丑小鸭
正是夏天，乡村的风光真是美丽极了。麦穗金黄，而燕麦还是碧绿碧绿的。干草堆在茂密的牧场上，鹳移动着两只红色的长腿走来走去，嘴里不停地说着埃及话，那是他妈妈教给他的语言。
绕过田野和牧场，有一片很大的树林，树林中央有很深的湖泊。是啊，乡村的景色确实非常可爱。在阳光最充足的地方有一座古宅，周围是一道很深的护城河，一蓬蓬硕大的羊蹄草从古宅墙上长出来，一直延伸到水面。有些羊蹄草长得真高啊，小孩子挺直身子都能被它没住。躲在羊蹄草丛中，就像在密林深处一样幽静、隐蔽，有一只母鸭子正蹲在窝里。她的小鸭子们快要孵出来了，她老蹲在窝里也蹲腻了，孵蛋可花了很长时间呢。而且，没有多少人来看望她，别的鸭子更喜欢在护城河里游泳，不愿意啪哒啪哒地走上来，坐在羊蹄草丛里，陪她聊天。
终于，鸭蛋一只接一只地裂开了。“吱吱，吱吱!”他们叫着。所有的小鸭子都活跃起来，探出了他们的小脑袋。
“嘎，嘎!”母鸭子叫，于是小鸭子们都放开嗓门叫了起来，一边在碧绿的草丛里东张张、西望望。鸭妈妈让他们尽情地看个够，因为绿色对眼睛是有好处的。
“哎呀，世界真大啊!”所有的小鸭子都说。比起鸭蛋壳里来，他们现在的活动空间可是大得多了。
“你们以为这就是整个世界么?”鸭妈妈说。“它一直延伸到花园的另一边，延伸到牧师的田野里呢，不过我从来没去过那么远的地方。怎么样，你们都出来了吧?”她站起身，左右看了看。“哟，我还没有把你们全都孵出来!那只最大的蛋还在那儿呢。它还需要多长时间呢?”鸭妈妈说着，在窝里重新蹲了下来。
“你好啊，最近怎么样啊?”一只老母鸭过来看她，问道。
“这一只蛋花的时间太长了!”孵蛋的母鸭回答。“壳儿就是不裂。可是你一定要看看别的。我从来没见过这么可爱的小鸭子。跟他们的爸爸长得一模一样，那个该死的——他一次也不来看我。”
“让我看看那个不裂的蛋，”老母鸭说。“不用说，这肯定是一个火鸡蛋!有一次我就上了这种当，那些家伙给我带来了没完没了的麻烦，把我的心都操碎了，告诉你吧，他们居然怕水!我根本没办法让他们下水。我朝他们又是叫，又是咬，全不管用。让我看看那个蛋!没错，就是火鸡蛋。你快别管它了，去教别的孩子游泳吧。”
“我再孵一小会儿吧。我已经孵了这么长时间，不妨就孵到仲夏集市开始的时候吧。”
“那就随你吧，”老母鸭说完就走了。
最后，那只大蛋终于裂开了。“吱，吱!”小家伙一边叫，一边跌跌撞撞地爬了出来。哎呀，他长得多大、多丑啊!母鸭子看着他。
“这只小鸭子真是大得吓人，”她说。“别的小鸭子都跟他不一样。难道他真是小火鸡?不要紧，我们很快就能弄清楚的。他一定要下水，哪怕我亲自把他踢下去。”
第二天，天气非常晴朗，阳光照在碧绿的羊蹄草上。母鸭子带着所有的小鸭子来到了护城河边。
扑啦啦!她一下跳进水里。“呷，呷，”她叫，小鸭子一只接一只也跳了进去。水淹没了他们的脑袋，但是他们很快抬起头来，优雅地漂浮着。他们的腿自己就会划水，一个都不赖。就连那只大块头的、灰不溜秋的丑鸭子也和他们一起游来游去。
“嗯，不是火鸡，”鸭妈妈说。“看他的腿划得多漂亮，身子挺得多直。他是我嫡嫡亲亲的小鸭子，其实，如果仔细看看，他还不算难看。呷，呷!好了，大家跟我来，我要带你们去见见世面，把你们介绍给鸭场。不过一定要一直紧跟着我，免得被踩着。千万留神那只猫!”
