<SPAN name="startofbook"></SPAN>
<h3>AUNT FRIENDLY'S</h3>
<h1>PICTURE BOOK.</h1>
<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii"></SPAN></span></p>
<h2>Preface.</h2>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/divider1.png" width-obs="55" height-obs="8" alt="Divider" title="Divider" /></div>
<div class='cap'>NEW and old Nursery favourites are here offered to
our Young Friends—Nursery Alphabet, Sing-a-Song
of Sixpence, The Frog's Wooing, The Three
Little Pigs, Puss in Boots, have for many generations
delighted the Nurseries of Great Britain. We
trust that they and their worthy new companion, The
Ugly Duckling, which has come to us from over the
Sea, will still afford many hours of quiet amusement
<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv"></SPAN></span>to little Readers.</div>
<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'>[3]</span></p>
<h2>THE NURSERY ALPHABET.</h2>
<div class='poem'>A for the Alphabet, A, B, C;</div>
<div class='poem'>B for the Book that was given to me.</div>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/divider2.png" width-obs="100" height-obs="28" alt="Divider" title="Divider" /></div>
<div class='poem'>C for the Corn that stands in the stack;</div>
<div class='poem'>D for the Donkey with cross on his back.</div>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/divider2.png" width-obs="100" height-obs="28" alt="Divider" title="Divider" /></div>
<div class='poem'>E for the Engine that's lighted with coke;</div>
<div class='poem'>F for the Funnel that puffs out the smoke.</div>
<p><span class='pagenum'>[4]</span><br/><span class='pagenum'>[5]</span></p>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/illus_009.jpg" width-obs="284" height-obs="400" alt="The Nursery Alphabet. E F G H." title="The Nursery Alphabet. E F G H." /> <span class="caption">The Nursery Alphabet. E F G H.</span></div>
<div class='poem'>G for the Goose that swims on the pond;</div>
<div class='poem'>H for the Hen, of her chickens so fond.</div>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/divider2.png" width-obs="100" height-obs="28" alt="Divider" title="Divider" /></div>
<div class='poem'>I for the Icicle, frosty and cold;</div>
<div class='poem'>J for the Jackdaw, perky and bold.</div>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/divider2.png" width-obs="100" height-obs="28" alt="Divider" title="Divider" /></div>
<div class='poem'>K for the Kitten that plays with its tail;</div>
<div class='poem'>L for the Letter that comes by the mail.</div>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/divider2.png" width-obs="100" height-obs="28" alt="Divider" title="Divider" /></div>
<div class='poem'>M for the Monkey, a comical thing;</div>
<div class='poem'>N for the Nut that he cracks with a grin.</div>
<p><span class='pagenum'>[6]</span></p>
<div class='center'>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="I J K L M N O P Q">
<tr><td align='center'><ANTIMG src="images/illus_011.jpg" width-obs="284" height-obs="400" alt="The Nursery Alphabet. I J K L M." title="The Nursery Alphabet. I J K L M." />
<br/><span class="caption">The Nursery Alphabet. I J K L.</span></td><td align='center'><ANTIMG src="images/illus_012.jpg" width-obs="280" height-obs="400" alt="The Nursery Alphabet. N O P Q." title="The Nursery Alphabet. N O P Q." />
<br/><span class="caption">The Nursery Alphabet. N O P Q.</span></td></tr>
</table></div>
<p><span class='pagenum'>[7]</span><br/><span class='pagenum'>[8]</span></p>
<div class='poem'>O for the Owl that sees in the dark;</div>
<div class='poem'>P for the Pony that plays in the park.</div>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/divider2.png" width-obs="100" height-obs="28" alt="Divider" title="Divider" /></div>
<div class='poem'>Q for the Queen all seated in state;</div>
<div class='poem'>R for the Regiment guarding the gate.</div>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/divider2.png" width-obs="100" height-obs="28" alt="Divider" title="Divider" /></div>
<div class='poem'>S for the Sun that sets in the west;</div>
