And so they did , all except the duckling , who was snapped at by everyone when they thought his mother was not looking . Even the turkey-cock , who was so big , never passed him without mocking words , and his brothers and sisters , who would not have noticed any difference unless it had been put into their heads , soon became as rude and unkind as the rest . At last he could bear it no longer , and one day he fancied he saw signs of his mother turning against him too ; so that night , when the ducks and hens were still asleep , he stole away through an open door , and under cover of the burdock leaves scrambled on by the bank of the canal , till he reached a wide grassy moor , full of soft marshy places where the reeds grew . Here he lay down , but he was too tired and too frightened to fall asleep , and with the earliest peep of the sun the reeds began to rustle , and he saw that he had blundered into a colony of wild ducks . But as he could not run away again he stood up and bowed politely . ` You are ugly , ' said the wild ducks , when they had looked him well over ; ` but , however , it is no business of ours , unless you wish to marry one of our daughters , and that we should not allow . ' And the duckling answered that he had no idea of marrying anybody , and wanted nothing but to be left alone after his long journey . So for two whole days he lay quietly among the reeds , eating such food as he could find , and drinking the water of the moorland pool , till he felt himself quite strong again . He wished he might stay were he was for ever , he was so comfortable and happy , away from everyone , with nobody to bite him and tell him how ugly he was . He was thinking these thoughts , when two young ganders caught sight of him as they were having their evening splash among the reeds , looking for their supper . ` We are getting tired of this moor , ' they said , ` and to-morrow we think of trying another , where the lakes are larger and the feeding better . Will you come with us ? ' ` Is it nicer than this ? ' asked the duckling doubtfully . And the words were hardly out of his mouth , when ` Pif ! pah ! ' and the two new-comers were stretched dead beside him . At the sound of the gun the wild ducks in the rushes flew into the air , and for a few minutes the firing continued . Luckily for himself the duckling could not fly , and he floundered along through the water till he could hide himself amidst some tall ferns which grew in a hollow . But before he got there he met a huge creature on four legs , which he afterwards knew to be a dog , who stood and gazed at him with a long red tongue hanging out of his mouth .
The duckling grew cold with terror , and tried to hide his head beneath his little wings ; but the dog snuffed XXXXX him and passed on , and he was able to reach his place of shelter . '
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