他们走进鸭场。里面闹哄哄的，十分吓人，两只小鸭子正在抢夺一个黄鳝头，打得难解难分，最后却被猫得了手。
“世界上的事情就是这样的，”母鸭子说着，咂了咂嘴，因为她自己也很想吃那个黄鳝头。
“把你们的小腿动起来，”她说。“注意你们的叫声，要朝那边的老鸭子低头鞠躬。她是我们中间最有身份的，有西班牙血统，所以块头那么大。你们看见吗，她腿上系着一块红布，那可是个了不起的好东西啊，一只鸭子能得到这样的荣誉，实在是不同寻常。这显然说明了有人舍不得她，她应该得到人和动物的承认!呷，好了!不要把脚往里拐!一个有教养的小鸭子应该像爸爸妈妈一样，把两条腿分得开开的。对了。好，现在低下脑袋，说‘呷’!”
小鸭子们按鸭妈妈的吩咐做了，可是别的母鸭子扭过头来看着他们，声音很大地说，“你看看，你看看!又来了这么一大帮，就好像我们还不够多似的。哦，天哪，那只小鸭子真丑啊!我们可受不了他。”一只母鸭子立刻扑过来，咬了一口他的脖子。
“随他去，”鸭妈妈说。“他并不惹是生非。”
“那倒是，”咬他的那只母鸭说。“可是他太难看、太古怪了，必须挨一顿打。”
“这些小鸭子真不错，”腿上系红布的老母鸭说。“他们长得都很漂亮，只有这一只除外。他可不是个好品种。真可惜你不能把他纠正过来。”
“那是不可能的啊，陛下，”鸭妈妈说。“他虽说模样不好，却是只无可挑剔的好鸭子呢，游起泳来和别的鸭子一样漂亮。我还想斗胆补充一句，他长长就会变好看的，说不定还会变小呢。他在蛋里呆的时间太长了，出来时的模样就不太中看。”说着，她拍了拍丑小鸭的脖子，轻轻地抚摸他。“而且，他是一只公鸭，”她说。“模样俊不俊也没啥关系。我相信他会长得很结实，肯定会在世界上立住脚的。”
“别的小鸭子都很漂亮，”老母鸭说。“好了，你们在这里随意玩耍吧，如果发现了黄鳝头，就拿来给我。”
在这之后，他们就感到很自在了。可是，那只最后出壳的可怜的小鸭子，因为模样太丑了，别人总是咬他、推他、挤他，不仅母鸭取笑他，连母鸡也捉弄他。“真是个傻大个儿，”她们都说。那只公火鸡，生下来的时候浑身带刺，就以为自己是个皇帝，他竖起全身的羽毛，像一艘鼓满了帆的船，直朝丑小鸭扑来，一边不停地咯咯大叫，最后满脸涨得通红。可怜的丑小鸭毫无办法，被逼得走投无路。他心里真难过啊，自己模样太丑，成了整个鸭场嘲笑的对象。
第一天就这样过去了，后来事情越来越糟糕。大家都追赶、欺负丑小鸭，就连他的哥哥姐姐也对他不好。他们总是说，“让猫把你叼去才好呢，你这个丑八怪!”甚至鸭妈妈也说，“上帝保佑，你远远地离开这里就好了。”母鸭子们咬他，母鸡们啄他，那个喂食的姑娘也用脚把他踢到一边。
于是他跑了，从篱笆上面飞过去，惊得小鸟儿纷纷飞上了天空。
“这都是因为我太丑了，”可怜的丑小鸭想，闭上了眼睛，但还是一个劲儿往前跑。后来他到了野鸭子居住的大沼泽地。他实在太累、太难受了，就留在那里过了一夜。早上，野鸭子们飞过来打量这个新来的同伴。
“你是个什么样的家伙呀?”他们问道，丑小鸭把脑袋转来转去，尽量跟他们打招呼。“你真是丑得吓人，”野鸭子们说，“不过只要你不跟我们家族结婚，那倒没什么关系。”可怜的家伙!他压根儿就没想过结婚的事。他只巴望他们能允许他躺在灯心草丛中，喝几口沼泽地里的水。
他在那里呆了整整两天。后来，两只野鹅，准确地说，是两只野公鹅，过来了。他们刚出壳不久，还不太懂规矩。
“喂，伙计，”他们说，“你长得太丑了，倒很让我们喜欢呢!你愿不愿意跟我们在一起，做一只候鸟呢?附近还有一片沼泽地，那里有许多可爱的野鹅。都是些温柔的、会呷呷叫的年轻女士!你长得这么丑，在她们那里准能交上好运。”就在这时，上空传来“砰，砰”两声，两只野鹅一头栽进芦苇丛中，死了，鲜血染红了水面。“砰，砰，”枪声不断，整个野鹅群都从灯心草丛中惊飞起来，子弹像雨点一样朝他们射去。那是一支庞大的打猎队，猎手们就埋伏在沼泽地周围。有的甚至坐在腾于水面的树枝上。蓝色的硝烟像乌云一样，从黑黢黢的树林里升起，弥漫在沼泽地上。
猎狗回来寻找猎物，在湿地里走来走去——扑啦啦，扑啦啦!灯心草和芦苇被他们踩得东倒西歪。可怜的丑小鸭看了，心里害怕极了。他拼命把脑袋转过去藏在翅膀底下，就在这时，一只吓人的大猎狗出现在他身边。狗的舌头从嘴里吐出来，眼睛里闪着凶光。他凑近丑小鸭，张开可怕的血盆大口，露出锋利的尖牙，然后——扑啦啦!走了，碰也没碰丑小鸭一下。
“哦，谢天谢地!”丑小鸭叹了口气。“我太丑了，连狗都不愿意咬我!”
