愛薇塔樂學英文

T was lovely summer weather in the country, and the golden corn, the green oats, and the haystacks piled up in the meadows looked beautiful. The stork walking about on his long red legs chattered in the Egyptian language, which he had learnt from his mother. The corn-fields and meadows were surrounded by large forests, in the midst of which were deep pools. It was, indeed, delightful to walk about in the country. In a sunny spot stood a pleasant old farm-house close by a deep river, and from the house down to the water side grew great burdock leaves, so high, that under the tallest of them a little child could stand upright. The spot was as wild as the centre of a thick wood. In this snug retreat sat a duck on her nest, watching for her young brood to hatch; she was beginning to get tired of her task, for the little ones were a long time coming out of their shells, and she seldom had any visitors. The other ducks liked much better to swim about in the river than to climb the slippery banks, and sit under a burdock leaf, to have a gossip with her. At length one shell cracked, and then another, and from each egg came a living creature that lifted its head and cried, “Peep, peep.” “Quack, quack,” said the mother, and then they all quacked as well as they could, and looked about them on every side at the large green leaves. Their mother allowed them to look as much as they liked, because green is good for the eyes. “How large the world is,” said the young ducks, when they found how much more room they now had than while they were inside the egg-shell. “Do you imagine this is the whole world?” asked the mother; “Wait till you have seen the garden; it stretches far beyond that to the parson’s field, but I have never ventured to such a distance. Are you all out?” she continued, rising; “No, I declare, the largest egg lies there still. I wonder how long this is to last, I am quite tired of it;” and she seated herself again on the nest.

“Well, how are you getting on?” asked an old duck, who paid her a visit.

“One egg is not hatched yet,” said the duck, “it will not break. But just look at all the others, are they not the prettiest little ducklings you ever saw? They are the image of their father, who is so unkind, he never comes to see.”

“Let me see the egg that will not break,” said the duck; “I have no doubt it is a turkey’s egg. I was persuaded to hatch some once, and after all my care and trouble with the young ones, they were afraid of the water. I quacked and clucked, but all to no purpose. I could not get them to venture in. Let me look at the egg. Yes, that is a turkey’s egg; take my advice, leave it where it is and teach the other children to swim.”

“I think I will sit on it a little while longer,” said the duck; “as I have sat so long already, a few days will be nothing.”

“Please yourself,” said the old duck, and she went away.

At last the large egg broke, and a young one crept forth crying, “Peep, peep.” It was very large and ugly. The duck stared at it and exclaimed, “It is very large and not at all like the others. I wonder if it really is a turkey. We shall soon find it out, however when we go to the water. It must go in, if I have to push it myself.”

On the next day the weather was delightful, and the sun shone brightly on the green burdock leaves, so the mother duck took her young brood down to the water, and jumped in with a splash. “Quack, quack,” cried she, and one after another the little ducklings jumped in. The water closed over their heads, but they came up again in an instant, and swam about quite prettily with their legs paddling under them as easily as possible, and the ugly duckling was also in the water swimming with them.

“Oh,” said the mother, “that is not a turkey; how well he uses his legs, and how upright he holds himself! He is my own child, and he is not so very ugly after all if you look at him properly. Quack, quack! come with me now, I will take you into grand society, and introduce you to the farmyard, but you must keep close to me or you may be trodden upon; and, above all, beware of the cat.”

When they reached the farmyard, there was a great disturbance, two families were fighting for an eel’s head, which, after all, was carried off by the cat. “See, children, that is the way of the world,” said the mother duck, whetting her beak, for she would have liked the eel’s head herself. “Come, now, use your legs, and let me see how well you can behave. You must bow your heads prettily to that old duck yonder; she is the highest born of them all, and has Spanish blood, therefore, she is well off. Don’t you see she has a red flag tied to her leg, which is something very grand, and a great honor for a duck; it shows that every one is anxious not to lose her, as she can be recognized both by man and beast. Come, now, don’t turn your toes, a well-bred duckling spreads his feet wide apart, just like his father and mother, in this way; now bend your neck, and say ‘quack.’”

The ducklings did as they were bid, but the other duck stared, and said, “Look, here comes another brood, as if there were not enough of us already! and what a queer looking object one of them is; we don’t want him here,” and then one flew out and bit him in the neck.

“Let him alone,” said the mother; “he is not doing any harm.”

“Yes, but he is so big and ugly,” said the spiteful duck “and therefore he must be turned out.”

