When all had been quiet for a long time, he marched on till he got to a small cottage. The duckling went in, and lay down under a chair. But no one seemed to see him or smell him; so he spent the rest of the night in peace.
Now in the cottage dwelt an old woman, her cat, and a hen. It was only next morning, when it grew light, that they noticed their visitor, who stood trembling before them, with his eye on the door ready to escape at any moment. They did not, however, appear very fierce, and the duckling became less afraid as they approached him.
'Can you lay eggs?' asked the hen. And the duckling answered meekly:
'No; I don't know how.' Upon which the hen turned her back, and the cat came forward.
'Can you ruffle your fur when you are angry, or purr when you are pleased?' said she. And again the duckling had to admit that he could do nothing but swim, which did not seem of much use to anybody.
So the duckling remained for three weeks, and shared the food of the cat and the hen; but when the sun came out, and the air grew soft, the duckling wanted to have a swim, so he left the cottage.
He could not help a thrill of joy when he was out in the air and water once more, and cared little for the rude glances of the creatures he met.