他一动不动地躺着，听着子弹在灌木丛中呼啸而过，“砰，砰”的巨响划破天空。后来，声音总算平息了，但即使这个时候，可怜的丑小鸭也不敢出来。他又等了几个小时，才探出头来到处看看，然后飞快地逃离了那片沼泽地。他跑过一片片田野，跑过一个个牧场，风刮得真大啊，他跑得很费劲。
夜幕降临了，他来到一座贫穷的小屋前。这小茅屋实在太破旧了，之所以还没有倒，是因为它还没有拿定主意朝哪边倒。狂风嗖嗖地刮着，为了不被刮跑，丑小鸭只好坐在地上，可是风还在越刮越大。这时，他看见小屋门上的合页掉了一个，门歪斜着，他可以从这缝隙钻进屋去，就这样，他进了小屋。
小屋里住着一个老太婆，还有她的猫和母鸡。这只她唤作“乖儿”的猫，会弓起后背，呜噜呜噜地叫，而且身上还能迸出火星，不过你需要反着抚摸她的毛才行。母鸡的腿又细又短，所以被唤作“短腿鸡儿”。她下蛋不错，老太婆非常喜欢她，就像喜欢自己的亲生孩子一样。
早晨，这只陌生的小鸭子立刻就被发现了，猫开始“呜噜呜噜”，母鸡也“咯咯”地叫起来。
“这是怎么回事呀?”老太婆转过头来问道，可是她的眼神儿不好，还以为丑小鸭是从什么地方跑出来的一只大肥鸭呢。“这可真是个意外的收获呀!”她说。“这下我就有鸭蛋吃了——但愿别是只公鸭。我们等等看吧。”
于是，她考验了丑小鸭三个星期，可是一个鸭蛋也没有出现。猫是这个家里的老板，母鸡是老板娘。他们总是说，“我们和整个世界，”以为她们代表着世界的一半，而且还是比较好的那一半。
丑小鸭认为在这个问题上有两种意见，可是猫根本就听不进去。
“你会下蛋吗?”她问。
“不会。”
“那你就行行好，把嘴闭上!”
然后猫说，“你能弓起后背，‘呜噜呜噜’地叫，或者迸出火星吗?”
“不会。”
“那在聪明人说话的时候，你最好留着你的想法!”
丑小鸭闷闷不乐地坐在屋角。他开始想念新鲜空气和阳光，他内心产生了一种无法控制的渴望，想在水上漂浮。最后，他忍不住把这想法告诉了母鸡。
“你这是撞了什么鬼呀?”母鸡问。“你整天什么事也不做，才会有这些怪念头钻进你的脑子里。你下几个蛋，或者学着‘呜噜呜噜’叫，就不会有这样的念头了。”
“可是在水面上漂浮多么美妙啊，”丑小鸭说。“扎进水底，让水冲上脑袋的感觉多么美妙啊。”
“那倒是个不错的乐趣!”母鸡说。“我想你准是疯了。去问问猫吧。我认识的人里就数他最聪明了。问问他是不是喜欢在水上漂浮或一头扎进水里。我姑且不说我自己。问问我们的女主人，问问老太婆本人吧。世界上没有人比她更机灵的了。你认为她愿意在水上漂浮或者一头扎进水里吗?”
