| It was so glorious out
in the country; it was summer; the cornfields wereyellow, the
oats were green, the hay had been put up in stacks in the greenmeadows,
and the stork went about on his long red legs, and chattered
Egyptian, for this was the language he had learned from his
good mother. All around the fields and meadows were great forests,
and in the midst of theseforests lay deep lakes. Yes, it was
right glorious out in the country. In the midst of the sunshine
there lay an old farm, with deep canals about it, and from the
wall down to the water grew great burdocks, so high that little
children could stand upright under the loftiest of them. It
was just as wild there as in the deepest wood, and here sat
a Duck upon her nest; she had tohatch her ducklings; but she
was almost tired out before the little ones came;and then she
so seldom had visitors. The other ducks liked better to swim
about in the canals than to run up to sit down under a burdock,
and cackle with her. |
Der var saa deiligt
ude paa Landet; det var Sommer! Kornet stod guult, Havren grøn,
Høet var reist i Stakke nede i de grønne Enge,
og der gik Storken paa sine lange, røde Been og snakkede
ægyptisk, for det Sprog havde han lært af sin Moder.
Rundtom Ager og Eng var der store Skove, og midt i Skovene dybe
Søer; jo, der var rigtignok deiligt derude paa Landet.
Midt i Solskinnet laae der en gammel Herregaard med dybe Canaler
rundt om, og fra Muren og ned til Vandet voxte store Skræppeblade,
der vare saa høie, at smaa Børn kunde staae opreiste
under de største: der var lige saa vildsomt derinde,
som i den tykkeste Skov, og her laae en And paa sin Rede;
hun skulde ruge sine smaa Ællinger ud, men nu var hun
næsten kjed af det, fordi det varede saa længe,
og hun sjelden fik Visit; de andre Ænder holdt mere af
at svømme om i Canalerne, end at løbe op
og sidde under et Skræppeblad for at snaddre med hende. |
| At last one egg-shell
after another burst open. "Piep! Piep!" it cried,and in all
the eggs there were little creatures that stuck out their heads. |
Endelig knagede det
ene Eg efter det andet: "pip! pip!" sagde det, alle Æggeblommerne
vare blevne levende 'og stak Hovedet ud. |
| "Quack! quack!" they
said; and they all came quacking out as fast as theycould, looking
all around them under the green leaves; and the mother let them
look as much as they chose, for green is good for the eye. |
"Rap! rap!" sagde hun,
og saa rappede de sig alt hvad de kunde, og saae til alle Sider
under de grønne Blade, og Moderen lod dem see saa
meget de vilde, for det Grønne er godt for Øinene. |
| "How wide the world
is!" said all the young ones, for they certainly had much more
room now than when they were in the eggs. |
"Hvor dog Verden er
stor!" sagde alle Ungerne; thi de havde nu rigtignok ganske
anderledes Plads, end da de laae inde i Ægget. |
| "D'ye think this is
all the world?" said the mother. "That stretches faracross the
other side of the garden, quite into the parson's field; but
I have never been there yet. I hope you are all together," and
she stood up. "No, I have not all. The largest egg still lies
there. How long is that to last? I am really tired of it." And
she sat down again. |
"Troer I, det er hele
Verden!" sagde Moderen, "den strækker sig langt paa den
anden Side Haven, lige ind i Præstens Mark! men
der har jeg: aldrig været! I ere her dog vel Allesammen!"og
saa reiste hun sig op; "nei, jeg har ikke Alle! det største
Æg ligger der endnu; hvor længe skal det vare!
nu er jeg snart kjed af det!" og saa lagde hun sig igjen. |
| "Well, how goes it?"
asked an old Duck who had come to pay her a visit. |
"Naa hvordan gaaer det?"
sagde en gammel And, som kom for at gjøre Visit. |
| "It lasts a long time
with that one egg," said the Duck who sat there."It will not
burst. Now, only look at the others; are they not the prettiest
little ducks one could possibly see? They are all like their
father: therogue, he never comes to see me." |
"Det varer saa-længe
med det ene Æg!" sagde Anden, som laae; "der vil ikke
gaae Hul paa det! men nu skal Du see de andre! de ere
de deiligste Ællinger jeg har seet! de ligne Allesammen
Skarn, han kommer ikke og besøger mig." |
| "Let me see the egg
which will not burst," said the old visitor. "You maybe sure
it is a turkey's egg. I was once cheated in that way, and had
much anxiety and trouble with the young ones, for they are afraid
of the water. Must I say it to you, I could not get them to
venture in. I quacked and I clacked, but it was no use. Let
me see the egg. Yes, that's a turkey's egg.Let it lie there,
and teach the other children to swim." |
"Lad mig see det Æg,
der ikke vil revne!" sågde den Gamle. "Du kan troe, at
det er et Kalkun-Æg! saaIedes er jeg ogsaa blevet narret
engang, og jeg havde; min Sorg og Nød med de Unger, for
de ere bange for i Vandet, skal jeg sige Dig! jeg kunde ikke
faae dem ud! jeg rappede og snappede, men det hjalp ikke! Lad
mig see Ægget! jo, det er et Kalkun-Æg! lad Du det
ligge og lær de andre Børn at svømme!" |
| "I think I will sit
on it a little longer," said the Duck. "I've sat so long now
that I can sit a few days more." |
"Jeg vil dog ligge lidt
paa det endnu!" sagde Anden; "har jeg nu ligget saalænge,
saa kan jeg ligge Dyrehavstiden med!" |
| "Just as you please,"
said the old Duck; and she went away. |
"Vær saa god!"