“The others are very pretty children,” said the old duck, with the rag on her leg, “all but that one; I wish his mother could improve him a little.”

“That is impossible, your grace,” replied the mother; “he is not pretty; but he has a very good disposition, and swims as well or even better than the others. I think he will grow up pretty, and perhaps be smaller; he has remained too long in the egg, and therefore his figure is not properly formed;” and then she stroked his neck and smoothed the feathers, saying, “It is a drake, and therefore not of so much consequence. I think he will grow up strong, and able to take care of himself.”

“The other ducklings are graceful enough,” said the old duck. “Now make yourself at home, and if you can find an eel’s head, you can bring it to me.”

And so they made themselves comfortable; but the poor duckling, who had crept out of his shell last of all, and looked so ugly, was bitten and pushed and made fun of, not only by the ducks, but by all the poultry. “He is too big,” they all said, and the turkey cock, who had been born into the world with spurs, and fancied himself really an emperor, puffed himself out like a vessel in full sail, and flew at the duckling, and became quite red in the head with passion, so that the poor little thing did not know where to go, and was quite miserable because he was so ugly and laughed at by the whole farmyard. So it went on from day to day till it got worse and worse. The poor duckling was driven about by every one; even his brothers and sisters were unkind to him, and would say, “Ah, you ugly creature, I wish the cat would get you,” and his mother said she wished he had never been born. The ducks pecked him, the chickens beat him, and the girl who fed the poultry kicked him with her feet. So at last he ran away, frightening the little birds in the hedge as he flew over the palings.

“They are afraid of me because I am ugly,” he said. So he closed his eyes, and flew still farther, until he came out on a large moor, inhabited by wild ducks. Here he remained the whole night, feeling very tired and sorrowful.

In the morning, when the wild ducks rose in the air, they stared at their new comrade. “What sort of a duck are you?” they all said, coming round him.

He bowed to them, and was as polite as he could be, but he did not reply to their question. “You are exceedingly ugly,” said the wild ducks, “but that will not matter if you do not want to marry one of our family.”

Poor thing! he had no thoughts of marriage; all he wanted was permission to lie among the rushes, and drink some of the water on the moor. After he had been on the moor two days, there came two wild geese, or rather goslings, for they had not been out of the egg long, and were very saucy. “Listen, friend,” said one of them to the duckling, “you are so ugly, that we like you very well. Will you go with us, and become a bird of passage? Not far from here is another moor, in which there are some pretty wild geese, all unmarried. It is a chance for you to get a wife; you may be lucky, ugly as you are.”

“Pop, pop,” sounded in the air, and the two wild geese fell dead among the rushes, and the water was tinged with blood. “Pop, pop,” echoed far and wide in the distance, and whole flocks of wild geese rose up from the rushes. The sound continued from every direction, for the sportsmen surrounded the moor, and some were even seated on branches of trees, overlooking the rushes. The blue smoke from the guns rose like clouds over the dark trees, and as it floated away across the water, a number of sporting dogs bounded in among the rushes, which bent beneath them wherever they went. How they terrified the poor duckling! He turned away his head to hide it under his wing, and at the same moment a large terrible dog passed quite near him. His jaws were open, his tongue hung from his mouth, and his eyes glared fearfully. He thrust his nose close to the duckling, showing his sharp teeth, and then, “splash, splash,” he went into the water without touching him, “Oh,” sighed the duckling, “how thankful I am for being so ugly; even a dog will not bite me.” And so he lay quite still, while the shot rattled through the rushes, and gun after gun was fired over him. It was late in the day before all became quiet, but even then the poor young thing did not dare to move. He waited quietly for several hours, and then, after looking carefully around him, hastened away from the moor as fast as he could. He ran over field and meadow till a storm arose, and he could hardly struggle against it. Towards evening, he reached a poor little cottage that seemed ready to fall, and only remained standing because it could not decide on which side to fall first. The storm continued so violent, that the duckling could go no farther; he sat down by the cottage, and then he noticed that the door was not quite closed in consequence of one of the hinges having given way. There was therefore a narrow opening near the bottom large enough for him to slip through, which he did very quietly, and got a shelter for the night. A woman, a tom cat, and a hen lived in this cottage. The tom cat, whom the mistress called, “My little son,” was a great favorite; he could raise his back, and purr, and could even throw out sparks from his fur if it were stroked the wrong way. The hen had very short legs, so she was called “Chickie short legs.” She laid good eggs, and her mistress loved her as if she had been her own child. In the morning, the strange visitor was discovered, and the tom cat began to purr, and the hen to cluck.