<div class='poem'>T for the Tomtit building its nest.</div>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/divider2.png" width-obs="100" height-obs="28" alt="Divider" title="Divider" /></div>
<div class='poem'>U for the Umbrella that keeps off the rain;</div>
<div class='poem'>V for the Van that follows the train.</div>
<p><span class='pagenum'>[9]</span></p>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/illus_014.jpg" width-obs="281" height-obs="400" alt="The Nursery Alphabet. R S T U V." title="The Nursery Alphabet. R S T U V." /> <span class="caption">The Nursery Alphabet. R S T U V.</span></div>
<p><span class='pagenum'>[10]</span></p>
<div class='poem'>W for the Waggon that waits in the way;</div>
<div class='poem'>X is for none of the words I can say.</div>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/divider2.png" width-obs="100" height-obs="28" alt="Divider" title="Divider" /></div>
<div class='poem'>Y for the Yew growing by the church wall;</div>
<div class='poem'>Z is for Zero, that a nothing at all.</div>
<div class="figcenter"><p><span class='pagenum'>[11]</span></p> <ANTIMG src="images/illus_016.jpg" width-obs="285" height-obs="400" alt="The Nursery Alphabet. W X Y Z." title="The Nursery Alphabet. W X Y Z." /> <span class="caption">The Nursery Alphabet. W X Y Z.</span></div>
<p><span class='pagenum'>[1]</span></p>
<h2>SING-A-SONG OF SIXPENCE.</h2>
<div class='poem'>
Sing-a-song of sixpence,<br/>
<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A pocket full of rye;</span><br/>
Four and twenty blackbirds<br/>
<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Baked in a pie.</span><br/>
<br/>
When the pie was open'd,<br/>
<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The birds began to sing;</span><br/>
Was not that a dainty dish,<br/>
<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To set before the king?</span><br/>
<span class='pagenum'>[4]</span></div>
<div class='center'>
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="The king counting">
<tr><td align='left'>The king was in his counting-house<br/>
<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Counting out his money;</span><br/>
The queen was in the parlour<br/>
<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Eating bread and honey.</span><br/></td><td align='left'><ANTIMG src="images/illus_020.jpg" width-obs="285" height-obs="400" alt="Counting out his money" title="Counting out his money" />
</td></tr>
</table></div>
<p><span class='pagenum'>[5]</span><br/><span class='pagenum'>[6]</span></p>
<div class='center'>
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
<tr><td align='left'><ANTIMG src="images/illus_022.jpg" width-obs="283" height-obs="400" alt="The queen eating honey" title="The queen eating honey" />
</td><td align='left'><ANTIMG src="images/illus_023.jpg" width-obs="284" height-obs="400" alt="The Maid was in the garden" title="The Maid was in the garden" />
</td></tr>
</table></div>
<p><span class='pagenum'>[7]</span><br/><span class='pagenum'>[8]</span><br/>
<span class='pagenum'>[9]</span></p>
<div class='center'>
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
<tr><td align='left'><ANTIMG src="images/illus_025.jpg" width-obs="285" height-obs="400" alt="Snipped off her nose" title="Snipped off her nose" />
</td><td align='left'>The maid was in the garden<br/>
<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hanging out the clothes;</span><br/>
By came a Jackdaw,<br/>
<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And snapt off her nose.</span></td></tr>
</table></div>
<p><span class='pagenum'>[10]</span></p>
<div class='center'>
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
<tr><td align='left'>They sent for the king's doctor,<br/>
<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Who sewed it on again;</span><br/>
The Jackdaw for this naughtiness<br/>
<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Deservedly was slain.</span>
</td><td align='left'><ANTIMG src="images/illus_027.jpg" width-obs="285" height-obs="400" alt="The doctor sewing" title="The doctor sewing" />