“你们不理解我，”丑小鸭说。
“噢，我们不理解你，那谁能理解你呢?姑且不提我自己，你总不会以为自己比猫、比老太婆还聪明吧!别犯傻了，孩子，感谢命运吧，我们给了你这么多恩惠。你不是住在这间温暖的屋子里，可以从交往的人这里学到一些东西的吗?没想到你是个白痴，跟你交往一点儿乐趣也没有。你相信我好了：我对你没有恶意。我是跟你实话实说，要弄清谁是自己的朋友，没有比这更可靠的方法了。你就赶紧下几个蛋，或者学会呜噜呜噜叫，让身上迸出火星来。”
“我想到野外的世界里去，”丑小鸭说。
“噢，那就随你的便吧，”母鸡说。
于是丑小鸭就走了。他在水上漂浮，一头扎进水里，可是他长得太丑了，别的动物都瞧不起他、不理睬他。秋天来了。树林里的叶子渐渐枯黄。风把它们吹得四处飘舞。天空看上去阴森寒冷，云里裹着雪和冰雹，沉甸甸地挂在天空。一只大乌鸦栖在栅栏上，冻得哑着嗓子“呱呱”直叫。想一想就叫人忍不住发抖。不用说，可怜的丑小鸭日子很难过!
一天傍晚，冬天的太阳刚刚落山，天空泛着白光，一群美丽的大鸟从灌木丛中飞了出来。丑小鸭从没见过这么美丽的事物。他们白得耀眼，长长的脖子弯成弧形。是天鹅!他们发出奇特的叫声，展开气派的宽大翅膀，从寒冷地区飞到温暖的地方和开阔的水面。他们飞得那么高、那么高，丑小鸭心里感到一种奇怪的不安。他像轮子一样在水里转了一圈又一圈，使劲把脖子伸向空中，追望他们的背影。哦，他永远忘不掉这些美丽的鸟、快乐的鸟。他们从视野中消失了，丑小鸭一头扎进水里，等他重新浮出水面，他心里兴奋极了。他不知道这是些什么鸟，也不知道他们飞往哪里，但是他不由自主地被他们吸引，这是以前从没有过的。他一点儿也不嫉妒他们。他怎么可能希望自己拥有这样惊人的美呢?只要鸭子们能够容忍他、接纳他，他就感激不尽了——可怜的丑小鸭。
这个冬天冷极了，丑小鸭必须不停地游来游去，不让水面结冰，可是每过一个夜晚，他游动的那片水域就又变小了一些。后来冻得太厉害了，冰面有了裂纹，丑小鸭必须不停地摆动他的脚，不让他周围的冰冻结起来。最后，他实在累坏了，没有力气再游动，就被结结实实地冻在了冰里。清晨，一个农民过来看见了他。农民走到冰面上，用厚重的木鞋在冰上砸出一个洞，把丑小鸭抱回去给他的妻子。丑小鸭很快就苏醒了。孩子们想跟他玩儿，但丑小鸭以为他们要来伤害他，吓得乱跑，撞在牛奶盆上，牛奶洒得屋里到处都是。妇人尖叫着举起双手。接着丑小鸭撞倒了黄油桶，又钻到膳食桶里再钻出来。想象一下他现在成了什么模样吧!妇人大声叫着，举着烧火钳来打他。孩子们都来抓他，互相绊着，跌成一团，又笑又嚷。幸好，房门开着，丑小鸭跑进灌木丛和新落的雪中。他躺在那里，浑身一点力气也没有了。
要说起丑小鸭在严冬里遭受的所有贫困和苦难，实在太令人悲伤了。当太阳重又暖洋洋地照着大地，丑小鸭躺在沼泽地里的杂草丛中。百灵鸟在歌唱，美丽的春天来了。
突然，他耸起翅膀，觉得翅膀扇动起来比以前有力得多，充满活力地带着他向前飞去。他还没有反应过来，就发现自己来到了一个大花园里，苹果树上开满了花，空气里弥漫着丁香花的香味，长长的丁香花枝条垂落在湖岸上。哦，清新的春色多么令人陶醉!
就在他的前面，他看见三只美丽的白天鹅从灌木丛中向他游来。他们在水面轻盈地游着，羽毛微微撩动。丑小鸭认出了这些高贵的鸟，一种莫名的忧伤袭上他的心头。
“我要飞向他们，飞向这些高贵的鸟，他们肯定会把我撕成碎片，因为我长得这么丑，居然敢去靠近他们!可是没关系!我情愿被他们杀死，也不愿被鸭子咬、被公鸡啄、被母鸡踩，或者在冬天遭受那么多痛苦。”
于是他飞进水中，朝那些气宇轩昂的天鹅游去。他们看见了他，抖动着羽毛朝他冲了过来。
“杀死我吧!”可怜的丑小鸭说着，垂下脑袋，迎接自己的死亡。可是，他在明净如镜的水里看见了什么?
