The Lame Duckling

Once upon a time, there lived an old man and an old woman, but they had no children. They were always sad about it, and one day the old man said to his wife:

"Let’s go, old woman, to the forest to pick mushrooms!" So they went. The old woman was gathering mushrooms when suddenly she noticed a nest in the bushes, and in the nest sat a little duck. The old woman said to her husband:

"Look, old man, what a beautiful little duck!"

The old man replied:

"Let’s take her home with us, let her live with us." They tried to take her, but noticed that her leg was broken. They carefully picked her up, brought her home, made a nest for her, lined it with feathers, placed the duck inside, and then went back to the forest to gather more mushrooms.

When they returned, they found that everything in their house had been tidied up, bread had been baked, and borscht had been cooked. They asked their neighbors:

"Who did this? Who did this?"

But no one knew anything.

The next day, the old man and woman went to the forest again. When they came back, they found dumplings cooked and a spindle with yarn sitting by the window. They asked their neighbors again:

"Did you see anyone?"

"Yes," the neighbors said, "we saw a young woman carrying water from the well. She was very beautiful, but she limped a little."

The old man and woman thought and thought: "Who could this be?" But they couldn’t figure it out. Then the old woman said to her husband:

"You know what, old man? Let’s do this: we’ll say we’re going to the forest for mushrooms, but instead, we’ll hide and see who’s bringing us water."

And so they did.

They hid behind the barn and suddenly saw a young woman with a yoke coming out of their house: such a beauty, such a beauty! But she limped a little. She went to the well, and the old man and woman sneaked into the house. They looked—the duck was gone from the nest, only feathers remained. They took the nest and threw it into the stove, where it burned to ashes.

Just then, the young woman returned with the water. She entered the house, saw the old man and woman, and immediately went to the nest—but the nest was gone. She began to cry bitterly. The old man and woman tried to comfort her:

"Don’t cry, little one! You’ll be like a daughter to us. We’ll love and care for you as if you were our own." But the young woman said:

"I would have stayed with you forever, if you hadn’t burned my nest and spied on me. But now," she said, "I don’t want to! Make me a spinning wheel and a spindle, and I’ll leave you."

The old man and woman wept and begged her to stay, but she refused.

So the old man made her a spinning wheel and a spindle. She sat in the yard and began to spin. Suddenly, a flock of ducklings flew by, saw her, and sang:

There’s our maiden,
There’s our Eva,
In the swept yard,
By the hewn post.
The spinning wheel hums,
The spindle rings.
Let’s give her a feather,
Let her fly with us!

But the young woman refused:

"I don’t want to go with you:

When I walked in the meadow,
I broke my leg,
You left me behind,
And flew on your way!"

They dropped a feather for her and flew away. Then another flock flew by and sang the same song:

There’s our maiden,
There’s our Eva,
In the swept yard,
By the hewn post.
The spinning wheel hums,
The spindle rings.
Let’s give her a feather,
Let her fly with us!

Again, she refused, and they flew away, leaving her a feather. Finally, a third flock flew by, saw her, and sang:

There’s our maiden,
There’s our Eva,
In the swept yard,
By the hewn post.
The spinning wheel hums,
The spindle rings.
Let’s give her a feather,
Let her fly with us!

They dropped a feather for her, and the young woman, now covered in feathers, turned into a duck and flew away with the flock. And the old man and woman were left alone again.

And that’s the end of the tale, and a string of bagels for you.

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The Lame Duckling

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