Page 543 - Child's own book

while the reeds and rushes bent beneath them on all sides.
W hat a flight they occasioned the poor duckling 1 He turned
away bis head to hide it under his whig, when io I a tremendous
looting dog, with his tongue lolling out, and bis eyes glaring
fearfully, stood right before him* opening his jaws and showing
his sharp teeth as though he would gobble up the poor little
duck at a mouthful; but splash, splash, on he went without
touching him* (< Thank goodness/' sighed the duckling, ct I
am so ugly that even a dog won’t bite me;’1 and he lay quite
still, while the shot rattled through the rushes* and pop after
pop echoed through the air.
It was not till late in the day that all became quiet; still
the poor youngster did not venture to rise, but awaited several
hours before he looked about him, and then hastened out of
the marsh as fast as he could run. He ran across fields and
meadows, till there arose such a storm that he could scarcely
get on at all* Towards evening he reached a wretched little
cottage that was in such a tumble-down condition that, if it
remained standing at all, it could only he from not yet having
made up its mind on which side it should fall. The tem~
pest was now raging to such a height, that the duckling was
forced to sit down to stem the wind, when he perceived that
the door hung so loosely on one of its hinges, that he could slip
into the room, through the crack* which he accordingly did*
The inmates of the cottage were a woman, a tom-cat, and a hen.
The tom-cat, whom the woman called her darling, could raise
his back and purr; and he could even throw out sparks,
provided he were stroked against the fur. The hen had small
short legs, for which reason she was called Henny Shortlegs ;
she laid good eggs, and her mistress loved her as if she had heen
her own child.
Next morning they perceived the little stranger, when the