</td></tr>
</table></div>
<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'>[3]</span></p>
<h2>THE FROG WHO WOULD A WOOING GO.</h2>
<div class='center'>
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Frog and Rat">
<tr><td align='left'>A frog he would a wooing go,<br/>
Whether his mother would let him or no.<br/>
<br/>
So off he marched with his nice new hat,<br/>
And on the way he met a rat.</td><td align='left'><ANTIMG src="images/illus_031.jpg" width-obs="281" height-obs="400" alt="On the way he met a rat" title="On the way he met a rat" />
</td></tr>
</table></div>
<p><span class='pagenum'>[4]</span><br/>
<span class='pagenum'>[5]</span></p>
<div class='center'>
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Mouse, Rat and Froggy">
<tr><td align='left'><ANTIMG src="images/illus_033.jpg" width-obs="285" height-obs="400" alt="Mousie spinning" title="Mousie spinning" /></td><td align='left'>When they came to the door of the Mouse's Hall,<br/>
They gave a loud knock, and they gave a loud call.<br/>
<br/>
"Pray Mrs. Mouse, are you within?"<br/>
"Oh yes, Mr. Rat, I am learning to spin."<br/>
<br/>
"Pray Mrs. Mouse, will you give us some beer?<br/>
For Froggy and I are fond of good cheer."<br/>
</td></tr>
</table></div>
<p><span class='pagenum'>[6]</span><br/>
<span class='pagenum'>[7]</span></p>
<p><span class='pagenum'>[8]</span></p>
<div class='poem'>
But as they were all a merry-making,<br/>
The cat and her kittens came tumbling in.<br/>
<br/>
The Cat she seized the rat by the crown,<br/>
The kittens they pulled the little mouse down.<br/>
<br/>
This put poor frog in a terrible fright,<br/>
So he took up his hat and he wished them good night.<br/></div>
<p><span class='pagenum'>[9]</span></p>
<div class='center'>
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Merry making and the end of it">
<tr><td align='left'><ANTIMG src="images/illus_034.jpg" width-obs="287" height-obs="400" alt="Mousie and Rat Playing" title="Mousie and Rat Playing" />
</td><td align='left'><ANTIMG src="images/illus_036.jpg" width-obs="285" height-obs="400" alt="The cat and kittens" title="The cat and kittens" />
</td></tr>
</table></div>
<p><span class='pagenum'>[10]</span></p>
<div class='center'>
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="End of one, two and three">
<tr><td align='left'>As Froggy was crossing him over a brook,<br/>
A lilly-white duck came and gobbled him up.<br/>
<br/>
So there was an end of one, two, and three,<br/>
The Rat, the Mouse, and the little Froggee?<br/></td><td align='left'><ANTIMG src="images/illus_038.jpg" width-obs="285" height-obs="400" alt="End of Froggy" title="End of Froggy" />
</td></tr>
</table></div>
<h2>THE STORY OF THE THREE LITTLE PIGS.</h2>
<div class="figright"> <ANTIMG src="images/illus_042.jpg" width-obs="281" height-obs="400" alt="The Wolf and the house of sticks" title="The Wolf and the house of sticks" /></div>
<div class='cap'>Once upon a time there was an old pig with three little pigs,
and as she had not enough to keep them, she sent them out
to seek their fortune. The first that went off met a man
with a bundle of straw, and said to him, "Please, man, give
me that straw to build me a house;" which the man did, and
the little pig built a house with it. Presently came along
a wolf, and knocked at the door, and said,—</div>
<p>"Little pig, little pig, let me come in."</p>
<p>To which the pig answered,—</p>
<p>"No, no, by the hair of my chiny chin chin."</p>
<p>The wolf then answered to that,—</p>
<p>"Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in."</p>
<p>So he huffed and he puffed, and he blew his house in, and
eat up the little pig.</p>
<p>The second little pig met a man with a bundle of furze,
and said, "Please man give me that furze to build a house;"
which the man did, and the pig built his house. Then along
came the wolf, and said,—</p>
<p>"Little pig, little pig, let me come in."</p>
<p>"No, no, by the hair of my chiny chin chin."<span class='pagenum'>[4]</span></p>
<p><span class='pagenum'>[5]</span></p>