sagde den gamle And, og saa gik hun. |
| At last the great egg
burst. "Piep! piep!" said the little one, and crept forth. It
was very large and very ugly. The Duck looked at it. "It's a
very large duckling," said she; "none of the others look like
that: can it really be a turkey chick? Well, we shall soon find
out. It mustgo into the water, even if I have to thrust it in
myself." |
Endelig revnede det
store Æg. "Pip! pip!" sagde Ungen og væltede ud;
han var saa stor og styg. Anden saae paa ham: "Det er da en
forfærdelig stor Ælling den!" sagde hun; "ingen
af de Andre see saadanne ud! det skulde dog vel aldrig være
en Kalkun-Kylling! naa, det skal vi snart komme efter! i Vandet
skal han, om jeg saa selv maa sparke ham ud!" |
| The next day, it was
bright, beautiful weather; the sun shone on all the green trees.
The Mother-Duck went down to the canal with all her family.
Splash! she jumped into the water. "Quack! quack!" she said,
and one duckling after another plunged in. The water closed
over their heads, but they came upin an instant, and swam capitally;
their legs went of themselves, and they were all in the water.
The ugly gray Duckling swam with them. |
Næste Dag var
det et velsignet, deiligt Veir; Solen Skinnede paa alle de grønne
Skræpper. Ellingemoderen med hele sin Familie kom frem
nede ved Canalen: pladsk! sprang hun i Vandet: "rap! rap!" sagde
hun og den ene Ælling plumpede ud efter den anden; Vandet
slog dem over Hovedet, men de kom strax op igjen og flød
saa deiligt; Benene gik af sig selv og Alle vare de ude, selv
den stygge, Kraa Unge svømmede med. |
| "No, it's not a turkey,"
said she; "look how well it can use its legs,and how straight
it holds itself. It is my own child! On the whole it's quite
pretty, if one looks at it rightly. Quack! quack! come with
me, and I'll lead you out into the great world, and present
you in the duck-yard; but keep close to me, so that no one may
tread on you, and take care of the cats!" |
"Nei, det er ingen Kalkun!"
sagde hun; "see hvor deiligt den bruger Benene, hvor rank den
holder sig! det er min egen Unge! igrunden er den dog ganske
kjøn, naar man rigtig seer paa den! rap! rap!kom nu
med mig, saa skal jeg føre Jer ind i Verden, og presentere
Jer i Andegaarden, men hold Jer altid nær ved mig, at
Ingen træder paa Jer, og tag Jer iagt for Katten!" |
| And so they came into
the duck-yard. There was a terrible riot going on in there,
for two families were quarreling about an eel's head, and the
catgot it after all. |
Og saa kom de ind i
Andegaarden. Der var en skrækkelig Støi derinde,
thi der var to Familier, som sloges om et Aalehoved, og saa
fik dog Katten det. |
| "See, that's how it
goes in the world!" said the Mother-Duck; and she whetted her
beak, for she too wanted the eel's head. "Only use your legs,"
she said. "See that you can bustle about, and bow your heads
before the old Duckyonder. She's the grandest of all here; she's
of Spanish blood - that's why she's so fat; and d'ye see? she
has a red rag round her leg; that's somethingparticularly fine,
and the greatest distinction a duck can enjoy: it signifiesthat
one does not want to lose her, and that she's to be known by
the animalsand by men too. Shake yourselves - don't turn in
your toes; a well-brought-upduck turns its toes quite out, just
like fatler and mother, - so! Now bendyour necks and say 'Quack!'" |
"See, saaledes gaaer
det til i Verden!" sagde Ællingemoderen, og slikkede sig
om Snabelen, for hun vilde ogsaa have Aalehovedet. "Brug nu
Benene!" sagde hun, "see, at I kunne rappe Jer, og nei med Halsen
for den gamle And derhenne! hun er den fornemste af dem Alle
her! hun er af spansk Blod, derfor er 4un svær, og seer
I, hun har en rød Klud om Benet! det er noget overordenlig
deiligt, og den største Udmærkelse, nogen And kan
faae, det betyder saa meget, at man ikke vil af med hende, og
at hun skal kjendes af Dyr og af Mennesker!Rap Jer,ikke ind
til Beens! en velopdragen Ælling sætter Benene vidt
fra hinanden, ligesom Fader og Moder! see saa! nei nu med Halsen-
og siig: rap!" |
| And they did so; but
the other ducks round about looked at them, and saidquite boldly,
- "Look there! now we're to have these hanging on, as if there
were notenough of us already! And - fie! - how that Duckling
yonder looks; we won'tstand that!" And one duck flew up at it,
and bit it in the neck. |
Og det gjorde de; men
de andre Ænder rundt om saae paa dem og sagde ganske bøit:
"see saa! nu skal vi have det Slæng til! ligesom vi ikke
vare nok alligevel! og fy, hvor den ene Ælling seer ud!
