The Best English Fairy Tales / Лучшие английские сказки

He lay still and shot after shot was fired. It was late in the day when it became quiet again. The poor duckling was afraid to move. He waited. Then he got up and ran as fast as he could. He ran across the fields and marshes.

Late in the evening he came to a little house. The wind was so strong and the poor little duckling was so weak. He noticed a crack in the door and squeezed into the room.

Here lived an old woman with her cat and her hen. The cat called Sonny could purr, and even make sparks, for that you had to stroke his fur the wrong way. The hen had short little legs, so she was called Chickey Shortleg. She laid good eggs, and the old woman loved her.

In the morning they saw the duckling.

“Oh, it’s a duck!” The old woman had bad eyes, and she thought the duckling was a fat duck. “It’s good,” she said. “Now I shall have duck eggs.”

So the duckling was there for three weeks, but he didn’t lay any eggs.

In this house the cat was master and the hen was mistress. They always said, “We and the world,” they thought they were half of the world. The duckling thought that they were wrong, but the hen didn’t want to hear about it.

“Can you lay eggs?” she asked.

“No.”

“Then be nice and do what we say.”

The cat asked, “Can you purr or make sparks?”

“No.”

“Then keep your opinion to yourself.”

The duckling sat in a corner, feeling sad. Then he remembered the fresh air and the sunlight. He wanted to go outside and swim in the pond. He told the hen about it.

“What a silly thing to say!” the hen cried. “Lay an egg or learn to purr.”

“But I’d like to swim… It’s so nice in the water,” said the duckling.

“You’re crazy!” said the hen.

So the duckling went away. He swam on the water and dived down in it. But he still was very ugly for all the other animals.

Autumn came on. The leaves in the forest were yellow and brown. It was getting very cold. Pity the poor little duckling!

One evening, the duckling saw very beautiful birds in the sky. They were white, with long thin necks. They were swans, flying away from this cold land, away to warmer countries. The ugly little duckling watched them. He went around and round in the water. Oh! He could not forget those happy birds. He did not know what birds they were but he loved them.

The winter grew colder. The duckling had to swim in the water to keep the pond from freezing over. But the hole in which he swam was getting smaller and smaller. One day he was so cold and tired that he got frozen fast in the ice.

Early that morning a farmer came by, and he saw the duckling in the pond. He broke the ice with his wooden shoe and carried the duckling home to his wife. After some time the duckling felt better. When the children wished to play with him, he fell down into the milk bowl then he flew into the butter bowl. Imagine what he looked like now! The children tried to catch him, they laughed and they shouted. Luckily the door was open, and the duckling escaped through it into the bushes.

The winter was very cruel to the little duckling. But the weather started changing, the duckling was still alive. The birds began to sing again. It was beautiful springtime.

One day the duckling understood that his wings were strong. He could fly! Before he knew what was happening, he was high in the sky. Then he saw a great garden with apple trees. There were beautiful sweet flowers. Oh, it was wonderful here!

Then the duckling saw three lovely white swans. They swam slowly in the river. The duckling remembered these noble birds. He became very sad.

“I can’t fly near these noble birds, they will peck me because I am so very ugly. But I don’t care. Better be killed by them than to be pecked by the ducks, hens, kicked by the hen-yard girl, or to be frozen in winter.”

So he flew into the water and swam to the beautiful swans. They saw him.

“Kill me!” cried the poor duckling, and he bowed his head down over the water. But what did he see there, mirrored in the clear river? It was no longer a dirty, gray duckling. He was a swan!

He felt happy because now he knew who he was. He was born in the duck’s yard but from a swan’s egg. The great swans swam all around him and stroked him with their wings.

Some little children came into the garden. The smallest child cried, “Here’s a new one,” and the others said, “yes, a new swan has come.” They clapped their hands, danced around, and ran to their father and mother.

They threw bread and cake upon the water, and they all said, “The new one is the most beautiful of all. He’s so young and so lovely” The old swans bowed.

Then he felt very shy and hid his head under his wing. He did not know what this was all about. He felt so very happy, but he wasn’t at all proud. A good heart never grows proud. He thought about how unhappy he was when he was a duckling. And now they all called him the most beautiful of all beautiful birds. The sun was so warm. He held his neck high and he cried out loudly: “I never dreamed I could be so happy, when I was the ugly duckling[7 - I never dreamed I could be so happy, when I was the ugly duckling – О таком счастье я и не мечтал, когда был гадким утенком!]!”

The Well of the World’S End[8 - The Well of the World’s End – Колодец на краю света]

Once upon a time, there was a girl whose mother had died, and her father married again. Her stepmother hated her because she was more beautiful than herself, and she was very cruel to her. She used to make her do all the servant’s work. At last, one day, the stepmother thought to get rid of her[9 - the stepmother thought to get rid of her – мачеха задумала избавиться от нее.]. So she gave her a sieve and said to her: “Go, fill it at the Well of the World’s End and bring it home to me full.”

She thought the girl would not find the Well of the World’ s End. And if she did, how could she bring home a sieve full of water?

Well, the girl started her journey. She asked everyone she met to tell her where the Well of the World’s End was. But nobody knew, and she didn’t know what to do. One day a little old woman told her where it was. Finally she reached the Well of the World’s End. But when she dipped the sieve in the cold, cold water, it all ran out again. She tried and tried again. She sat down and cried as if her heart could break.

Suddenly she heard a croaking voice, and she looked up. She saw a great frog with large eyes looking at her and speaking to her.

“What’s the matter, girl?” it said.

“Oh, dear, oh dear,” she said, “my stepmother has sent me all this long way to fill this sieve with water from the Well of the World’s End, and I can’t fill it.”

“Well,” said the frog, “do whatever I ask you for a whole night long, I’ll tell you how to fill it.”

So the girl agreed, and the frog said:

“Stop it with moss and put some clay, And then it will carry the water away”; and then it jumped into the Well of the World’s End.

So the girl found some moss, and she put some clay. Then she dipped it once again into the Well of the World’s End. This time, the water didn’t run out, and she turned to go away.

Just then the frog popped up its head out of the Well of the World’s End, and said: “Remember your promise.”

“All right,” said the girl, “What can a frog do to me?”

So she went back to her stepmother, and brought the sieve full of water from the Well of the World’s End. The stepmother was angry, but she said nothing at all.

That very evening they heard something tap-tapping at the door low down, and a voice cried out:

“Open the door,
my heart,
Open the door,
my darling;
Mind you the words
that you and I spoke,