| 乡村真美。此时正值夏季，田里的小麦都呈现金黄色而燕麦依然青绿。 干草被堆放在低洼的草地上，广阔的树林围绕着
田野和草地，树林的中央有多处深邃的湖泊，在阳光最充足的地方矗立着一栋老旧的大宅邸。这栋宅邸被一条深长的壕沟所包围，茂盛的
叶子从这栋房子干部上的藤蔓往下长，延伸到河水的边缘。其中有一些叶子很大，小孩子可以拿它们来当雨伞。
在森林的深处有一只母鸭子坐在她的巢中，她的小鸭子们即将孵出来。
终于蛋一个接一个地开始裂了。 “吱，吱！”小鸭们叫着。“呱，呱！”母鸭回道。“这个世界好大啊！”小鸭子异口同声道。
The countryside was lovely. It was summer. The wheat was golden and the oats were still
green. The hay was stacked in the low-lying meadows. There lay great woods around the fields and meadows.
There were deep lakes in the midst of the woods. In the sunniest spot stood an old mansion surrounded by a deep moat.
Great leaves grew from the vines on the walls of the house right down to the water's edge.
Some of the leaves were so big that a child could use them as an umbrella.
In the depths of a forest a duck was sitting in her nest. Her little ducklings were about to be hatched.
At last one egg after another began to crack." Cheep, cheep!" the ducklings said." Quack, quack!" said the duck.
" How big the world is!" said all the young ones.
但最大的蛋依旧在那儿，于是她又再坐回她的巢中。
一只年长的鸭子过来拜访她说：“喂！你近来可好吗？”坐着的母鸭回答说：“这枚蛋花了很长的时间，
壳偏偏还不裂开，不过其他的小鸭都是最完美的鸭子，他们很像他们的爸爸。”
年长的鸭子说：“让我看看那枚不会裂开的蛋，你或许是坐在一枚火鸡的蛋上！我曾经像那样被骗过一次。不错，那是火鸡的蛋！
你最好不要管它，去教其它的小鸭游泳吧。”
“我要再多坐一会儿。”
But the biggest egg was still there. And then she settled herself on the nest again.
"Well, how are you getting on?" said an old duck who came to pay her a visit." This egg is taking such a long time," answered the sitting duck."
The shell will not crack, but the others are the finest ducklings. They are like their father."
"let me look at the egg which won't crack," said the old duck." You may be sitting on a turkey's egg!
I have been cheated like that once. Yes. it's a turkey's egg!
You had better leave it alone and teach the other children to swim."
"I will sit on it a little longer."
终于这枚巨蛋裂开了。这小子可真是又大又丑！她说：“那是一只非常巨大的鸭子，其他的小鸭没有一只看起来像他一样。
他会是火鸡的孩子吗？我会尽快查清楚，我将叫他下水去。”
隔天这只母鸭带着她的一家人走到壕沟。
她跳入水中，“呱，呱，”她说，小鸭们一只接一只地跳进河里。
这只又大又丑的鸭子跟着他们一起游来游去，她说：“不是的，那不是火鸡。呱，呱！现在跟我来，我将带你们去参观这个世界，
要一直靠近我并小心猫！”第一天过去了，一切都还顺利。
At last the big egg cracked. How big and ugly the baby was! " That is a very big duckling." she said,
" None of the others look like that. Can he be a turkey's chick?
I will soon find out. I will make him go into water."
The next day the mother duck with her family went down to the moat. She said, and one duckling jumped in after another.
The big ugly one swam about with them." No, that is no turkey," she said," Quack, quack! Now come with me
and I will take you into the world. Keep close to me all the time. Be careful of the cat!"
The first day passed, and everything was fine.
之后，事情愈来愈糟。这只可怜的小鸭被所有的小鸭追逐和骚扰，因为他长得很丑。大鸭们咬他，母鸡们啄他，
而喂食他们的女孩把他踢到旁边去。于是他离家出走，不久就来到一片野鸭住的广阔沼泽。
他双疲倦又痛苦，因此他整晚都在那里。
早上这群野鸭们飞来看他们的新朋友。这些野鸭说：“你长得非常丑，但那对我们来说无所谓。”他在那里整整待了两天，
然后有两只野雁飞过来。就在那个时候，他听到“砰！砰！”的声音，那两只野雁摔落在芦苇丛中死了。
对这只可怜的小鸭子来说，那是一项很可怕的冲击。
Afterwards, matters grew worse and worse. The poor duckling was chased and harassed by all the ducklings because he was very ugly.
The ducks bit him, the hens pecked him. and the girl who fed them kicked him aside. Then he ran off and soon 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 see their new friend." You are very ugly," said the wild ducks," but that does not matter to us."
He stayed there two whole days . And then two wild geese came.
Just at that moment the sound of "Bang! Bang!" was heard, and both the wild geese fell dead among the reeds.
It was a terrible shock to the poor duckling. |