"Do you think this is the whole world?" their mother asked."Why it extends on and on, clear across to the other side of thegarden and right on into the parson's field, though that isfurther than I have ever been. I do hope you are all hatched,"she said as she got up. "No, not quite all. The biggest egg stilllies here. How much longer is this going to take? I am reallyrather tired of it all," she said, but she settled back on hernest.
"Well, how goes it?" asked an old duck who came to pay her acall.
"It takes a long time with that one egg," said the duck onthe nest. "It won't crack, but look at the others. They arethe cutest little ducklings I've ever seen. They lookexactly like their father, the wretch! He hasn't come tosee me at all."
"Let's have a look at the egg that won't crack,"the old duck said. "It's a turkey egg, and you can take myword for it. I was fooled like that once myself. What trouble andcare I had with those turkey children, for I may as well tellyou, they are afraid of the water. I simply could not get theminto it. I quacked and snapped at them, but it wasn't a bitof use. Let me see the egg. Certainly, it's a turkey egg.Let it lie, and go teach your other children to swim."
"Oh, I'll sit a little longer. I've been at itso long already that I may as well sit here half the summer."
"Suit yourself," said the old duck, and away shewaddled.
At last the big egg did crack. "Peep," said the young one,and out he tumbled, but he was so big and ugly.
The duck took a look at him. "That's a frightfully bigduckling," she said. "He doesn't look the least like theothers. Can he really be a turkey baby? Well, well! I'llsoon find out. Into the water he shall go, even if I have toshove him in myself."
Next day the weather was perfectly splendid, and the sunshone down on all the green burdock leaves. The mother duck ledher whole family down to the moat. Splash! she took to the water."Quack, quack," said she, and one duckling after another plungedin. The water went over their heads, but they came up in a flash,and floated to perfection. Their legs worked automatically, andthey were all there in the water. Even the big, ugly gray one wasswimming along.
"Why, that's no turkey," she said. "See how nicely heuses his legs, and how straight he holds himself. He's myvery own son after all, and quite good-looking if you look at himproperly. Quack, quack come with me. I'll lead you out intothe world and introduce you to the duck yard. But keep close tome so that you won't get stepped on, and watch out for thecat!"
Thus they sallied into the duck yard, where all was in anuproar because two families were fighting over the head of aneel. But the cat got it, after all.
"You see, that's the way of the world." The motherduck licked her bill because she wanted the eel's head forherself. "Stir your legs. Bustle about, and mind that you bendyour necks to that old duck over there. She's the noblestof us all, and has Spanish blood in her. That's whyshe's so fat. See that red rag around her leg? That'sa wonderful thing, and the highest distinction a duck can get. Itshows that they don't want to lose her, and thatshe's to have special attention from man and beast. Shakeyourselves! Don't turn your toes in. A well-bred ducklingturns his toes way out, just as his father and mother do-thisway. So then! Now duck your necks and say quack!"
They did as she told them, but the other ducks around themlooked on and said right out loud, "See here! Must we have thisbrood too, just as if there weren't enough of us already?And-fie! what an ugly-looking fellow that duckling is! Wewon't stand for him." One duck charged up and bit hisneck.
"Let him alone," his mother said. "He isn't doing anyharm."
"Possibly not," said the duck who bit him, "but he'stoo big and strange, and therefore he needs a good whacking."
"What nice-looking children you have, Mother," said the oldduck with the rag around her leg. "They are all pretty exceptthat one. He didn't come out so well. It's a pity youcan't hatch him again."
"That can't be managed, your ladyship," said themother. "He isn't so handsome, but he's as good ascan be, and he swims just as well as the rest, or, I should say,even a little better than they do. I hope his looks will improvewith age, and after a while he won't seem so big. He tooktoo long in the egg, and that's why his figure isn'tall that it should be." She pinched his neck and preened hisfeathers. "Moreover, he's a drake, so it won't matterso much. I think he will be quite strong, and I'm sure hewill amount to something."
"The other ducklings are pretty enough," said the old duck."Now make yourselves right at home, and if you find aneel's head you may bring it to me."
So they felt quite at home. But the poor duckling who hadbeen the last one out of his egg, and who looked so ugly, waspecked and pushed about and made fun of by the ducks, and thechickens as well. "He's too big," said they all. The turkeygobbler, who thought himself an emperor because he was bornwearing spurs, puffed up like a ship under full sail and boredown upon him, gobbling and gobbling until he was red in theface. The poor duckling did not know where he dared stand orwhere he dared walk. He was so sad because he was so desperatelyugly, and because he was the laughing stock of the wholebarnyard.
So it went on the first day, and after that things went frombad to worse. The poor duckling was chased and buffeted about byeveryone. Even his own brothers and sisters abused him. "Oh,"they would always say, "how we wish the cat would catch you, youugly thing." And his mother said, "How I do wish you were milesaway." The ducks nipped him, and the hens pecked him, and thegirl who fed them kicked him with her foot.