他看见了自己的倒影，却不再是一只难看、笨拙、丑陋的灰溜溜的小鸭子。他也成了一只天鹅!只要是从天鹅蛋里孵出来的，即使出生在养鸭场也丝毫没有关系!他为自己所遭受的所有痛苦和磨难感到欣慰，这使他更深切地感受到如今的幸福和面前所有的美。那几只大天鹅在他身边游了一圈又一圈，用嘴轻轻地抚摸他。
几个小孩到花园里来了，带着玉米粒和面包片，他们把食物扔进水里，最小的那个孩子大声喊道，“有一只新的!”别的孩子也高兴地喊道，“是啊，新来了一只。”他们拍着手跳来跳去，跑去叫他们的爸爸妈妈。他们把面包扔进水里，都说，“这里面就数这只新的最漂亮。他这么年轻、这么好看。”几只老天鹅低下脑袋，向他表示敬意。
他觉得很不好意思，把脑袋藏在翅膀底下。他不知道该怎么想。他非常快乐，但一点儿也不骄傲，因为一颗善良的心永远不会骄傲。他想起他曾经怎样被追逐、被歧视，现在他听见他们都说他是所有最美丽的鸟儿中最美丽的一只。丁香花在他面前把枝条垂落在水里，灿烂的阳光温暖宜人。他抖动羽毛，高高抬起修长的脖子，怀着满心的喜悦说道，“当我还是个丑小鸭时，我做梦也没想到这样的幸福啊!”
The Ugly Duckling
The country was very lovely just then—it was summer. The wheat was golden and the oats still green. The hay was stacked in the rich low meadows，where the stork marched about on his long red legs，chattering in Egyptian，the language his mother had taught him.
Round about field and meadow lay great woods，in the midst of which were deep lakes. Yes，the country certainly was lovely. In the sunniest spot stood an old mansion surrounded by a deep moat，and great dock leaves grew from the walls of the house right down to the water's edge. Some of them were so tall that a small child could stand upright under them. In among the leaves it was as secluded as in the depths of a forest，and there a duck was sitting on her nest. Her little ducklings were just about to be hatched，but she was quite tired of sitting，for it had lasted such a long time. Moreover，she had very few visitors，as the other ducks liked swimming about in the moat better than waddling up to sit under the dock leaves and gossip with her.
At last one egg after another began to crack.“Cheep，cheep!”they said. All the chicks had come to life and were poking their heads out.
“Quack，quack!”said the duck，and then they all quacked their hardest and looked about them on all sides among the green leaves. Their mother allowed them to look as much as they liked，for green is good for the eyes.
“How big the world is，to be sure!”said all the young ones. They certainly now had ever so much more room to move about than when they were inside their eggshells.
“Do you imagine this is the whole world?”said the mother.“It stretches a long way on the other side of the garden，right into the parson's field，though I have never been as far as that. I suppose you are all here now?”She got up and looked about.“No，I declare I have not got you all yet!The biggest egg is still there. How long is this going to take?”she said，and settled herself on the nest again.
“Well，how are you getting on?”said an old duck who had come to pay her a visit.
“This one egg is taking such a long time!”answered the sitting duck. “The shell will not crack. But now you must look at the others. They are the finest ducklings I have ever seen. They are all exactly like their father，the rascal!—yet he never comes to see me.”
“Let me look at the egg which won't crack，”said the old duck.“You may be sure that it is a turkey's egg!I was cheated like that once and I had no end of trouble and worry with the creatures，for I may tell you that they are afraid of the water. I simply could not get them into it. I quacked and snapped at them，but it all did no good. Let me see the egg!Yes，it is a turkey's egg. You just leave it alone，and teach the other children to swim.”
“I will sit on it a little longer. I have sat so long already that I may as well go on till the Midsummer Fair comes round.”
“Please yourself，”said the old duck，and away she went.
At last the big egg cracked.“Cheep，cheep!”said the young one and tumbled out. How big and ugly he was!The duck looked at him.
“That is a monstrous big duckling，”she said.“None of the others looked like that. Can he be a turkey chick?Well，we shall soon find that out. Into the water he shall go，if I have to kick him in myself.”
