Page:Fairy tales and stories (Andersen, Tegner).djvu/283

Rh and clatter with his beak as if it were a rattle, and then he would tell them stories all about the swamps.

"Now you must learn to fly!" said Mother Stork one day; and so all the four young ones had to go out on the ridge of the roof. How they reeled! They had to balance themselves with their wings, and yet they were nearly falling down.



"Look at me!" said the mother. "This is the way to hold your head. And your feet this way. One, two! one, two! That's the way to help yourselves on in the world." And then she flew a little way. The young storks made a little clumsy jump, when—bump!—there they lay, for they were too heavy in the body.

"I don't want to fly," said one of the young storks, and crept back into the nest; "I don't care to go to the hot countries."

"Do you want to freeze to death here when the winter comes? Do