“What is that noise about?” said the old woman, looking round the room, but her sight was not very good; therefore, when she saw the duckling she thought it must be a fat duck, that had strayed from home. “Oh what a prize!” she exclaimed, “I hope it is not a drake, for then I shall have some duck’s eggs. I must wait and see.” So the duckling was allowed to remain on trial for three weeks, but there were no eggs. Now the tom cat was the master of the house, and the hen was mistress, and they always said, “We and the world,” for they believed themselves to be half the world, and the better half too. The duckling thought that others might hold a different opinion on the subject, but the hen would not listen to such doubts. “Can you lay eggs?” she asked. “No.” “Then have the goodness to hold your tongue.” “Can you raise your back, or purr, or throw out sparks?” said the tom cat. “No.” “Then you have no right to express an opinion when sensible people are speaking.” So the duckling sat in a corner, feeling very low spirited, till the sunshine and the fresh air came into the room through the open door, and then he began to feel such a great longing for a swim on the water, that he could not help telling the hen.

“What an absurd idea,” said the hen. “You have nothing else to do, therefore you have foolish fancies. If you could purr or lay eggs, they would pass away.”

“But it is so delightful to swim about on the water,” said the duckling, “and so refreshing to feel it close over your head, while you dive down to the bottom.”

“Delightful, indeed!” said the hen, “why you must be crazy! Ask the cat, he is the cleverest animal I know, ask him how he would like to swim about on the water, or to dive under it, for I will not speak of my own opinion; ask our mistress, the old woman—there is no one in the world more clever than she is. Do you think she would like to swim, or to let the water close over her head?”

“You don’t understand me,” said the duckling.

“We don’t understand you? Who can understand you, I wonder? Do you consider yourself more clever than the cat, or the old woman? I will say nothing of myself. Don’t imagine such nonsense, child, and thank your good fortune that you have been received here. 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 own 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 was avoided by all other animals, because of its 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 in the cold air. The clouds, heavy with hail and snow-flakes, hung low in the sky, and the raven stood on the ferns 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 set 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 shown 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. As they mounted higher and higher in the air, the ugly little duckling felt quite 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 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 for any other bird in the world. He was not envious of these beautiful creatures, but wished to be as lovely as they. Poor ugly creature, how gladly he would have lived even with the ducks had they only 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 he found himself in a large garden, before he well knew how it had happened. 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 remembered the lovely birds, and felt more strangely unhappy than ever.

“I will fly to those royal birds,” he exclaimed, “and they will kill me, because I am so ugly, and 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 new-comer, 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.

“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, and yet 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 bows 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 an ugly duckling.”

Ŧ是可愛的夏季天氣，在國內，和金黃的玉米，綠色燕麥，和堆積在草原上的草堆長得很漂亮。鸛在他長長的紅腿走路大約在喋喋不休埃及語，這是他從他母親教訓。玉米，田野和草地被大片的森林所包圍，在中間，其中是深潭。這，的確是令人愉快的走在該國。在一個陽光明媚的地方放著一個愉快的舊農場，房子附近一個深河，並從屋內下到水側增長牛蒡葉，如此之高，這下他們最高的一個小孩子可以直立。在現場是野生的厚木板的中心。在這個溫暖的撤退坐在她的巢鴨，看著她年輕的育雛孵化; 她開始厭倦她的任務，為小傢伙是一個漫長的時間來了他們的砲彈，和她很少有任何訪客。其他鴨子喜歡好得多游泳大約在河裡，而不是爬上濕滑的銀行，並在牛蒡葉坐下，與她閒聊。在長度為一個蛋殼裂開，然後另一個，從每個雞蛋來到一個活的動物，抬起頭，叫道，“窺視，偷看。”“呱，呱，”母親說，然後他們都呱呱叫，以及他們能，並在大綠葉看了關於他們的每一面。他們的母親讓他們看起來就像他們喜歡，因為綠色對眼睛有好處。“世界有多大，說：”年輕的鴨子，當他們發現多少房間，他們現在有了比，而他們的蛋殼裡面。“你可以想像，這是整個世界？”問母親; “等到你已經看到了花園; 它已超越了對牧師的領域，但我從來都不敢到這樣的距離。你們都出來了“她繼續說，不斷上升; “不，我宣布，最大的雞蛋躺在那裡不動。我不知道這是怎麼長到最後，我很厭倦了，“她又坐在她的巢中。