<p>"Then I'll puff and I'll huff, and I'll blow your house in."</p>
<p>So he huffed, and he puffed, and he puffed, and he huffed,
and at last he blew the house down, and he eat up the little
Pig.</p>
<div class='center'>
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Turnips and Apples">
<tr><td align='left'><ANTIMG src="images/illus_044.jpg" width-obs="281" height-obs="400" alt="Gathering turnips" title="Gathering turnips" />
</td><td align='left'><ANTIMG src="images/illus_045.jpg" width-obs="280" height-obs="400" alt="Wolf and apples" title="Wolf and apples" />
</td></tr>
</table></div>
<p>The third little pig met a man with a load of bricks, and
said, "Please, man, give me those bricks to build a house
with;" so the man gave him the bricks, and he built his
house with them. So the wolf came, as he did to the other
little pigs, and said,—</p>
<p>"Little pig, little pig, let me come in."</p>
<p>"No, no, by the hair of my chiny chin chin."</p>
<p>"Then I'll puff and I'll huff, and I'll blow your house in."</p>
<div class="figleft"> <ANTIMG src="images/illus_047.jpg" width-obs="281" height-obs="400" alt="Wolf and the barrel" title="Wolf and the barrel" /></div>
<p>Well, he huffed, and he puffed, and he huffed, and he puffed,
and he puffed, and he huffed; but he could not get the
house down. When he found that he could not, with all his
huffing and puffing, blow the house down, he said, "Little
pig, I know where there is a nice field of turnips." "Where?"
said the little pig. "Oh, in Mr. Smith's Home-field, and if
you will be ready to-morrow morning I will call for you,
and we will go together, and get some for dinner." "Very
well," said the little pig "I will be ready. What time do
you mean to go?" "Oh, at six o'clock." Well, the little
pig got up at five, and got the turnips before the wolf
came—(which he did about six)—and said, "Little pig, are
you ready?" The little pig said, "Ready! I have been,<span class='pagenum'>[8]</span><span class='pagenum'>[7]</span><span class='pagenum'>[6]</span>
and come back again, and got a nice pot-full for dinner."
The wolf felt very angry at this, but thought that he would
be up to the little pig somehow or other, so he said, "Little
pig, I know where there is a nice apple-tree." "Where?"
said the pig. "Down at Merry-garden," replied the wolf,
"and if you will not deceive me I will come for you, at five
o'clock to-morrow, and we will go together and get some
apples." Well, the little pig bustled up the next morning
at four o'clock, and went off for the apples, hoping to get
back before the wolf came; but he had further to go, and
had to climb the tree, so that just as he was coming down
from it, he saw the wolf coming, which, as you may suppose,
frightened him very much. When the wolf came up he
said, "Little pig, what! are you here before me? Are they
nice apples?" "Yes, very," said the little pig. "I will
throw you down one;" and he threw it so far, that, while the
wolf was gone to pick it up, the little pig jumped down and ran
home. The next day the wolf came again, and said to the
little pig, "Little pig, there is a fair at Shanklin this afternoon,
will you go?" "Oh yes," said the pig, "I will go:
what time shall you be ready?" "At three," said the wolf.
So the little pig went off before the time as usual, and got
to the fair, and bought a butter-churn, which he was going
home with, when he saw the wolf coming. Then he could
not tell what to do. So he got into the churn to hide, and<span class='pagenum'>[10]</span><span class='pagenum'>[9]</span>
by so doing turned it round, and it rolled down the hill with
the pig in it, which frightened the wolf so much, that he
ran home without going to the fair. He went to the little
pig's house, and told him how frightened he had been by a
great round thing which came down the hill past him. Then
the little pig said, "Ha! I frightened you then. I had been
to the fair and bought a butter-churn, and when I saw you,
I got into it and rolled down the hill." Then the wolf was
very angry indeed, and declared he would eat up the little
pig, and that he would get down the chimney after him.