bam ville vi ikke taale!"og strax fløi der en And hen
og bed den i Nakken. |
| "Let it alone," said
the mother; "it does no harm to any one." |
"Lad ham være!"
sagde Moderen, "han gjør jo Ingen Noget!" |
| "Yes, but it's too large
and peculiar," said the Duck who had bitten it;"and therefore
it must be put down." |
"Ja, men han er for
stor og aparte!" sagde Anden. som bed, "og saa skal han nøfles!" |
| "Those are pretty children
that the mother has there," said the old Duck with the rag round
her leg. "They're all pretty but that one; that was rather unlucky.
I wish she could bear it over again." |
"Det er kjønne
Børn, Moder har!" sagde den gamle And med Kluden om Benet,
"Allesammen kjønne paa den ene nær, den er ikke
Iykkedes! jeg vilde ønske, hun kunde gjøre den
om igjen!" |
| "That cannot be done,
my lady," replied the Mother-Duck. "It is not pretty, but it
has a really good disposition, and swims as well as any other;
yes, I may even say it, swims better. I think it will grow up
pretty, andbecome smaller in time; it has lain too long in the
egg, and therefore is not properly shaped." And then she pinched
it in the neck, and smoothed its feathers. "Moreover it is a
drake," she said, "and therefore it is not of so much consequence.
I think he will be very strong: he makes his way already." |
"Det gaaer ikke, Deres
Naade!" sagde Ællingemoderen, "han er ikke kjøn,
men han er et inderligt godt Gemyt, og svømmer saa deiligt,
som nogen af de Andre, ja, jeg tør sige lidt til! jeg
tænker han voxer sig kjøn, eller han med Tiden
bliver noget mindre! han har ligget for længe i Ægget,
og derfor har han ikke fåaet den rette Skikkelse!" og
saa pillede hun ham i Nakken og glattede pea Personen.. "Han
er desuden en Andrik," sagde hun, "og saa gjør det ikke
saa meget! jeg troer han faaer gode Kræfter, han slaaer
sig nok igjennem!" |
| "The other ducklings
are graceful enough," said the old Duck. "Makeyourself at home;
and if you find an eel's head, you may bring it to me." |
"De andre Ællinger
ere nydelige!" sagde den Gamle, "lad nu, som I var hjemme, og
flnder I et Aalehoved, saa kan I bringe mig det!" |
| And now they were at
home. |
Og saa vare de som hjemme. |
| But the poor Duckling
which had crept last outof the egg, and looked so ugly, was
bitten and pushed and jeered, as much bythe ducks as by the
chickens. "It is too big!" they all said. And the turkey-cock,
who had been bornwith the spurs, and therefore thought himself
an emperor, blew himself up likea ship in full sail, and bore
straight down upon it; then he gobbled and grew quite red in
the face. The poor Duckling did not know where it should stand
orwalk; it was quite melancholy because it looked ugly, and
was the butt of thewhole duck-yard. |
Men den. stakkels Elling,
som sidst var kommet. ud af Ægget, og saåe saa fæl
ud, blev bidt, puffet og gjort Nar af, og det baade af Ænderne
og Hønsene. "Han er for stor!" sagde de Ållesammen,
og den kalkunske Hane, der var født med Sporer og troede
derfor, at han var Keiser, pustede sig op som et Fartøi
for fulde Seil, gik lige ind paa ham og saa pluddrede den og
blev ganske rød i Hovedet. Den stakkels Ælling
vidste hverken hvor den turde staae eller gaae, den var saa
bedrøvet, fordi den saae saa styg ud og var til Spot
for hele Andegaarden. |
| So it went on the first
day; and afterwards it became worse and worse.The poor Duckling
was hunted about by every one; even its brothers and sisterswere
quite angry with it, and said, "If the cat would only catch
you, you ugly creature!" And the mother said, "If you were only
far away!" And the ducks bitit, and the chickens beat it, and
the girl who had to feed the poultry kickedat it with her foot. |
Saaledes gik det den
første Dag, og siden blev det værre og værre.
