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he said. "Everything in it is so stupid."
The weather-cock was puffed up, and that quality would have madehim interesting in the eyes of the cucumber if it had known it, but ithad eyes only for the yard cock, who was now in the yard with it.
The wind had blown the planks, but the storm was over.
"What do you think of that crowing?" said the yard cock to thehens and chickens. "It was a little rough- it wanted elegance."
And the hens and chickens came up on the dung-hill, and the cockstrutted about like a lord.
"Garden plant!" he said to the cucumber, and in that one wordhis deep learning showed itself, and it forgot that he was peckingat her and eating it up. "A happy death!"
The hens and the chickens came, for where one runs the othersrun too; they clucked, and chirped, and looked at the cock, and wereproud that he was of their kind.
"Cock-a-doodle-doo!" he crowed, "the chickens will grow up intogreat hens at once, if I cry it out in the poultry-yard of the world!"
And hens and chicks clucked and chirped, and the cock announceda great piece of news.
"A cock can lay an egg! And do you know what's in that egg? Abasilisk. No one can stand the sight of such a thing; people knowthat, and now you know it too- you know what is in me, and what achampion of all cocks I am!"
With that the yard cock flapped his wings, made his comb swell up,and crowed again; and they all shuddered, the hens and the littlechicks- but they were very proud that one of their number was such achampion of all cocks. They clucked and chirped till theweather-cock heard; he heard it; but he did not stir.
"Everything is very stupid," the weather-cock said to himself."The yard cock lays no eggs, and I am too lazy to do so; if I liked, Icould lay a wind-egg. But the world is not worth even a wind-egg.Everything is so stupid! I don't want to sit here any longer."
With that the weather-cock broke off; but he did not kill the yardcock, although the hens said that had been his intention. And whatis the moral? "Better to crow than to be puffed up and break off!
THE END.
1872
FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN
THE FIR TREE
by Hans Christian Andersen
FAR down in the forest, where the warm sun and the fresh airmade a sweet resting-place, grew a pretty little fir-tree; and yetit was not happy, it wished so much to be tall like its companions-the pines and firs which grew around it. The sun shone, and the softair fluttered its leaves, and the little peasant children passed by,prattling merrily, but the fir-tree heeded them not. Sometimes thechildren would bring a large basket of raspberries or strawberries,wreathed on a straw, and seat themselves near the fir-tree, and say,"Is it not a pretty little tree?" which made it feel more unhappy thanbefore. And yet all this while the tree grew a notch or joint tallerevery year; for by the number of joints in the stem of a fir-tree wecan discover its age. Still, as it grew, it complained, "Oh! how Iwish I were as tall as the other trees, then I would spread out mybranches on every side, and my top would over-look the wide world. Ishould have the birds building their nests on my boughs, and whenthe wind blew, I should bow with stately dignity like my tallcompanions." The tree was so discontented, that it took no pleasure inthe warm sunshine, the birds, or the rosy clouds that floated overit morning and evening. Sometimes, in winter, when the snow laywhite and glittering on the ground, a hare would come springing along,and jump right over the little tree; and then how mortified it wouldfeel!