When the little pig saw what he was about, he hung on the
pot full of water, and made up a blazing fire, and just as the
wolf was coming down, took off the cover, and in fell the
wolf; so the little pig put on the cover again in an instant,
boiled him up, and eat him for supper, and lived happy ever
afterwards.</p>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/illus_049.jpg" width-obs="283" height-obs="400" alt="Wolf in the pot" title="Wolf in the pot" /> </div>
<h2>PUSS IN BOOTS.</h2>
<div class="figleft"> <ANTIMG src="images/illus_053.jpg" width-obs="286" height-obs="400" alt="Puss before the king" title="Puss before the king" /></div>
<p>Once upon a time there was a miller who had three sons.
When he was dying he left each of them a legacy. To his
eldest son he left his mill; to the second his ass; and to the
youngest his cat. The poor boy was very sad when he
found that he had nothing belonging to him but a cat; but
to his great surprise, puss jumped on the table, and said in
a friendly manner: "Do not be sad my dear master. Only
buy me a pair of boots and a bag, and I will provide for you
and myself." So the miller's son, who had a shilling or two
in his pocket, bought a smart little pair of boots and a bag,
and gave them to puss, who put some bran and sow-thistles
into his bag, opened the mouth of it, and lay down in a
rabbit warren. A foolish young rabbit jumped into it; puss
drew the string and soon killed it. He went immediately to
the palace with it. He found the king and queen sitting on
their throne; and bowing low, he laid the rabbit at the
king's feet, saying: "Please your majesty, my master, the
Marquis de Carrabas, has sent you a rabbit from his warren,
as a mark of respect." "I am much obliged to the Marquis,"
said the king, and he ordered the rabbit to be taken<span class='pagenum'>[5]</span><span class='pagenum'>[4]</span>
to the cook, and a piece of money to be given to the cat.
Puss, much pleased, took a rabbit daily to the king as a gift
from his master, till his majesty was well acquainted with
the name of the Marquis de Carrabas, and with his wonderful
cat. There was a very rich and cruel Ogre living in that
country. One day puss went to call on him, and the ogre
was quite amazed at hearing a cat talk; it was the first time
too he had seen a "Puss in Boots." "Is it true, most
wonderful ogre," said Puss, "that you can change yourself
into any creature you please?" "Quite true, as you shall
see," said the ogre, and he changed himself into a lion, and
roared so terribly, that the cat climbed up the wall out of his
way. Then the ogre resumed his own ugly shape, and
laughed at puss's fear. "It was very surprising," said the
cat; "you are of such a grand size that I do not wonder
you could become a lion—but could you change yourself
into some very small animal?" "You shall see," said the
stupid vain ogre, and he turned into a mouse. Directly
puss saw him in that shape, he darted at him and eat him
up. The ogre quite deserved it, for he had eaten many men
himself. Then puss made haste back to his master, and said,
"Come and bathe in the river, and when the king comes by,
do exactly as I tell you, for I see his carriage." The miller's
son obeyed his friend the cat, undressed and jumped into the
water, and cunning puss ran away with his clothes and hid<span class='pagenum'>[8]</span><span class='pagenum'>[7]</span><span class='pagenum'>[6]</span>
them under a large stone. By-and-bye the king drove by
with his daughter. Puss began to call very loud "Help,
help! or my lord Marquis de Carrabas will be drowned."