The next day was gloriously fine，and the sun shone on all the green dock leaves. The mother duck with her whole family went down to the moat.
Splash!into the water she sprang.“Quack，quack，”she said，and one duckling after another plumped in. The water dashed over their heads，but they came up again and floated beautifully. Their legs went of themselves，and they were all there. Even the big ugly gray one swam about with them.
“No，that is no turkey，”she said. “See how beautifully he uses his legs and how erect he holds himself. He is my own chick，after all，and not bad looking when you come to look at him properly. Quack，quack!Now come with me and I will take you out into the world and introduce you to the duckyard. But keep close to me all the time so that no one may tread upon you. And beware of the cat!”
Then they went into the duckyard. There was a fearful uproar going on，for two broods were fighting for the head of an eel，and in the end the cat captured it.
“That's how things go in this world，”said the mother duck. She licked her bill，because she wanted the eel's head herself.
“Now use your legs，”said she. “Mind you quack properly，and bend your necks to the old duck over there. She is the grandest of us all. She has Spanish blood in her veins and that accounts for her size. And do you see?She has a red rag round her leg. That is a wonderfully fine thing，and the most extraordinary mark of distinction any duck can have. It shows clearly that she is not to be parted with，and that she is worthy of recognition both by beasts and men!Quack，now!Don't turn your toes in!A well-brought-up duckling keeps his legs wide apart just like father and mother. That's it. Now bend your necks and say quack!”
They did as they were bid，but the other ducks round about looked at them and said，quite loud，“Just look there!Now we are to have that tribe，just as if there were not enough of us already. And，oh dear，how ugly that duckling is!We won't stand him.”And a duck flew at him at once and bit him in the neck.
“Let him be，”said the mother.“He is doing no harm.”
“Very likely not，”said the biter.“But he is so ungainly and queer that he must be whacked.”
“Those are handsome children mother has，”said the old duck with the rag round her leg.“They are all good looking except this one. He is not a good specimen. It's a pity you can't make him over again.”
“That can't be done，your grace，”said the mother duck.“He is not handsome，but he is a thoroughly good creature，and he swims as beautifully as any of the others. I think I might venture even to add that I think he will improve as he goes on，or perhaps in time he may grow smaller. He was too long in the egg，and so he has not come out with a very good figure.”And then she patted his neck and stroked him down.“Besides，he is a drake，”said she. “So it does not matter so much. I believe he will be very strong，and I don't doubt but he will make his way in the world.”
“The other ducklings are very pretty，”said the old duck.“Now make yourselves quite at home，and if you find the head of an eel you may bring it to me.”
After that they felt quite at home. But the poor duckling which had been the last to come out of the shell，and who was so ugly，was bitten，pushed about，and made fun of by both the ducks and the hens.“He is too big，”they all said. And the turkey cock，who was born with his spurs on and therefore thought himself quite an emperor，puffed himself up like a vessel in full sail，made for him，and gobbled and gobbled till he became quite red in the face. The poor duckling was at his wit's end，and did not know which way to turn. He was in despair because he was so ugly and the butt of the whole duckyard.
So the first day passed，and afterwards matters grew worse and worse. The poor duckling was chased and hustled by all of them. Even his brothers and sisters illused him. They were always saying，“If only the cat would get hold of you，you hideous object!”Even his mother said，“I wish to goodness you were miles away.”The ducks bit him，the hens pecked him，and the girl who fed them kicked him aside.
Then he ran off and flew right over the hedge，where the little birds flew up into the air in a fright.“That is because I am so ugly，”thought the poor duckling，shutting his eyes，but he ran on all the same. Then he came to a great marsh where the wild ducks lived. He was so tired and miserable that he stayed there the whole night. In the morning the wild ducks flew up to inspect their new comrade.
“What sort of a creature are you?”they inquired，as the duckling turned from side to side and greeted them as well as he could.“You are frightfully ugly，”said the wild ducks，“but that does not matter to us，so long as you do not marry into our family.”Poor fellow!He had not thought of marriage. All he wanted was permission to lie among the rushes and to drink a little of the marsh water.
He stayed there two whole days. Then two wild geese came，or rather two wild ganders. They were not long out of the shell and therefore rather pert.
“I say，comrade，”they said，“you are so ugly that we have taken quite a fancy to you!Will you join us and be a bird of passage?There is another marsh close by，and there are some charming wild geese there. All are sweet young ladies who can say quack!You are ugly enough to make your fortune among them.”Just at that moment，bang!bang!was heard up above，and both the wild geese fell dead among the reeds，and the water turned blood red. Bang!bang!went the guns，and whole flocks of wild geese flew up from the rushes and the shots peppered among them again.
