"What is thatnoise about?" said the old woman, looking round the room, but her sightwas not very good; therefore, when she saw the duckling she thought it must bea fat duck, that had strayed from home. "Oh what a prize!" sheexclaimed, "I hope it is not a drake, for then I shall have some duck'seggs. I must wait and see." So the duckling was allowed to remain on trialfor three weeks, but there were no eggs. Now the tom cat was the master of thehouse, and the hen was mistress, and they always said, "We and theworld," for they believed themselves to be half the world, and the betterhalf too. The duckling thought that others might hold a different opinion onthe 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 tomcat. "No." "Then you have no right to express an opinion whensensible people are speaking." So the duckling sat in a corner, feelingvery low spirited, till the sunshine and the fresh air came into the roomthrough the open door, and then he began to feel such a great longing for aswim on the water, that he could not help telling the hen.
"What anabsurd idea," said the hen. "You have nothing else to do, thereforeyou have foolish fancies. If you could purr or lay eggs, they would passaway."
"But it is sodelightful to swim about on the water," said the duckling, "and sorefreshing to feel it close over your head, while you dive down to thebottom."
"Delightful,indeed!" said the hen, "why you must be crazy! Ask the cat, he is thecleverest 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 youthink she would like to swim, or to let the water close over herhead?"
"You don'tunderstand me," said the duckling.
"We don'tunderstand you? Who can understand you, I wonder? Do you consider yourself moreclever than the cat, or the old woman? I will say nothing of myself. Don'timagine such nonsense, child, and thank your good fortune that you have beenreceived here. Are you not in a warm room, and in society from which you maylearn something. But you are a chatterer, and your company is not veryagreeable. Believe me, I speak only for your own good. I may tell youunpleasant 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 Imust go out into the world again," said the duckling. "Yes, do," said the hen.
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