The king stopped the coach directly, and asked what was
the matter. Puss answered, that while his master was
bathing, some thieves had stolen his clothes, and that therefore
the marquis could not come out of the water. The
king luckily had a dress suit with him, so he sent it by a
servant to the Marquis, and desired him to accept a seat in
the royal coach, and he would drive him home.</p>
<div class='center'>
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="The Giant and the Marquis">
<tr><td align='left'><ANTIMG src="images/illus_055.jpg" width-obs="284" height-obs="400" alt="The Giant" title="The Giant" />
</td><td align='left'><ANTIMG src="images/illus_056.jpg" width-obs="290" height-obs="400" alt="The Marquis" title="The Marquis" />
</td></tr>
</table></div>
<div class="figright"> <ANTIMG src="images/illus_058.jpg" width-obs="286" height-obs="400" alt="The Miller" title="The Miller" /></div>
<p>The miller's son looked very well in his fine clothes, and
the king was pleased with his appearance. Puss directed
the coachman to drive to the late ogre's castle, and then he
ran on before. Coming to a large field in which reapers
were at work, he said, "If the king asks you to whom these
fields belong, you must say, to the Marquis de Carrabas, or
you shall all be chopped as small as mincemeat." The men
were so astonished at hearing a cat talk, that they dared not
refuse; so when the king came by and asked, whose fields are
these? they said, "they belong to the Marquis de Carrabas."
Next puss came to some meadows with shepherds and flocks
of sheep, and said the same to them. So when the king
asked them, whose flocks are these? they answered, those of
the Marquis de Carrabas.<span class='pagenum'>[9]</span></p>
<p>Puss ran on all over the dead ogre's land and said the<span class='pagenum'>[10]</span>
same thing to the woodmen and the gamekeepers on the road,
who all obeyed him, till the king at last said to the miller's
son, "You have a fine property, my lord Marquis de
Carrabas." When puss came to the ogre's castle, he stood
on the steps and waited till the coach drove up.</p>
<p>"Will your majesty honour my lord by taking some
refreshment," he said; and the king who had not so fine a
castle belonging to himself, alighted from his carriage and
entered the house. Now, the ogre was just going to his
dinner when puss had called and killed him, so there was a
very fine feast upon the table. Puss told the ogre's servants
they should be made into mincemeat if they did not consent
to take the Marquis de Carrabas for their master, and they
were glad to serve him instead of the ogre. The king took
such a fancy to the rich Marquis de Carrabas, that he gave
him the princess for his wife. They lived in the ogre's fine
castle (which puss presented to his master), and the most
faithful and the happiest of their servants was "Puss in
Boots."<span class='pagenum'>[11]</span></p>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/illus_060.jpg" width-obs="289" height-obs="400" alt="With the king and queen again" title="With the king and queen again" /></div>
<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2>THE UGLY DUCKLING.</h2>
<div class='cap'>Once there was a duck who had just hatched a brood of
ducklings; one of them had been longer coming out of the
shell than the others, and when it came it was very ugly.
But its mother did not love it less on that account; mothers
never think their little ones ugly. It could swim very well,
so she knew it was not a young turkey, as an old duck had
said it might be, and she took it with all the rest of the
brood to the farm-yard to introduce it into good society.
An old turkey, who was very grand, came up to the duck,
and said, "Your children are all pretty except one. There
is one ugly duckling. I wish you could improve him a
little." "That is impossible, your grace," replied the
mother, "he is not pretty; but he has a good disposition,
and swims even better than the others." "Well, the other
ducklings are graceful enough," said the turkey, "pray
make yourselves at home, here."</div>
<p>But how could the ugly duckling do so? The whole farm-yard
laughed at him. The ducks pecked him, the fowls
beat him, the girl who fed the poultry drove him away with
a stick.<span class='pagenum'>[4]</span></p>
<div class="figleft"> <ANTIMG src="images/illus_064.jpg" width-obs="283" height-obs="400" alt="Chasing the swan" title="Chasing the swan" /></div>
<p><span class='pagenum'>[5]</span></p>
<p>The poor duckling flew over the pailings, and joined some
wild ducks who lived on the moor. "You are very ugly,"
said the wild ducks; "but that will not matter if you do
not want to marry into our family." After he had been on
the moor two days, he made friends with some wild geese,
and had nearly consented to fly over the sea with them,
when "pop, pop," went a gun, and the poor gosling fell dead
in the water. The poor duckling was so frightened that he
hid himself amongst the rushes. When all was quiet again,
he came out and ran over the moor till he reached a tumble-down
cottage, the door of which was ajar. He crept in, and
stayed there all night. A woman, a cat, and a hen lived
in this cottage. The hen had such short legs that her
mistress called her "Chickie short legs." The old woman
let the duckling live in her house, hoping that by-and-bye
it might lay eggs. Now the cat was the master of the
house, and the hen was the mistress, and they always said,
"We and the world," because they thought themselves half
the world, at least. One day the duckling said sadly, "It
is very dull here, how much I should like to swim in the
water and to dive." "What a foolish idea," said the hen.