So he ran away; and he flew over the fence. The little birdsin the bushes darted up in a fright. "That's becauseI'm so ugly," he thought, and closed his eyes, but he ranon just the same until he reached the great marsh where the wildducks lived. There he lay all night long, weary anddisheartened.
When morning came, the wild ducks flew up to have a look attheir new companion. "What sort of creature are you?" they asked,as the duckling turned in all directions, bowing his best to themall. "You are terribly ugly," they told him, "but that'snothing to us so long as you don't marry into ourfamily."
Poor duckling! Marriage certainly had never entered hismind. All he wanted was for them to let him lie among the reedsand drink a little water from the marsh.
There he stayed for two whole days. Then he met two wildgeese, or rather wild ganders-for they were males. They had notbeen out of the shell very long, and that's what made themso sure of themselves.
"Say there, comrade," they said, "you're so ugly thatwe have taken a fancy to you. Come with us and be a bird ofpassage. In another marsh near-by, there are some fetching wildgeese, all nice young ladies who know how to quack. You are sougly that you'll completely turn their heads."
Bing! Bang! Shots rang in the air, and these twoganders fell dead among the reeds. The water was red with theirblood. Bing! Bang! the shots rang, and as whole flocks ofwild geese flew up from the reeds another volley crashed. A greathunt was in progress. The hunters lay under cover all around themarsh, and some even perched on branches of trees that overhungthe reeds. Blue smoke rose like clouds from the shade of thetrees, and drifted far out over the water.
The bird dogs came splash, splash! through the swamp,bending down the reeds and the rushes on every side. This gavethe poor duckling such a fright that he twisted his head about tohide it under his wing. But at that very moment a fearfully bigdog appeared right beside him. His tongue lolled out of his mouthand his wicked eyes glared horribly. He opened his wide jaws,flashed his sharp teeth, and - splash, splash - on he wentwithout touching the duckling.
"Thank heavens," he sighed, "I'm so ugly that the dogwon't even bother to bite me."
He lay perfectly still, while the bullets splattered throughthe reeds as shot after shot was fired. It was late in the daybefore things became quiet again, and even then the poor ducklingdidn't dare move. He waited several hours before heventured to look about him, and then he scurried away from thatmarsh as fast as he could go. He ran across field and meadows.The wind was so strong that he had to struggle to keep hisfeet.
Late in the evening he came to a miserable little hovel, soramshackle that it did not know which way to tumble, and that wasthe only reason it still stood. The wind struck the duckling sohard that the poor little fellow had to sit down on his tail towithstand it. The storm blew stronger and stronger, but theduckling noticed that one hinge had come loose and the door hungso crooked that he could squeeze through the crack into the room,and that's just what he did.
Here lived an old woman with her cat and her hen. The cat,whom she called "Sonny," could arch his back, purr, and evenmake sparks, though for that you had to stroke his fur the wrongway. The hen had short little legs, so she was called "ChickeyShortleg." She laid good eggs, and the old woman loved her as ifshe had been her own child.
In the morning they were quick to notice the strangeduckling. The cat began to purr, and the hen began to cluck.
"What on earth!" The old woman looked around, but she wasshort-sighted, and she mistook the duckling for a fat duck thathad lost its way. "That was a good catch," she said. "Now I shallhave duck eggs-unless it's a drake. We must try it out." Sothe duckling was tried out for three weeks, but not one egg didhe lay.
In this house the cat was master and the hen was mistress.They always said, "We and the world," for they thought themselveshalf of the world, and much the better half at that. The ducklingthought that there might be more than one way of thinking, butthe hen would not hear of it.
"Can you lay eggs?" she asked
"No."
"Then be so good as to hold your tongue."
The cat asked, "Can you arch your back, purr, or makesparks?"
"No."
"Then keep your opinion to yourself when sensible people aretalking."
The duckling sat in a corner, feeling most despondent. Thenhe remembered the fresh air and the sunlight. Such a desire to goswimming on the water possessed him that he could not helptelling the hen about it.
"What on earth has come over you?" the hen cried. "Youhaven't a thing to do, and that's why you get suchsilly notions. Lay us an egg, or learn to purr, and you'llget over it."
"But it's so refreshing to float on the water," saidthe duckling, "so refreshing to feel it rise over your head asyou dive to the bottom."
"Yes, it must be a great pleasure!" said the hen. "I thinkyou must have gone crazy. Ask the cat, who's the wisestfellow I know, whether he likes to swim or dive down in thewater. Of myself I say nothing. But ask the old woman, ourmistress. There's no one on earth wiser than she is. Do youimagine she wants to go swimming and feel the water rise over herhead?"
"You don't understand me," said the duckling.
"Well, if we don't, who would? Surely you don'tthink you are cleverer than the cat and the old woman-to saynothing of myself. Don't be so conceited, child. Just thankyour Maker for all the kindness we have shown you. Didn'tyou get into this snug room, and fall in with people who can tellyou what's what? But you are such a numbskull thatit's no pleasure to have you around. Believe me, I tell youthis for your own good. I say unpleasant truths, but that'sthe only way you can know who are your friends. Be sure now thatyou lay some eggs. See to it that you learn to purr or to makesparks."
