"Oh," said the mother, "that is not a turkey; how well he uses
his legs, and how upright he holds himself! He is my own child, and he is not
so very ugly after all if you look at him properly. Quack, quack! come with me
now, I will take you into grand society, and introduce you to the farmyard, but
you must keep close to me or you may be trodden upon; and, above all, beware of
the cat."
When they reached the farmyard, there was a great disturbance, two families
were fighting for an eel's head, which, after all, was carried off by the cat.
"See, children, that is the way of the world," said the mother duck,
whetting her beak, for she would have liked the eel's head herself. "Come,
now, use your legs, and let me see how well you can behave. You must bow your
heads prettily to that old duck yonder; she is the highest born of them all,
and has Spanish blood, therefore, she is well off. Don't you see she has a red
flag tied to her leg, which is something very grand, and a great honor for a
duck; it shows that every one is anxious not to lose her, as she can be
recognized both by man and beast. Come, now, don't turn your toes, a well-bred
duckling spreads his feet wide apart, just like his father and mother, in this
way; now bend your neck, and say "quack."
The ducklings did as they were bid, but the other duck stared, and said,
"Look, here comes another brood, as if there were not enough of us
already! and what a queer looking object one of them is; we don't want him
here," and then one flew out and bit him in the neck.
"Let him alone," said the mother; "he is not doing any
harm."
"Yes, but he is so big and ugly," said the spiteful duck "and
therefore he must be turned out."
"The others are very pretty children," said the old duck, with the
rag on her leg, "all but that one; I wish his mother could improve him a
little."
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