“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！”