Den stakkels Ælling blev jaget af dem Allesammen, selv
hans Sødskende vare saa onde imod ham, og de sagde altid:
"bare Katten vilde tage Dig, dit fæle Spectakel!" og Moderen
sagde: "gid Du bare var langt borte!" og Ænderne bed ham,
og Hønsene huggede ham, og Pigen, som skulde give Dyrene
Æde, sparkede til ham med Foden. |
| Then it ran and flew
over the fence, and the little birds in the bushesflew up in
fear. "That is because I am so ugly!" thought the Duckling;
and it shut itseyes, but flew on further; and so it came out
into the great moor, where thewild ducks lived. Here it lay
the whole night long; and it was weary anddowncast. |
Da løb og fløi
han hen over Hegnet; de smaa Fugle i Buskene foer forskrækket
i Veiret: "det er, fordi jeg er saa styg," tænkte Ællingen
og lukkede Øinene, men løb alligevel afsted! saa
kom den ud i den store Mose, hvor Vildænderne boede. Her
laae den hele Natten, den var saa træt og sorrigfuld. |
| Towards morning the
wild ducks flew up, and looked at their newcompanion.
"What sort of a one are you?" they asked; and the Duckling turned
inevery direction, and bowed as well as it could. |
Om Morgenen fløi
Vildænderne op, og de saae paa den nye Kammerat; "hvad
er Du for een?" spurgte de, og Ællingen dreiede sig til
alle Sider, og hilste saa godt den kunde. |
| "You are remarkably
ugly!"said the Wild Ducks. "But that is nothing to us, so long
as you do not marryinto our family." Poor thing! it certainly
did not think of marrying, and only hoped toobtain leave to
lie among the reeds and drink some of the swamp water. |
"Du er inderlig styg!"
sagde Vildænderne, "men det kan da være os det samme,
naar Du ikke gifter Dig ind i vor Familie!"Den Stakkel! han
tænkte rigtignok ikke paa at gifte sig, turde han bare
have Lov at ligge i Sivene og drikke lidt Mosevand. |
| Thus it lay two whole
days; then came thither two wild geese, or, properly speaking,
two wild ganders. It was not long since each had crept outof
an egg, and that's why they were so saucy. |
Der laae han i hele
to Dage, saa kom der to Vildgæs eller rettere Vildgasser,
for de vare.to Hanner: det var ikke mange.Tider siden de vare
komne ud af Ægget, og derfor vare de saå raske paa
det. |
| "Listen, comrade," said
one of them. "You're so ugly that I like you.Will you go with
us, and become a bird of passage? Near here, in another moor,there
are a few sweet lovely wild geese, all unmarried, and all able
to say'Rap?' You've a chance of making your fortune, ugly as
you are." |
"Hør Kammerat!"
sagde de, "Du er saa styg, at jeg godt kan lide Dig! vil Du
drive med og være Trækfugl! tæt herved i en
anden Mose er der nogle søde, velsignede Vildgæs,
allesammen Frøkener, der kunne sige: rap' Du er istand
til at gjøre din Lykke, saa styg er Du!" |
| "Piff! Paff!" resounded
through the air; and the two ganders fell down dead in the swamp,
and the water became blood red. "Piff! Paff!" is soundedagain,
and the whole flock of wild geese rose up from the reeds. And
thenthere was another report. A great hunt was going on. The
sportsmen were lying in wait all round the moor, and some were
even sitting up in the branches ofthe trees, which spread far
over the reeds. The blue smoke rose up like cloudsamong the
dark trees, and was wafted far away across the water; and the
hunting dogs came - splash, splash! - into the swamp, and the
rushes and the reeds bent down on every side. That was a fright
for the poor Duckling! It turned its head, and put it under
its wing; but at that moment a frightful great dog stood close
by the Duckling. His tongue hung far out of his mouth,and his
eyes gleamed horrible and ugly; he thrust out his nose close
againstthe Duckling, showed his sharp teeth, and - splash, splash!
- on he went,without seizing it. |
"Pif! paf!" lød
i det samme ovenover, og begge Vildgasserne faldt døde
ned i Sivene, og Vandet blev hlodrødt; "pif! paf!" lød
det igjen, og hele Skarer af Vildgæs fløi op af
Sivene, og saa knaldede det igjen. Der var stor Jagt; Jægerne
laae rundt om Mosen, ja nogle sad oppe i Trægrenene, der
strakte sig langt ud over Sivene; den blaa Røg gik ligesom
Skyer ind imellein de mørke Træer og hang langt
hen over Vandet; i Mudderet kom Jagthundene, klask klask! Siv
og Rør svaiede til alle Sider; det var en Forskrækkelse
for den stakkels Ælling, den dreiede Hovedet om-for at
faae det under Vingen, og lige i det samme stod tæt ved
den en frygtelig stor Hund, Tungen hang ham langt ud af Halsen,
og Øinene skinnede grueligt fælt; han satte sit
Gab lige ned imod Ællingen, viste de skarpe Tænder
og pladsk! gik han igjen uden at tage den. |
| "O, Heaven be thanked!"