There was a grand shooting party，and the sportsmen lay hidden round the marsh. Some even sat on the branches of the trees which overhung the water. The blue smoke rose like clouds among the dark trees and swept over the pool.The retrieving dogs wandered about in the swamp—splash!splash!The rushes and reeds bent beneath their tread on all sides. It was terribly alarming to the poor duckling. He twisted his head round to get it under his wing，and just at that moment a frightful big dog appeared close beside him. His tongue hung right out of his mouth and his eyes glared wickedly. He opened his great chasm of a mouth close to the duckling，showed his sharp teeth，and—splash!—went on without touching him.
“Oh，thank Heaven!”sighed the duckling. “I am so ugly that even the dog won't bite me!”
Then he lay quite still while the shots whistled among the bushes，and bang after bang rent the air. Late in the day the noise ceased，but even then the poor duckling did not dare to get up. He waited several hours more before he looked about，and then he hurried away from the marsh as fast as he could. He ran across fields and meadows，and there was such a wind that he had hard work to make his way.
Towards night he reached a poor little cottage. It was such a miserable hovel that it remained standing only because it could not make up its mind which way to fall. The wind whistled so fiercely round the duckling that he had to sit on his tail to resist it，and it blew harder and ever harder. Then he saw that the door had fallen off one hinge and hung so crookedly that he could creep into the house through the crack，and by this means he made his way into the room.
An old woman lived here with her cat and her hen. The cat，whom she called “Sonnie，”could arch his back，purr，and even give off sparks，though for that you had to stroke his fur the wrong way. The hen had quite tiny short legs，and so she was called“Chickie-low-legs. ”She laid good eggs，and the old woman was as fond of her as if she had been her own child.
In the morning the strange duckling was discovered immediately，and the cat began to purr and the hen to cluck.
“What on earth is that?”said the old woman，looking round，but her sight was not good and she thought the duckling was a fat duck which had escaped. “This is a wonderful find!”said she. “Now I shall have duck's eggs—if only it is not a drake. We must wait and see about that.”
So she took the duckling on trial for three weeks，but no eggs made their appearance. The cat was master of this house and the hen its mistress. They always said“We and the world，”for they thought that they represented the half of the world，and that quite the better half.
The duckling thought there might be two opinions on the subject，but the cat would not hear of it.
“Can you lay eggs?”she asked.
“No.”
“Have the goodness to hold your tongue then!”
And the cat said，“Can you arch your back，purr，or give off sparks?”
“No.”
“Then you had better keep your opinions to yourself when people of sense are speaking!”
The duckling sat in the corner nursing his ill humor. Then he began to think of the fresh air and the sunshine，and an uncontrollable longing seized him to float on the water. At last he could not help telling the hen about it.
“What on earth possesses you?”she asked. “You have nothing to do. That is why you get these freaks into your head. Lay some eggs or take to purring，and you will get over it.”
“But it is so delicious to float on the water，”said the duckling. “It is so delicious to feel it rushing over your head when you dive to the bottom.”
“That would be a fine amusement!”said the hen.“I think you have gone mad. Ask the cat about it. He is the wisest creature I know. Ask him if he is fond of floating on the water or diving under it. I say nothing about myself. Ask our mistress herself，the old woman. There is no one in the world cleverer than she is. Do you suppose she has any desire to float on the water or to duck underneath it?”
“You do not understand me，”said the duckling.
“Well，if we don't understand you，who should?I suppose you don't consider yourself cleverer than the cat or the old woman，not to mention me!Don't make a fool of yourself，child，and thank your stars for all the good we have done you. Have you not lived in this warm room，and in such society that you might have learned something?But you are an idiot，and there is no pleasure in associating with you. You may believe me：I mean you well. I tell you home truths，and there is no surer way than that of knowing who are one's friends. You just set about laying some eggs，or learn to purr，or to emit sparks.”“I think I will go out into the wide world，”said the duckling.
“Oh，do so by all means，”said the hen.
So away went the duckling. He floated on the water and ducked underneath it，but he was looked askance at and slighted by every living creature for his ugliness. Now the autumn came on. The leaves in the woods turned yellow and brown. The wind took hold of them，and they danced about. The sky looked very cold and the clouds hung heavy with snow and hail. A raven stood on the fence and croaked，“Caw，caw!”from sheer cold. It made one shiver only to think of it. The poor duckling certainly was in a bad case!
