丑小鸭4英文版

And so they madethemselves comfortable; but the poor duckling, who had crept out of his shelllast of all, and looked so ugly, was bitten and pushed and made fun of, notonly by the ducks, but by all the poultry. "He is too big," they allsaid, and the turkey cock, who had been born into the world with spurs, andfancied himself really an emperor, puffed himself out like a vessel in fullsail, 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 miserablebecause he was so ugly and laughed at by the whole farmyard. So it went on fromday to day till it got worse and worse.

The poor ducklingwas driven about by every one; even his were unkind tohim, and would say, "Ah, you ugly creature, I wish the cat would getyou," and his mother said she wished he had never been born. The duckspecked him, the chickens beat him, and the girl who fed the poultry kicked himwith her feet.

So at last he ranaway, frightening the little birds in the hedge as he flew over thepalings.   

"They areafraid of me because I am ugly," he said. So he closed his eyes, and flewstill farther, until he came out on a large moor, inhabited by wild ducks. Herehe 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 notmatter if you do not want to marry one of our family."   

Poor thing! he hadno 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 twodays, there came two wild geese, or rather goslings, for they had not been outof the egg long, and were very saucy. "Listen, friend," said one ofthem to the duckling, "you are so ugly, that we like you very well. Willyou 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 foryou to get a wife; you may be lucky, ugly as you are."