sighed the Duckling. "I am so ugly, that even thedog does not
like to bite me!" |
"O Gud skee Lov!" sukkede
Ællingen, "jeg er saa styg, at selv Hunden ikke gider
bide mig!" |
| And so it lay quite
quiet, while the shots rattled through the reeds and gun after
gun was fired. |
Og saa laae den ganske
stille, mens Haglene susede i Sivene, og det knaldede Skud paa
Skud. |
| At last, late in the
day, all was still; but the poor Duckling did not dare to rise
up; it waited several hours before it looked round, and then
hastened away out of the moor as fast as it could. It ran on
over field and meadow; there was such a storm raging that it
was difficult to get from one place to another. |
Først langt ud
paa Dagen blev der stille, men den stakkels Unge turde endnu
ikke reise sig, den ventede flere Timer endnu før den
saae sig,om, og saa skyndte den sig afsted fra Mosen, alt hvad
den kunde: den løb over Mark og Eng, det var en Blæst,
saa at den havde haardt ved at komme afsted. |
| Towards evening the
Duck came to a little miserable peasant's hut. This hut was
so dilapidated that it did not itself know on which side it
shouldfall; and that's why it remained standing. The storm whistled
round theDuckling in such a way that the poor creature was obliged
to sit down, tostand against it; and the wind blew worse and
worse. Then the Duckling noticedthat one of the hinges of the
door had given way, and the door hung soslanting that the Duckling
could slip through the crack into the room; and that is what
it did. |
Mod Aften naaede den
et fattigt, lille Bondehuus; det var saa elendigt, at det ikke
selv vidste til hvad Side det vilde falde, og saa blev det staaende.
Blæsten susede saaledes om Ællingen, at han maatte
sætte sig paa Halen for at holde imod; og det blev værre
og værre: da mærkede han, at Døren var gaaet
af det ene Hængsel, og hang saa skjævt, at han igjennem
Sprækken kunde smutte ind i Stuen, og det gjorde han. |
| Here lived a woman,
with her Cat and her Hen. And the Cat, whom she called Sonnie,
could arch his back and purr, he could even give out sparks;but
for that one had to stroke his fur the wrong way. The Hen had
quite littleshort legs, and therefore she was called Chickabiddy
Shortshanks; she laidgood eggs, and the woman loved her as her
own child. |
Her boede en gammel
Kone med sin Kat og sin Høne, og Katten, som hun kaldte
Sønneke, kunde skyde Ryg og spinde, han gnistrede saagar,
men saa maatte man stryge ham mod Haarene; Hønen havde
ganske smaa, lave Been, og derfor kaldtes den Kykkelilavbeen;
den lagde godt Æg, og Konen holdt af den, som af sit eget
Barn. |
| In the morning the strange
Duckling was at once noticed, and the Catbegan to purr and the
Hen to cluck. |
Om Morgenen mærkede
man strax den fremmede Elling, og Katten begyndte at spinde
og Hønen at klukke. |
| "What's this?" said
the woman, and looked all round; but she could notsee well,
and therefore she thought the Duckling was a fat duck that had
strayed. "This is a rare prize!" she said. "Now I shall have
duck's eggs. Ihope it is not a drake. We must try that." |
"Hvad for Noget!" sagde
Konen og-saae rundtomkring, men hun saae ikke godt, og saa troede
hun, at Ællingen var en fed And, der havde forvildet sig.
"Det var jo en rar Fangst!" sagde hun, "nu kan jeg faae Ande-Æg,
er den bare ikke en Andrik! det maae vi prøve! " |
| And so the Duckling
was admitted on trial for three weeks; but no eggs came. And
the Cat was master of the house, and the Hen was the lady, and
always said "We and the world!" for she thought they were half
the world, andby far the better half. The Duckling thought one
might have a different opinion, but the Hen would not allow
it. |
Og saa blev Ællingen
antaget paa Prøve i tre Uger, men der kom ingen Æg.
Og Katten var Herre i Huset og Hønen var Madame, og alletider
sagde de: "vi og Verden!" for de troede, at de vare Halvparten,
og det den allerbedste Deel. Ællingen syntes, at man kunde
ogsaa have en anden Mening, men det taalte Hønen ikke. |
| "Can you lay eggs?"
she asked, |
"Kan Du lægge
Æg?" spurgte hun. |
| "No." |
"Nei!" |
| "Then will you hold
your tongue!" |
"Ja, vil Du saa holde
din Mund!" |
| And the Cat said, "Can
you curve your back, and purr, and give outsparks?" |
Og Katten sagde: "Kan
Du skyde Ryg, spinde og gnistre?" |
| "No." |
"Nei!" |
| "Then you will please
have no opinion of your own when sensible folks are speaking." |
"Ja, saa skal Du ikke
have Mening, naar fornuftige Folk tale!" |
| And the Duckling sat
in a corner and was melancholy; then the fresh airand the sunshine
streamed in; and it was seized with such a strange longing toswim
on the water, that it could not help telling the Hen of it. |
Og Ællingen sad
i Krogen og var i daarligt Humeur; da kom den til at tænke
paa den friske Luft og Solskinnet! den fik saadan en forunderlig
Lyst til at flyde paa Vandet, tilsidst kunde den ikke lade være,
den maatte sige det til Hønen. |
| "What are you thinking
of?" cried the Hen. "You have nothing to do,that's why you have
these fancies. Lay eggs, or purr, and they will passover." |
"Hvad gaaer der af Dig?"
