to
be so different from the rest. Other birds might have thought that when
the duck went down in the morning and evening to the water to stretch
her legs in a good swim, some lazy mother might have been on the watch,
and have popped her egg into the nest. But ducks are not clever at all,
and are not quick at counting, so this duck did not worry herself about
the matter, but just took care that the big egg should be as warm as the
rest.

This was the first set of eggs that the duck had ever laid, and, to
begin with, she was very pleased and proud, and laughed at the other
mothers, who were always neglecting their duties to gossip with each
other or to take little extra swims besides the two in the morning and
evening that were necessary for health. But at length she grew tired of
sitting there all day. 'Surely eggs take longer hatching than they did,'
she said to herself; and she pined for a little amusement also. Still,
she knew that if she left her eggs and the ducklings in them to die none
of her friends would ever speak to her again; so there she stayed,
only getting off the eggs several times a day to see if the shells were
cracking--which may have been the very reason why they did not crack
sooner.

She had looked at the eggs at least a hundred and fifty times, when, to
her joy, she saw a tiny crack on two of them, and scrambling back to the
nest she drew the eggs closer the one to the other, and never moved for
the whole of that day. Next morning she was rewarded by noticing cracks
in the whole five eggs, and by midday two little yellow heads were
poking out from the shells. This encouraged her so much that, after
breaking the shells with her bill, so that the little creatures could
get free of them, she sat steadily for a whole night upon the nest, and
before the sun arose the five white eggs were empty, and ten pairs of
eyes were gazing out upon the green world.

Now the duck had been carefully brought up, and did not like dirt, and,
besides, broken shells are not at all comfortable things to sit or walk
upon; so she pushed the rest out over the side, and felt delighted to
have some company to talk to till the big egg hatched. But day after day
went on, and the big egg showed no signs of cracking, and the duck grew
more and more impatient, and began to wish to consult her husband, who
never came.

'I can't think what is the matter with it,' the duck grumbled to her
neighbour who had called in to pay her a v