“嗯，你怎麼得到的？”問一個老鴨子，付給她誰訪問。

“一個雞蛋是不能孵化的是，說：”鴨子“，它不會打破。但只要看看所有的人，他們是不是最漂亮的小鴨子你見過？他們是他們的父親，是誰這麼不厚道的形象，他從來沒有來見。“

“讓我看看，不會打破雞蛋，說：”鴨子; “我毫不懷疑它是一隻火雞的蛋。我被說服，一旦孵化一些了，畢竟我的照顧，並與年輕的麻煩，他們是怕水。我呱呱叫和咯咯叫著，但都沒有任何目的。我不能讓他們冒險。讓我看看雞蛋。是的，那是火雞的蛋; 聽我的勸告，離開它的地方是，教其他孩子游泳。“

“我想我會坐在上面一小會兒時間，說：”鴨子; “我已經坐了這麼久已經，過幾天將是什麼。”

“請你自己，說：”老鴨子，她就走了。

最後的大蛋破了，還有個小孩悄悄哭出來，“窺視，偷看。”這是非常大的，醜陋的。鴨盯著它，並大聲說，“這是非常大的，而不是在所有其他人一樣。我不知道，如果它真的是一隻火雞。我們將很快找到它，不過我們去的時候水。它必須去，如果我必須強迫自己。“

第二天，天氣宜人，陽光明亮地照在綠牛蒡的葉子，所以鴨媽媽帶著她年輕的育雛下到水中，並跳上了轟動。“呱，呱，”她哭了，一個又一個的小鴨子跳英寸的水封閉在他們的頭上，但他們在瞬間又上來了，而且遊約相當嬌滴滴他們的腿下劃著他們盡可能容易地和醜小鴨還曾在水中游泳與他們。

“哦，”母親說，“這不是一隻火雞; 有多好，他用他的腿，他認為自己多麼正直！他是我自己的孩子，而且他也不是那麼很醜陋畢竟，如果你看看他恰當。呱，呱！跟我來了，我會帶你走進宏大的社會，並為您介紹的農家，但你必須保持接近我或者你可能因踐踏; ，首先，謹防貓的。“

當他們到達農家庭院，有一個很大的干擾，兩個家庭都爭取鰻魚的頭，這畢竟是被抬下場的貓。“你看，孩子，那是世界的方式，說：”鴨媽媽，whetting她的嘴，因為她會喜歡鰻魚的頭部自己。“來吧，現在，用你的腿，讓我看看你可以表現得有多好。你必須低頭嬌滴滴你的頭到老鴨子那邊; 她是最高的出生他們所有的，具有西班牙血液，因此，她是富裕。難道你看不出來她有一個紅旗綁到她的腿，這是一件很隆重，和一個偉大的榮譽，鴨; 它表明，每一個都是急不失去她，因為她既可以通過人與牲畜都認可。來吧，現在，不要把你的腳趾，一個有教養的小鴨傳播他的雙腳分得很開，就像他的父親和母親，在這種方式; 現在彎曲你的脖子，說'嘎嘎'。“

小鴨沒有，因為他們出價，但其他鴨瞪大了眼睛，說：“你看，這裡談到的另一個育雛，好像沒有足夠的我們的了！那叫一個奇怪的望著對象其中之一是; 我們不希望他在這裡，“再一個飛了出來，並咬住了他的脖子。

“讓他獨自一人，”母親說; “他沒有做任何傷害。”

“是的，但他這麼大又醜，說：”惡意的鴨子“，因此，他必須打開了。”

“其他人都是很漂亮的孩子，說：”老鴨子，對她的腿的破布，“所有但之一; 我希望他的母親能提高他一點。“

“那是不可能的，你的恩典，”那位母親; “他是不漂亮; 但他有一個很好的性格，以及游泳以及甚至比別人更好。我想他長大後會很漂亮，也許更小; 他一直保持太長時間的卵子，因此，他的身影格式不正確，“然後，她撫摸著他的脖子，平滑的羽毛，說：”這是一個公鴨，並因此沒有那麼多的後果。我想他長大後會強，能照顧自己。“

“其他的小鴨子有足夠的優雅，說：”老鴨子。“現在在自己家一樣，如果你​​能找到一個鰻魚的頭，你可以把它給我。”