spurgte hun. "Du har ingen Ting at bestille, derfor komme de
Nykker over Dig! Læg Æg eller spind, saa gaae de
over." |
| "But it is so charming
to swim on the water!" said the Duckling, "sore freshing to
let it close above one's head, and to dive down to the bottom." |
- "Men det er saa deiligt
at flyde paa Vandet!" sagde Ællingen, "saa deiligt at
faae det over Hovedet og dukke nedpaa Bunden!" |
| "Yes, that must be a
mighty pleasure, truly," quoth the Hen. "I fancy you must have
gone crazy. Ask the Cat about it, - he's the cleverest animal
I know, - ask him if he likes to swim on the water, or to dive
down: I won'tspeak about myself. Ask our mistress, the old woman;
no one in the world iscleverer than she. Do you think she has
any desire to swim, and to let thewater close above her head?" |
"Ja, det er nok en stor
Fornøielse!" sagde Hønen, "Du er nok blevet gal!
Spørg Katten ad, han er den klogeste, jeg kjender, om
han holder af at flyde paa Vandet, eller dykke ned! jeg vil
ikke tale om- mig. Spørg selv vort Herskab, den gamle
Kone, klogere end hun er der Ingen i Verden! troer Du, hun har
Lyst til at flyde og faae Vand over Hovedet?" |
| "You don't understand
me," said the Duckling. |
"I forstaae mig ikke!"
sagde Ællingen. |
| "We don't understand
you? Then pray who is to understand you? You surely don't pretend
to be cleverer than the Cat and the woman - I won't say anythingof
myself. Don't be conceited, child, and thank your Maker for
all thekindness you have received. Did you not get into a warm
room, and have you not fallen into company from which you may
learn something? But you are achatterer, and it is not pleasant
to associate with you. You may believe me, Ispeak for your good.
I tell you disagreeable things, and by that one may always know
one's true friends! Only take care that you learn to lay eggs,
or to purr, and give out sparks!" |
"Ja forstaae vi Dig
ikke, hvem skulde saa forstaae Dig! Du vil dog vel aldrig være
klogere end Katten og Konen, for ikke at nævne mig! Skab
Dig ikke, Barn! og tak Du din Skaber for alt det Gode, man har
gjort for Dig! Er Du ikke kommet i en varm Stue og har en Omgang,
Du kan lære Noget af! men Du er et Vrøvl, og det
er ikke morsomt at omgaaes Dig! mig kan Du troe! jeg mener Dig
det godt, jeg siger Dig Ubehageligheder, og derpaa skal man
kjende sine sande Yenner! see nu bare til, at Pu lægger
Æg og lærer at spinde eller gnistre!" |
| "I think I will go out
into the wide world," said the Duckling. |
"Jeg troer, jeg vil
gaae ud i den vide Verden!" sagde Ellingen. |
| "Yes, do go," replied
the Hen. |
"Ja, gjør Du
det!" sagde Hønen. |
| And so the Duckling
went away. It swam on the water, and dived, but itwas slighted
by every creature because of its ugliness. |
Og saa gik Ællingen;
den flød paa Vandet, den'dykkede ned, men af alle Dyr
var den overseet for sin Grimhed.' |
| Now came the autumn.
The leaves in the forest turned yellow and brown; the wind caught
them so that they danced about, and up in the air it was very
cold. The clouds hung low, heavy with hail and snow-flakes,
and on the fencestood the raven, crying, "Croak! croak!" for
mere cold; yes, it was enough tomake one feel cold to think
of this. The poor little Duckling certainly had not a good time. |
Nu faldt Efteraaret
paa, Bladene i Skoven bleve gule og brune, Blæsten tog
fat i dem, saa de dandsede omkring, og oppe i Luften saae der
koldt ud; Skyerne hang tunge med Hagl og Sneefnokke, og paa
Gjerdet stod Ravnen og skreg "au! au!" af bare Kulde; ja man
kunde ordenlig fryse, naar man tænkte derpaa; den stakkels
Ælling havde'det rigtignok ikke godt. |
| One evening - the sun
was just setting in his beauty - there came a whole flock of
great, handsome birds out of the bushes; they weredazzlingly
white, with long, flexible necks; they were swans. They uttered
avery peculiar cry, spread forth their glorious great wings,
and flew away from that cold region to warmer lands, to fair
open lakes. They mounted so high, so high! and the ugly Duckling
felt quite strangely as it watched them. It turned round and
round in the water like a wheel, stretched out its neck towardsthem,
and uttered such a strange, loud cry as frightened itself. O!
