But at length she grew tired of sitting there all day . ` Surely eggs take longer hatching than they did , ' she said to herself ; and she pined for a little amusement also . Still , she knew that if she left her eggs and the ducklings in them to die none of her friends would ever speak to her again ; so there she stayed , only getting off the eggs several times a day to see if the shells were cracking -- which may have been the very reason why they did not crack sooner . She had looked at the eggs at least a hundred and fifty times , when , to her joy , she saw a tiny crack on two of them , and scrambling back to the nest she drew the eggs closer the one to the other , and never moved for the whole of that day . Next morning she was rewarded by noticing cracks in the whole five eggs , and by midday two little yellow heads were poking out from the shells . This encouraged her so much that , after breaking the shells with her bill , so that the little creatures could get free of them , she sat steadily for a whole night upon the nest , and before the sun arose the five white eggs were empty , and ten pairs of eyes were gazing out upon the green world . Now the duck had been carefully brought up , and did not like dirt , and , besides , broken shells are not at all comfortable things to sit or walk upon ; so she pushed the rest out over the side , and felt delighted to have some company to talk to till the big egg hatched . But day after day went on , and the big egg showed no signs of cracking , and the duck grew more and more impatient , and began to wish to consult her husband , who never came . ' I ca n't think what is the matter with it , ' the duck grumbled to her neighbour who had called in to pay her a visit . ` Why I could have hatched two broods in the time that this one has taken ! ' ` Let me look at it , ' said the old neighbour . ` Ah , I thought so ; it is a turkey 's egg . Once , when I was young , they tricked me to sitting on a brood of turkey 's eggs myself , and when they were hatched the creatures were so stupid that nothing would make them learn to swim . I have no patience when I think of it . ' ` Well , I will give it another chance , ' sighed the duck , ` and if it does not come out of its shell in another twenty-four hours , I will just leave it alone and teach the rest of them to swim properly and to find their own food . I really ca n't be expected to do two things at once . ' And with a fluff of her feathers she pushed the egg into the middle of the nest . All through the next day she sat on , giving up even her morning bath for fear that a blast of cold might strike the big egg . In the evening , when she ventured to peep , she thought she saw a tiny crack in the upper part of the shell . Filled with hope , she went back to her duties , though she could hardly sleep all night for excitement .
When she woke XXXXX the first steaks of light she felt something stirring under her .
In after at for if over though through upon with