所以他們安排舒適; 但這只可憐的小鴨，誰曾爬出他的殼最後所有的，看著這麼難看，被咬傷，並推動和取笑，不僅鴨子，而是由所有家禽。“他是太大了，”他們都表示，和火雞公雞，誰是出生到世上有馬刺，並幻想自己真的是一個皇帝，膨化出自己喜歡的滿帆的船隻，並撲到了小鴨，和成為頭部有激情很紅，讓可憐的小傢伙不知道哪裡去了，是挺慘的，因為他是如此的醜陋，見笑了整個農家庭院。因此它繼續逐日直到它越來越糟。這只可憐的小鴨被趕出了有關的每一個; 甚至他的兄弟姐妹們刻薄他，會說，“啊，你醜東西，我希望貓會得到你的，”他母親說，她真希望自己從來沒有出生。鴨子啄他，小雞打他，誰餵家禽的女孩把他踢到她的腳。所以最後他跑掉了，在避險可怕的小鳥，他飛越圍籬。

“他們都怕我，因為我醜，”他說。於是，他閉上了眼睛，立馬仍然遠，直到他來到了一個大沼澤，由野鴨居住。在這裡，他仍然是整個晚上，感覺非常疲憊，悲傷的。

在早晨，當野鴨飛到了空中，他們盯著他們的新同志。“什麼樣的鴨子是你嗎？”他們都表示，未來在他周圍。

他屈從於他們，是因為禮貌，因為他可以，但他沒有回答他們的問題。“你是極其難看，說：”野鴨“，但是這並不重要，如果你不想娶我們家庭的一員。”

可憐的小東西！他沒有想法的婚姻; 所有他想要的是允許說謊的蘆葦裡，喝一些水在曠野上。之後他一直在停泊了兩天，那兩個大雁，或者更確切地說，雛鵝，因為他們還沒有被淘汰的蛋長，而且非常俏皮。“聽著，朋友說，”其中一人的小鴨，“你那麼醜，我們喜歡你很好。你會和我們一起去，並成為候鳥？離這裡不遠的另一個沼澤，其中有一些漂亮的大雁，所有未婚。這是一個機會，讓你得到一個妻子; 你可能是幸運的，醜陋的，你是。“

“啪，啪”響起在空中，和兩個大雁摔死的蘆葦裡，水是帶有血。“啪，啪”遙相呼應遠近的距離，和大雁的整個雞群的蘆葦起來。聲不斷從各個方向，為運動員包圍沼地，有的人甚至坐在樹枝，俯瞰著的蘆葦。從槍藍煙上漲如雲在黑暗之樹，而且當它漂走了一水之隔，一些運動犬界的燈心草，它執意之下闖蕩江湖之中。他們怎麼嚇壞了這只可憐的小鴨！他扭過頭去掩蓋它在他的翅膀，而在同一時刻，一個可怕的大狗經過相當接近他。嘴裡都敞開著，他的舌頭掛在他的嘴裡，他的眼睛瞪著可怕。他推他的鼻子貼近小鴨，顯示出了他鋒利的牙齒，然後，“撲通，撲通”，他走進了水，沒有碰他，“哦，”嘆了口氣小鴨，“我為如此難看的感激之情; 連狗都不會咬我。“於是他躺在一動不動，而射穿的蘆葦，和槍叮叮噹當槍被解僱了他。這是晚了一天之前的所有變得安靜，但即使如此，可憐的年輕姑娘不敢動彈。他靜靜地等了幾個小時，然後，小心地看著他身邊後，趕緊遠離沼地一樣快，他可以。他跑過來場和草地，直到暴風雨起來，他可以反對它幾乎掙扎。到了傍晚，他來到一個貧窮的小平房，似乎即將淪陷，只有一直站著，因為它無法哪一邊決定先下降。風暴繼續如此猛烈，因此這只小鴨可能不再往前走; 他坐下來的平房，然後他發現門被不太具有讓位鉸鏈之一的後果封閉。有接近底部的足夠大，因此一個狹窄的開口為他漏網之魚，他照辦了非常安靜，並得到了庇護所過夜。一個女人，一個湯姆貓和一隻母雞住在這間小屋。湯姆貓，誰被稱為情婦，“我的小兒子，”是一個偉大的最愛; 他能提高他的背部，和呼嚕聲，甚至可以扔出來的火花從他的皮毛，如果它被撫摸的錯誤的方式。母雞有腿很短，所以她被稱為“日Chickie腿短。”她打下了良好的雞蛋，和她的女主人愛她，彷彿她是她自己的孩子。當天上午，在陌生來客被發現，而湯姆貓開始發出呼嚕聲，和母雞咯咯叫來。