it couldnot forget those beautiful, happy birds; and so soon
as it could see them nolonger, it dived down to the very bottom,
and when it came up again, it wasquite beside itself. It knew
not the name of those birds, and knew not whitherthey were flying;
but it loved them more than it had ever loved any one. I twas
not at all envious of them. How could it think of wishing to
possess suchloveliness as they had? It would have been glad
if only the ducks would haveendured its company - the poor,
ugly creature! |
En Aften, Solen gik
saa velsignet ned, kom der en heel Flok deilige, store Fugle
ud af Buskene, Ællingen havde aldrig seet nogen saa smukke,
de-vare ganske skinnende hvide, med lange, smidige Halse; det
var Svaner, de udstødte en ganske forunderlig Lyd, bredte
deres prægtige, lange Vinger ud og fløi bort fra
de kolde Egne til varmere Lande, til aabne Søer! de stege
saa høit, saa høit, og den grimme, lille Ælling
blev saa forunderlig tilmode; den dreiede sig rundt i Vandet
ligesom et Hjul, rakte Halsen høit op i Luften efter
dem, udstødte et Skrig saa høit og forunderligt,
at den selv blev bange derved. O, den kunde ikke glemme de deilige
Fugle, de lykkelige Fugle, og saasnart den ikke længer
øinede dem, dukkede den lige ned til Bunden, og da den
kom op igjen, var den ligesom ude af sig selv. Den vidste ikke,
hvad Fuglene hed, ikke hvor de fløi hen, men dog holdt
den af dem, som den aldrig havde holdt af Nogen; den misundte
dem slet ikke, hvor kunde det falde den ind at ønske
sig en saadan Deilighed, den vilde være glad, naar bare
dog Ænderne vilde have taalt den imellem sigldet stakkels
grimme Dyr! |
| And the winter grew
cold, very cold! The Duckling was forced to swimabout in the
water, to prevent the surface from freezing entirely; but every
night the hole in which it swam about became smaller and smaller.
It froze sohard that the icy covering crackled again; and the
Duckling was obliged to useits legs continually to prevent the
hole from freezing up. At last it becameexhausted, and lay quite
still, and thus froze fast into the ice. |
Og Vinteren blev saa
kold, saa kold; Ællingen maatte svømme om i Vandet,
for at holde det fra at fryse' reent til; men hver Nat blev
Hullet, hvori den svømmede, smallere og smallere; det
frøs, saa det knagede i Iisskorpen; Ællingen maatte
altid bruge Benene, at Vandet ikke skulde lukkes; tilsidst blev
den mat, laae ganske stille og frøs saa fast i Isen. |
| Early in the morning
a peasant came by, and when he saw what had happened, he took
his wooden shoe, broke the ice-crust to pieces, andcarried the
Duckling home to his wife. Then it came to itself again. |
Tidlig om Morgenen kom
en Bondemand, han saae den, gik ud og slog med sin Træsko
Isen i Stykker og bar den saa hjem til sin Kone. Der blev den
livet op. |
| The children wanted
to play with it; but the Duckling thought they wanted to hurt
it, and in its terror fluttered up into the milk-pan, so that
the milkspurted down into the room. The woman clasped her hands,
at which the Duckling flew down into the butter-tub, and then
into the meal barrel and out again.How it looked then! The woman
screamed, and struck at it with the fire -tongs; the children
tumbled over one another in their efforts to catch the Duckling;
and they laughed and they screamed! - well it was that the doorstood
open, and the poor creature was able to slip out between the
shrubs intothe newly-fallen snow - there it lay quite exhausted.
|
Børnene vilde
lege med den, men Ællingen troede, at de vilde gjøre
den Fortræd, og foer, i Forskrækkelse, lige op i
Melkefadet, saa at Melken skvulpede ud i Stuen; Konen skreg
og slog Hænderne i Veiret, og da fløi den i Truget,
hvor Smørret var, og saa ned i Meeltønden og op
igjen; naa, hvor den kom til at see ud! Konen skreg og slog
efter den med Ildklemmen, og Børnene løb hinanden
overende for at fange Ællingen, og de loe, og de skreg!godt
var det, at Døren stod aaben, ud foer den imellem Buskene
i den nysfaldne Sneeder laae den, ligesom i Dvale. |
| But it would be too
melancholy if I were to tell all the misery and carewhich the
Duckling had to endure in the hard winter. It lay out on the
moor among the reeds, when the sun began to shine again and
the larks to sing: itwas a beautiful spring. / |
Men det vilde blive
altfor bedrøveligt at fortælle al den Nød
og Elendighed, den maatte prøve i den haarde Vinterden
laae i Mosen mellem Rørene, da Solen igjen begyndte at
skinne varmt; Lærkerne sang det var deiligt Foraar. |
| Then all at once the
Duckling could flap its wings: they beat the air more strongly
than before, and bore it strongly away; and before it well knew
how all this happened, it found itself in a great garden, where
the elder -trees smelt sweet, and bent their long green branches
down to the canal that wound through the region. O, here it
