The little ducks tried hard to make their small fat bodies copy the movements of their mother , and the old lady was quite pleased with them ; but the rest of the ducks looked on discontentedly , and said to each other : ` Oh , dear me , here are ever so many more ! The yard is full already ; and did you ever see anything quite as ugly as that great tall creature ? He is a disgrace to any brood . I shall go and chase him out ! ' So saying she put up her feathers , and running to the big duckling bit his neck . The duckling gave a loud quack ; it was the first time he had felt any pain , and at the sound his mother turned quickly . ` Leave him alone , ' she said fiercely , ` or I will send for his father . He was not troubling you . ' ` No ; but he is so ugly and awkward no one can put up with him , ' answered the stranger . And though the duckling did not understand the meaning of the words , he felt he was being blamed , and became more uncomfortable still when the old Spanish duck who ruled the fowlyard struck in : ` It certainly is a great pity he is so different from these beautiful darlings . If he could only be hatched over again ! ' The poor little fellow drooped his head , and did not know where to look , but was comforted when his mother answered : ` He may not be quite as handsome as the others , but he swims better , and is very strong ; I am sure he will make his way in the world as well as anybody . ' ` Well , you must feel quite at home here , ' said the old duck waddling off . 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 XXXXX 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 .
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