warm under their feathers. But the little drake could not go to sleep,
and as he lay there wide awake in the night he heard the witch come to
the door and say:

'Little ones, are you asleep?'

And the little drake answered for the other two:

'We cannot sleep, we wake and weep,
Sharp is the knife, to take our life;
The fire is hot, now boils the pot,
And so we wake, and lie and quake.'

'They are not asleep yet,' muttered the witch to herself; and she
walked up and down in the passage, and then came back to the door, and
said:

'Little ones, are you asleep?'

And again the little drake answered for his sisters:

'We cannot sleep, we wake and weep,
Sharp is the knife, to take our life;
The fire is hot, now boils the pot,
And so we wake, and lie and quake.'

'Just the same answer,' muttered the witch; 'I think I'll go in and
see.' So she opened the door gently, and seeing the two little
ducklings sound asleep, she there and then killed them.

The next morning the White Duck wandered round the pond in a
distracted manner, looking for her little ones; she called and she
searched, but could find no trace of them. And in her heart she had a
foreboding that evil had befallen them, and she fluttered up out of
the water and flew to the palace. And there, laid out on the marble
floor of the court, dead and stone cold, were her three children. The
White Duck threw herself upon them, and, covering up their little
bodies with her wings, she cried:

'Quack, quack--my little loves!
Quack, quack--my turtle-doves!
I brought you up with grief and pain,
And now before my eyes you're slain.
I gave you always of the best;
I kept you warm in my soft nest.
I loved and watched you day and night--
You were my joy, my one delight.'

[Illustration: The King Catches the White Duck]

The King heard the sad complaint of the White Duck, and called to the
witch: 'Wife, what a wonder is this? Listen to that White Duck.'

But the witch answered, 'My dear husband, what do you mean? There is
nothing wonderful in a duck's quacking. Here, servants! Chase that
duck out of the courtyard.' But though the servants chased and
chevied, they could not get rid of the duck; for she circled round and
round, and always came back to the spot where her children lay,
crying:

'Quack, quack--my little loves!
Quack, quack--my turtle-doves!