Page:Fairy tales and stories (Andersen, Tegner).djvu/284

252 you want the boys to come and hang you and spit you and roast you? I will just call them!"

"Oh, no!" said the young stork; and then he hopped out on the roof again to the others. On the third day they were able to fly a little, and then they thought they could also soar into the air, and this they tried to do, but — bump! — down they fell, and so they had to use their wings again. The boys down in the street began singing their song:

"Shall we fly down and peck their eyes out?" said the young storks.

"No, leave them alone," said the mother; "only listen to me — that's more important. One, two, three! Now to the left round the chimney. That was well done. The last stroke with the wings was done so beautifully and correctly that you shall have permission to come with me to the swamp to-morrow. There are several nice stork families coming there with their children. Let them see that mine are the nicest; so mind you hold yourselves erect; it looks well and commands respect."

"But are we not going to have our revenge on those naughty boys?" asked the young storks.

"Let them scream as much as they like. "you are going to fly up to the clouds, and will come to the land of the pyramids, while they have to remain here shivering, without seeing a green leaf or a sweet apple." "Yes, we will be revenged," they whispered to one another; and so they went on practicing.

Of all the boys in the street no one was more persistent in singing the mocking verse than the one who had begun it, and he was quite a little fellow, not more than six years old. The young stork thought of course he was a hundred years old, for he was so much bigger than their mother and father, and what did they know about children's ages and how big human beings can be?

All their revenge was to fall upon this boy; he had first begun it, and he was always going on with it. The young storks were very angry, and as they grew bigger they were less likely to tolerate it; their mother had at last to promise them that they should have their revenge, but not till the last day when they were leaving the country.

"We must see, first, how you get on at the great manoeuver. If you don't acquit yourselves well, the general will run you through with his beak, and then the boys will be right, after all, at least in one respect. Now let me see you try."

"That you shall!" said the young ones; and so they set to work with a good will and practiced every day till they could fly so nicely and lightly that it was a pleasure to look at them.

Then the autumn came. All the storks began to assemble before they flew away to the hot countries for the winter.