was so beautiful, such a gladness of spring! and from the thicket
came three glorious white swans; they rustled their wings, and
swam lightly on the water. The Duckling knew the splendidcreatures,
and felt oppressed by a peculiar sadness. |
Da løftede den
paa eengang sine Vinger, de bruste stærkere end før
og bare den kraftigt afsted; og før den ret vidste det,
var den i en stor Have, hvor Æbletræerne stode i
Blomster, hvor Sirenerne duftede og hang paa de lange, grønne
Grene lige ned imod de bugtede Canaler! O, her var saa deiligt,
saa foraarsfriskt! og lige foran, ud af Tykningen, kom tre deilige,
hvide Svaner; de bruste med Fjerene og flød saa let paa
Vandet. Ællingen kjendte de prægtige Dyr og blev
betaget af en forunderlig Sørgmodighed. |
| "I will fly away to
them, to the royal birds; and they will beat me,because I, that
am so ugly, dare to come near them. But it is all the same.Better
he killed by them than to be pursued by ducks, and beaten by
fowls, and pushed about by the girl who takes care of the poultry
yard, and to sufferhunger in winter!" And it flew out into the
water, and swam towards the beautiful swans: these looked at
it, and came sailing down upon it with outspread wings. "Kill
me!" said the poor creature, and bent its head down upon the
water, expecting nothing but death. But what was this that it
saw inthe clear water? It beheld its own image; and, lo! it
was no longer clumsy dark-gray bird, ugly and hateful to look
at, but a - swan! |
"Jeg vil flyve hen til
dem, de kongelige Fugle! og de vil hugge mig ihjel, fordi jeg,
der er saa styg, tør nærme mig dem! men det er
det samme! bedre at dræbes af dem end at nappes af Ænderne,
hugges af Hønsene, sparkes af Pigen, der passer Hønsegaarden,
og lide Ondt om Vinteren!" og den fløi ud i Vandet og
svømmede hen imod de prægtige Svaner, disse saae
den og skjød med brusende Fjere henimod den. "Dræber
mig kun!" sagde det ståkkels Dyr, og bøiede sit
Hoved ned mod Vandfladen og ventede Døden,men hvad saae
den i det klare Vand? Den saae under sig sit eget Billed, men
den var ikke længere en kluntet, sortgraa Fugl, styg og
fæl, den var selv en Svane. |
| It matters nothing if
one is born in a duck-yard, if one has only lain in a swan's
egg. |
Det gjør ikke
Noget at være født i Andegaarden, naar man kun
har ligget i et Svaneæg! |
| It felt quite glad at
all the need and misfortune it had suffered, now itrealized
its happiness in all the splendor that surrounded it. And the
greatswans swam round it, and stroked it with their beaks. |
Den følte sig
ordenlig glad over al den Nød og Gjenvordighed, den havde
prøvet; nu skjønnede den just paa sin Lykke, paa
al den Deilighed, der hilsede den.Og de store Svaner svømmede
rundt omkring den og strøg den med Næbbet. |
| Into the garden came
little children, who threw bread and corn into the water; and
the youngest cried: |
I Haven kom der nogle
smaa Børn, de kastede Brød og Korn ud i Vandet,
og den mindste raabte: |
| "There is a new one!"
and the other children shouted joyously, "Yes, a new one has
arrived!" And they clapped their handsand danced about, and
ran to their father and mother; and bread and cake were thrown
into the water; and they all said, "The new one is the most
beautiful of all! so young and handsome!" and the old swans
bowed their heads before him. |
"Der er en ny!" og de
andre Børn jublede med: "ja, der er kommet en ny!" og
de klappede i Hænderne og dandsede rundt, løb efter
Fader og Moder, og der blev kastet Brød og Kager i Vandet,
og Alle sagde de: "Den nye er den smukkeste! saa ung og saa
deilig!" og de gamle Svaner neiede for den. |
| Then he felt quite ashamed,
and hid his head under his wings, for he did not know what to
do; he was so happy, and yet not at all proud. He thought how
he had been persecuted and despised; and now he heard them saying
that he was the most beautiful of all birds. Even the elder-tree
bent its branchesstraight down into the water before him, and
the sun shone warm and mild. Thenhis wings rustled, he lifted
his slender neck, and cried rejoicingly from thedepths of his
heart, - "I never dreamed of so much happiness when I
was the Ugly Duckling!" |
Da følte den
sig ganske undseelig og stak
Hovedet om bag Vingerne, den vidste ikke selv hvad! den var
i altfor lykkelig, men slet ikke stolt, thi et godt Hjerte bliver
aldrig stolt! den tænkte paa, hvor den havde været
forfulgt og forhaanet, og hørte nu Alle sige, at den
var den deiligste af alle deilige Fugle. Og irenerne bøiede
sig med Grenene lige ned i Vandet til den, og Solen skinnede
saa varmt og saa godt, da bruste dens Fjere, den slanke Hals
hævede sig, og af Hjertet jublede den: "saa megen
Lykke drømte jeg ikke om, da jeg var den grimme Ælling!"
|
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