One evening，the sun was just setting in wintry splendor when a flock of beautiful large birds appeared out of the bushes. The duckling had never seen anything so beautiful. They were dazzlingly white with long waving necks. They were swans，and uttering a peculiar cry they spread out their magnificent broad wings and flew away from the cold regions to warmer lands and open seas. They mounted so high，so very high，and the ugly little duckling became strangely uneasy. He circled round and round in the water like a wheel，craning his neck up into the air after them. Then he uttered a shriek so piercing and so strange that he was quite frightened by it himself. Oh，he could not forget those beautiful birds，those happy birds. And as soon as they were out of sight he ducked right down to the bottom，and when he came up again he was quite beside himself. He did not know what the birds were，or whither they flew，but all the same he was more drawn towards them than he had ever been by any creatures before. He did not envy them in the least. How could it occur to him even to wish to be such a marvel of beauty?He would have been thankful if only the ducks would have tolerated him among them—the poor ugly creature.
The winter was so bitterly cold that the duckling was obliged to swim about in the water to keep it from freezing over，but every night the hole in which he swam got smaller and smaller. Then it froze so hard that the surface ice cracked，and the duckling had to use his legs all the time so that the ice should not freeze around him. At last he was so weary that he could move no more，and he was frozen fast into the ice.
Early in the morning a peasant came along and saw him. He went out onto the ice and hammered a hole in it with his heavy wooden shoe，and carried the duckling home to his wife. There he soon revived. The children wanted to play with him，but the duckling thought they were going to ill-use him，and rushed in his fright into the milk pan，and the milk spurted out all over the room. The woman shrieked andthrew up her hands. Then he flew into the butter cask，and down into the meal tub and out again. Just imagine what he looked like by this time!The woman screamed and tried to hit him with the fire tongs. The children tumbled over one another in trying to catch him，and they screamed with laughter. By good luck the door stood open，and the duckling flew out among the bushes and the newly fallen snow. And he lay there thoroughly exhausted.
But it would be too sad to mention all the privation and misery he had to go through during the hard winter. When the sun began to shine warmly again，the duckling was in the marsh，lying among the rushes. The larks were singing and the beautiful spring had come.
Then all at once he raised his wings and they flapped with much greater strength than before and bore him off vigorously. Before he knew where he was，he found himself in a large garden where the apple trees were in full blossom and the air was scented with lilacs，long branches of which overhung the indented shores of the lake. Oh，the spring freshness was delicious!
Just in front of him he saw three beautiful white swans advancing towards him from a thicket. With rustling feathers they swam lightly over the water. The duckling recognized the majestic birds，and he was overcome by a strange melancholy.
“I will fly to them，the royal birds，and they will hack me to pieces because I，who am so ugly，venture to approach them. But it won't matter!Better be killed by them than be snapped at by the ducks，pecked by the hens，spurned by the henwife，or suffer so much misery in the winter. ”
So he flew into the water and swam towards the stately swans. They saw him and darted towards him with rufflted feathers.
“Kill me!”said the poor creature，and he bowed his head towards the water and awaited his death. But what did he see reflected in the transparent water?
He saw below him his own image，but he was no longer a clumsy dark gray bird，ugly and ungainly. He was himself a swan!It does not matter in the least having been born in a duckyard，if only you come out of a swan's egg!
He felt quite glad of all the misery and tribulation he had gone through，for he was the better able to appreciate his good fortune now and all the beauty which greeted him. The big swans swam round and round him and stroked him with their bills.
Some little children came into the garden with corn and pieces of bread which they threw into the water，and the smallest one cried out，“There is a new one!”The other children shouted with joy，“Yes，a new one has come. ”And they clapped their hands and danced about，running after their father and mother. They threw the bread into the water，and one and all said，“The new one is the prettiest of them all. He is so young and handsome. ”And the old swans bent their heads and did homage before him.
He felt quite shy，and hid his head under his wing. He did not know what to think. He was very happy，but not at all proud，for a good heart never becomes proud. He thought of how he had been pursued and scorned，and now he heard them all say that he was the most beautiful of all beautiful birds. The lilacs bent their boughs right down into the water before him，and the bright sun was warm and cheering. He rustled his feathers and raised his slender neck aloft，saying with exultation in his heart，“I never dreamt of so much happiness when I was the Ugly Duckling!”