"You have nothing else to do, therefore you have strange
fancies. If you could purr or lay eggs they would pass
away; ask the cat, he is the cleverest animal I know, if
<i>he</i> would like to dive in the water; ask our old mistress,<span class='pagenum'>[8]</span><span class='pagenum'>[7]</span><span class='pagenum'>[6]</span>
there is no one in the world more clever than she is; do you
think she would like to let the water close over her head?"
"You don't understand me," said the duckling. "I think
I must go into the world again." "Very well, go," said the
hen; and the duckling went.</p>
<div class='center'>
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="The Duckling and the Farmer">
<tr><td align='left'><ANTIMG src="images/illus_066.jpg" width-obs="281" height-obs="400" alt="Cruel to the duckling" title="Cruel to the duckling" />
</td><td align='left'><ANTIMG src="images/illus_067.jpg" width-obs="280" height-obs="400" alt="The farmer saves the duckling" title="The farmer saves the duckling" />
</td></tr>
</table></div>
<p>Very near the cottage he found some water, where he
could swim and dive; but all creatures avoided him because
he was so ugly, therefore he was always alone. One evening
there came a beautiful flock of birds out of the bushes. They
curved their graceful necks, while their soft plumage shone
with dazzling <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'whitness'">whiteness</ins>. The duckling felt quite a strange
sensation as he watched them fly up in the air. He stretched
out his neck towards them, and uttered a cry so strange
that it frightened himself. How he loved the white birds!
how he longed to be with them.</p>
<p>By-and-bye winter came, and froze the water quite hard.
The ice crackled round the duckling and at last shut him in,
so that he could not get out. Early in the morning a peasant
who was passing saw what had happened, broke the ice
with his axe, took up the duckling, and carried it home to
his wife.</p>
<div class="figright"> <ANTIMG src="images/illus_069.jpg" width-obs="284" height-obs="400" alt="The swan" title="The swan" /></div>
<p>The warmth revived the poor thing and it began to fly
about; the children wanted to play with it, but they only
frightened it; it ran to the door which was open, and<span class='pagenum'>[10]</span><span class='pagenum'>[9]</span>
managed to slip away among the bushes, where it lay down
in the new fallen snow.</p>
<p>It would be very sad to tell you all the duckling suffered
that cold winter; but spring came at last, and the young
bird felt that his wings were grown strong. He flew
away, and stopped at last in a beautiful garden near a fine
piece of water. On it he saw two magnificent white birds
swimming. "I will fly to those royal birds," he thought,
"they will kill me because I am ugly; but I had rather be
killed by them than pecked by ducks, or beaten by hens."
So he flew to the water and swam towards the swans. "Kill
me," he said, as they sailed towards him, and he bowed his
head meekly. But what did he see in the stream? Not a
dark grey ugly duckling, but a beautiful swan! To be born
in a duck's nest in a farm-yard, does not matter to a bird, if
it is hatched from a swan's egg. Yes, he too was a swan.
Now he would have friends to love him, and nobody would
scorn and ill-use him any more. Ho rustled his feathers,
curved his slender neck and cried joyfully, "I never thought
such good was in store for me when I was an ugly
duckling."</p>
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