“什麼是關於噪音”老太婆說，環顧著房間，但她的視線不是很好; 因此，當她看到這只小鴨，她想這一定是一隻肥鴨，即已經走失。“哦！什麼獎”，她感嘆道，“我希望這不是一隻公鴨，因為那時我有一些鴨子的蛋。我必須等待和觀望。“於是小鴨被允許留在試用了三個星期，但沒有雞蛋。現在，湯姆貓是房子的主人，而這只母雞是女主人，他們總是說，“我們和世界”，因為他們認為自己是半個世界，和更好的一半了。小鴨以為別人可能持有關於這個問題有不同意見，但母雞不聽這樣的疑惑。“你能不能下蛋呢？”她問。“沒有。”“那麼請你到握住你的舌頭。”“你能提高你的背部，或鳴叫聲，或者迸出火花？”之稱的湯姆貓。“沒有。”“那你有沒有發表意見時，明智的人說話的權利。”於是小鴨坐在一個角落裡，情緒很低落意氣風發，直到陽光和新鮮的空氣通過敞開的門走進房間，然後他開始覺得對於在水面上游泳這樣一個偉大的渴望，他忍不住告訴母雞。

“這是多麼荒唐的想法，說：”母雞。“你有沒有別的事情可做，所以你有愚蠢的幻想。如果你能發出咕嚕聲或產卵，他們將走了。“

“但它是如此令人愉快的游泳大約在水面上，說：”小鴨“等令人耳目一新的感覺接近它在你的頭上，當你潛下心來的底部。”

“令人愉快的，真的！”母雞說，“為什麼你一定是瘋了！問貓，他是最聰明的動物，我知道了，問他怎麼想游泳大約在水面上，或在它潛水，因為我不會講我自己的意見; 要求我們的情婦，老婦人，有沒有人在世界上更聰明比她。你覺得她會喜歡游泳，或讓水接近過她的頭？“

“你不了解我，”小鴨說。

“我們不明白嗎？誰能夠理解你，我不知道？你認為自己比貓，還是老女人更聰明嗎？我沒什麼好說的自己。不要以為這樣的廢話，孩子，謝謝你，你一直在這裡獲得了不錯的運氣。你是不是在溫暖的房間，並在社會從中你可以學到一些東西。但你是一個話多的人，和你的公司是不是很愜意。相信我，我為了你自己好只說。我可以告訴你不愉快的真理，那不過是我的友誼的證明。我勸你，因此，產卵，並學會盡可能快地發出呼嚕聲。“

“我相信我一定要去外面的世界了，”小鴨說。

“是的，做的，說：”母雞。於是小鴨離開了山寨，很快找到了水，它會游泳和潛水，但被避免，因為它醜陋的外觀，所有其他動物。秋天來了，樹葉在森林變成橙色和金色。然後，隨著冬季的臨近，風抓住了他們，因為他們摔倒疾馳他們在寒冷的空氣。雲中，重冰雹和雪花，在天空中掛著低，烏鴉站在蕨類哭，“呱 - 呱！，發牢騷。”它做了一個凜看著他。所有這一切都是很傷心的小小鴨較差。一天晚上，就像太陽坐擁輻射雲，出現了美麗的鳥兒的一大群羊出了灌木叢。小鴨從來沒有見過任何像他們一樣。他們是天鵝，它們彎曲的優美的脖子，同時顯示著耀眼的潔白柔軟的羽毛。他們發出一聲奇異的叫聲，因為他們傳播自己的光榮的翅膀，飛到遠離那些寒冷地區隔海相望溫暖的國家。當他們安裝的越來越高的空中，醜陋的小鴨子覺得相當奇怪的感覺，因為他看著他們。他轉過身自己在水上像一個車輪，伸出了自己對他們的脖子，驚叫了一聲如此陌生，它嚇壞了自己。他可能永遠忘不了那些美麗的，幸福的鳥兒; 並在最後，當他們離開他的視線，他在水中潛，又上漲了近自己身旁興奮。他不知道這些鳥兒的名字，也不在那裡他們已經飛，但他覺得對他們，因為他從來沒有感到在世界上任何其他的鳥。他並不羨慕這些美麗的生物，但希望是一樣可愛，因為他們。可憐的醜東西，怎麼樂意，他會一直生活甚至與鴨子了，他們只給了他鼓勵。冬天越來越冷; 他不得不來回游動在水面上，以防止它凍結，但每天晚上的空間上，他遊逐漸變小。終於，它凍結這麼辛苦，在水里冰劈啪作響，他感動了，小鴨曾與他的腿，槳，以及他能，以保持空間的收了起來。他變得筋疲力盡，最後，和靜靜地躺著和無奈，在冰冷凍速度快。