"I think I'd better go out into the wide world," saidthe duckling.
"Suit yourself," said the hen.
So off went the duckling. He swam on the water, and diveddown in it, but still he was slighted by every living creaturebecause of his ugliness.
Autumn came on. The leaves in the forest turned yellow andbrown. The wind took them and whirled them about. The heavenslooked cold as the low clouds hung heavy with snow and hail.Perched on the fence, the raven screamed, "Caw, caw!" andtrembled with cold. It made one shiver to think of it. Pity thepoor little duckling!
One evening, just as the sun was setting in splendor, agreat flock of large, handsome birds appeared out of the reeds.The duckling had never seen birds so beautiful. They weredazzling white, with long graceful necks. They were swans. Theyuttered a very strange cry as they unfurled their magnificentwings to fly from this cold land, away to warmer countries and toopen waters. They went up so high, so very high, that the uglylittle duckling felt a strange uneasiness come over him as hewatched them. He went around and round in the water, like awheel. He craned his neck to follow their course, and gave a cryso shrill and strange that he frightened himself. Oh! He couldnot forget them-those splendid, happy birds. When he could nolonger see them he dived to the very bottom. and when he came upagain he was quite beside himself. He did not know what birdsthey were or whither they were bound, yet he loved them more thananything he had ever loved before. It was not that he enviedthem, for how could he ever dare dream of wanting their marvelousbeauty for himself? He would have been grateful if only the duckswould have tolerated him-the poor ugly creature.
The winter grew cold - so bitterly cold that the ducklinghad to swim to and fro in the water to keep it from freezingover. But every night the hole in which he swam kept gettingsmaller and smaller. Then it froze so hard that the duckling hadto paddle continuously to keep the crackling ice from closing inupon him. At last, too tired to move, he was frozen fast in theice.
Early that morning a farmer came by, and when he saw howthings were he went out on the pond, broke away the ice with hiswooden shoe, and carried the duckling home to his wife. There theduckling revived, but when the children wished to play with himhe thought they meant to hurt him. Terrified, he fluttered intothe milk pail, splashing the whole room with milk. The womanshrieked and threw up her hands as he flew into the butter tub,and then in and out of the meal barrel. Imagine what he lookedlike now! The woman screamed and lashed out at him with the firetongs. The children tumbled over each other as they tried tocatch him, and they laughed and they shouted. Luckily the doorwas open, and the duckling escaped through it into the bushes,where he lay down, in the newly fallen snow, as if in a daze.
But it would be too sad to tell of all the hardships andwretchedness he had to endure during this cruel winter. When thewarm sun shone once more, the duckling was still alive among thereeds of the marsh. The larks began to sing again. It wasbeautiful springtime.
Then, quite suddenly, he lifted his wings. They sweptthrough the air much more strongly than before, and theirpowerful strokes carried him far. Before he quite knew what washappening, he found himself in a great garden where apple treesbloomed. The lilacs filled the air with sweet scent and hung inclusters from long, green branches that bent over a windingstream. Oh, but it was lovely here in the freshness ofspring!
From the thicket before him came three lovely white swans.They ruffled their feathers and swam lightly in the stream. Theduckling recognized these noble creatures, and a strange feelingof sadness came upon him.
"I shall fly near these royal birds, and they will peck meto bits because I, who am so very ugly, dare to go near them. ButI don't care. Better be killed by them than to be nipped bythe ducks, pecked by the hens, kicked about by the hen-yard girl,or suffer such misery in winter."
So he flew into the water and swam toward the splendidswans. They saw him, and swept down upon him with their rustlingfeathers raised. "Kill me!" said the poor creature, and he bowedhis head down over the water to wait for death. But what did hesee there, mirrored in the clear stream? He beheld his own image,and it was no longer the reflection of a clumsy, dirty, graybird, ugly and offensive. He himself was a swan! Being born in aduck yard does not matter, if only you are hatched from aswan's egg.
He felt quite glad that he had come through so much troubleand misfortune, for now he had a fuller understanding of his owngood fortune, and of beauty when he met with it. The great swansswam all around him and stroked him with their bills.
Several little children came into the garden to throw grainand bits of bread upon the water. The smallest child cried,"Here's a new one," and the others rejoiced, "yes, a newone has come." They clapped their hands, danced around, and ranto bring their father and mother.
And they threw bread and cake upon the water, while they allagreed, "The new one is the most handsome of all. He's soyoung and so good-looking." The old swans bowed in his honor.
Then he felt very bashful, and tucked his head under hiswing. He did not know what this was all about. He felt so veryhappy, but he wasn't at all proud, for a good heart nevergrows proud. He thought about how he had been persecuted andscorned, and now he heard them all call him the most beautiful ofall beautiful birds. The lilacs dipped their clusters into thestream before him, and the sun shone so warm and so heartening.He rustled his feathers and held his slender neck high, as hecried out with full heart: "I never dreamed there could be somuch happiness, when I was the ugly duckling."
