The Crooked Duckling

Once upon a time, there lived an old man and an old woman. They went to the forest to gather mushrooms and found a duck. But this duck was lame. They took it and brought it home.

The next day, they got up and went to the forest again for mushrooms, but before leaving, they made a little duck's nest out of feathers for her.
They left, and the duck turned into a girl, cleaned the house, fetched water, and baked pies.

When the old man and the old woman returned, they asked:
"Who cleaned everything up so nicely here?"
And the neighbors told them:
"There was a little lame girl fetching water at your place."

So the next day, the old man and the old woman left again but hid in the storeroom. The duck turned into a girl and went to fetch water. The old man and the old woman jumped out, grabbed her feathers, and threw them into the stove. The feathers all burned up.

Then the girl came back and started crying. She begged the old man and the old woman for a golden spinning wheel. She sat on the porch and began spinning flax. Then a flock of swan-geese flew by. She said:
"My dear geese, give me a feather each."

But they replied:
"Others are flying behind us, they’ll give you some."

Another flock of swan-geese flew by.
"My dear geese, give me a feather each."
"Others are flying behind us, they’ll give you some."

Then a lone goose flew by and dropped some feathers for her. She turned back into a duck and flew away.
The old man and the old woman cried and cried, but it was no use.

More fairy tales

• Animals in the Pit
• The Sun, the Moon, and Raven Voronovich
• Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf
• Three Rolls and One Bagel
• Little Khavroshechka