一大清早，有一個農民，誰是路過，看到發生了什麼事。他與他的木頭鞋打碎冰塊，並進行小鴨回家，送給他的妻子。溫暖恢復了小傢伙可憐; 但是當孩子想和他一起玩，小鴨以為他們會做他一些傷害; 於是他開始了在恐怖，飄揚到奶鍋，並潑在房間的牛奶。那麼女人拍了拍手，這嚇壞了他依然較多。他立馬先放入黃油，木桶，然後入餐桶，並再次。什麼條件，他在！該名女子尖叫，並擊中他的夾具; 孩子們笑了起來，尖叫著，並重挫超過對方，在他們的努力追上他; 但幸運的是他逃脫了。門口站著開; 可憐的傢伙可能只是設法滑出灌木叢中，躺下，在新下的雪很疲憊。

這將是非常可悲的，是我要與所有的苦難和匱乏的小可憐的小鴨在嚴冬忍受; 但是當它已經過去了，他發現自己在曠野躺在一個早晨，當中的蘆葦。他感到溫暖的陽光照耀下，並聽取了雲雀的歌聲，看到四周是美麗的春天。那麼雛覺得他的兩個邊路強，因為他拍打他們對他的兩側，漲幅高到空氣中。他們為他生起，直到他發現自己在一個大花園，他才都知道這是如何發生的。在蘋果樹開滿了花，而清香長老不約而同地把長長的綠色枝條下來到纏繞在光滑的草坪流。一切都顯得美麗，在早春的新鮮度。從一個灌木叢附近來了三個美麗的白天鵝，沙沙作響的羽毛，在光滑的水中游泳掉以輕心。小鴨想起了可愛的小鳥，感覺比以前更奇怪的不滿。

“我要飛向這些高貴的鳥兒，”他大聲說，“他們會殺了我，因為我長得非常醜，敢接近他們; 但它並不重要：更好地被他們殺死比鴨子啄，被毆打的母雞，通過誰餵家禽的少女推一下，或飢餓飢餓的冬天“。

於是他飛到水里，遊向美麗的天鵝。他們無意間發現了陌生人的那一刻，他們衝上來迎接他張開翅膀。

“殺了我，說：”可憐的小鳥; 他低下頭下到水的表面，等待死亡。

但他怎麼在下面的清流看到了什麼？他自己的形象; 不再是黑暗​​的，灰色的鳥，醜陋和不愉快來看待，而是一個優雅而美麗的天鵝。將出生在一個鴨子的巢，在一個農家庭院，是沒有結果的鳥，如果它是從天鵝蛋孵出。他現在感到很高興在遭受憂愁和煩惱，因為這使他能夠享受這麼多好所有的快樂和幸福在他周圍; 為偉大的天鵝遊過一輪新的後起之秀，並撫摸著他的脖子，它們的喙，作為一個值得歡迎的。

進園目前傳來一些小孩子，撒麵包和蛋糕到水中。

“看，”哭老三，“有一個新的，”其餘的人高興，跑到他們的父親和母親，跳舞，拍手，並愉快地喊，“還有一個天鵝來了; 新的已經到來。“

然後，他們把更多的麵包和蛋糕放入水中，並說，“新的一個是最漂亮的; 他是如此年輕又漂亮。“而且老天鵝在他面前低頭。

然後，他感到很慚愧，並在他的翅膀躲到他的頭; 因為他不知道該怎麼辦，他是太高興了，但不是在所有的驕傲。他被迫害，被人藐視，他的醜陋，現在他聽到他們說，他是世界上最漂亮的鳥。即使是年長的樹彎腰鞠躬其入水在他面前，太陽照得溫暖明亮。然後他簌簌他的羽毛，彎曲他修長的脖子，歡呼雀躍，從他的心臟深處，“我做夢也沒有想到這樣的幸福，因為這，而我是一隻醜小鴨。”