Are you not in a
warm room and in society from which you may learn something? But you are
a chatterer, and your company is not very agreeable. Believe me, I speak
only for your good. I may tell you unpleasant truths, but that is a
proof of my friendship. I advise you, therefore, to lay eggs and learn
to purr as quickly as possible." "I believe I must go out into the world again," said the duckling. "Yes, do," said the hen. So the duckling left the cottage and soon found
water on which it could swim and dive, but he was avoided by all other
animals because of his ugly appearance. Autumn came, and the leaves in the forest turned to orange and gold;
then, as winter approached, the wind caught them as they fell and
whirled them into the cold air. The clouds, heavy with hail and
snowflakes, hung low in the sky, and the raven stood among the reeds,
crying, "Croak, croak." It made one shiver with cold to look at him. All
this was very sad for the poor little duckling. One evening, just as the sun was setting amid radiant clouds, there came
a large flock of beautiful birds out of the bushes. The duckling had
never seen any like them before. They were swans; and they curved their
graceful necks, while their soft plumage shone with dazzling whiteness. They uttered a singular cry as they spread their glorious wings and flew
away from those cold regions to warmer countries across the sea. They
mounted higher and higher in the air, and the ugly little duckling had a
strange sensation as he watched them. He whirled himself in the water
like a wheel, stretched out his neck towards them, and uttered a cry so
strange that it frightened even himself. Could he ever forget those
beautiful, happy birds! And when at last they were out of his sight, he
dived under the water and rose again almost beside himself with
excitement. He knew not the names of these birds nor where they had
flown, but he felt towards them as he had never felt towards any other
bird in the world. He was not envious of these beautiful creatures; it never occurred to
him to wish to be as lovely as they. Poor ugly creature, how gladly he
would have lived even with the ducks, had they only treated him kindly
and given him encouragement. The winter grew colder and colder; he was obliged to swim about on the
water to keep it from freezing, but every night the space on which he
swam became smaller and smaller. At length it froze so hard that the ice
in the water crackled as he moved, and the duckling had to paddle with
his legs as well as he could, to keep the space from closing up. He
became exhausted at last and lay still and helpless, frozen fast in the
ice. Early in the morning a peasant who was passing by saw what had happened. He broke the ice in pieces with his wooden shoe and carried the duckling
home to his wife. The warmth revived the poor little creature; but when
the children wanted to play with him, the duckling thought they would do
him some harm, so he started up in terror, fluttered into the milk pan,
and splashed the milk about the room. Then the woman clapped her hands,
which frightened him still more. He flew first into the butter cask,
then into the meal tub and out again. What a condition he was in! The
woman screamed and struck at him with the tongs; the children laughed
and screamed and tumbled over each other in their efforts to catch him,
but luckily he escaped. The door stood open; the poor creature could
just manage to slip out among the bushes and lie down quite exhausted in
the newly fallen snow. It would be very sad were I to relate all the misery and privations
which the poor little duckling endured during the hard winter; but when
it had passed he found himself lying one morning in a moor, amongst the
rushes. He felt the warm sun shining and heard the lark singing and saw
that all around was beautiful spring. Then the young bird felt that his wings were strong, as he flapped them
against his sides and rose high into the air. They bore him onwards
until, before he well knew how it had happened, he found himself in a
large garden. The apple trees were in full blossom, and the fragrant
elders bent their long green branches down to the stream, which wound
round a smooth lawn. Everything looked beautiful in the freshness of
early spring. From a thicket close by came three beautiful white swans,
rustling their feathers and swimming lightly over the smooth water. The
duckling saw these lovely birds and felt more strangely unhappy than
ever. "I will fly to these royal birds," he exclaimed, "and they will kill me
because, ugly as I am, I dare to approach them. But it does not matter;
better be killed by them than pecked by the ducks, beaten by the hens,
pushed about by the maiden who feeds the poultry, or starved with hunger
in the winter." Then he flew to the water and swam towards the beautiful swans. The
moment they espied the stranger they rushed to meet him with
outstretched wings. "Kill me," said the poor bird and he bent his head down to the surface
of the water and awaited death. But what did he see in the clear stream below? His own image--no longer
a dark-gray bird, ugly and disagreeable to look at, but a graceful and
beautiful swan. To be born in a duck's nest in a farmyard is of no consequence to a bird
if it is hatched from a swan's egg. He now felt glad at having suffered
sorrow and trouble, because it enabled him to enjoy so much better all
the pleasure and happiness around him; for the great swans swam round
the newcomer and stroked his neck with their beaks, as a welcome. Into the garden presently came some little children and threw bread and
cake into the water. [Illustration: The new one is the most beautiful of all...]

"See," cried the youngest, "there is a new one;" and the rest were
delighted, and ran to their father and mother, dancing and clapping
their hands and shouting joyously, "There is another swan come; a new
one has arrived." Then they threw more bread and cake into the water and said, "The new
one is the most beautiful of all, he is so young and pretty." And the
old swans bowed their heads before him. Then he felt quite ashamed and hid his head under his wing, for he did
not know what to do, he was so happy--yet he was not at all proud. He
had been persecuted and despised for his ugliness, and now he heard them
say he was the most beautiful of all the birds. Even the elder tree bent
down its boughs into the water before him, and the sun shone warm and
bright. Then he rustled his feathers, curved his slender neck, and cried
joyfully, from the depths of his heart, "I never dreamed of such
happiness as this while I was the despised ugly duckling." [Illustration]




LITTLE IDA'S FLOWERS


"MY POOR flowers are quite faded!" said little Ida. "Only yesterday
evening they were so pretty, and now all the leaves are drooping. Why do
they do that?" she asked of the student, who sat on the sofa.