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| RUŽNO PAČE | THE UGLY DUCKLING |
| Divno je bilo u polju: ljeto u punom jeku, pšenica se zlati, zob zeleni, sijeno po zelenim livadama splašteno u stogove, a roda korača na svojim dugačkim crvenim nogama i nešto gunđa egipatskim jezikom koji je naučila od majke. Oko njiva i livada prostiru se velike šume, a u šumama svjetlucaju duboka jezera. Zaista, divno je bilo u polju. Na sunčanoj poljani nalazio se stari zamak opasan dubokim vodojažama. Od njegovih zidina pa sve do vodojaža porasla je tako bujna i visoka loboda da se iz nje ni dječak ne bi vidio. U tom gustom čestaru u svom gnijezdu sjedila je jedna patka. Njoj je već dosadilo da sjedi tako dugo, jer joj niko nije dolazio – sve ostale patke su više voljele da plivaju po vodojažama nego da sjede pod lobodom i s njom trabunjaju. | IT WAS SO LOVELY out in the country. It was summer. The wheat was yellow. The oats were green. The hay was up on haystacks down in the green meadows, and the stork walked there on his long red legs speaking Egyptian, a language he had learned from his mother. Around the fields and meadows there were big forests, and in the middle of the forests, deep lakes. Oh yes, it was really lovely there in the country. There was an old estate lying there in the bright sunshine. It had deep canals around it, and from the walls and down to the water big dock plants were growing, so tall that small children could stand upright under the largest of them. It was as overgrown in there as in the densest forest, and there was a duck there sitting on her nest. She was going to hatch her little ducklings, but she was getting tired of it because it took so long, and she rarely had company. The other ducks would rather swim in the canals than run up and sit under a dock leaf to yak and quack with her. |
| Najzad se u jajima začulo kljuvanje i tanko "piju-piju", oživjela su žumanca, ljuske su počele da pucaju i iz njih su pačići počeli promaljati svoje glavice. | Finally one egg after another cracked. “Peep! Peep!” they said. All the egg yolks had become living and stuck their heads out. |
| – Kva-kva! Brže-brže! – požurivala ih je patka. Iskobeljavši se iz ljuski što su brže mogli, pačići se počeše ogledati na sve strane pod tom kupolom od zelenog lišća. Mati ih je pustila da razgledaju koliko hoće, jer je zelenilo prijatno za oči. | “Quack! Quack! Quick!” she said, and they all quickly hurried the best they could and looked all around under the green leaves. Their mother let them look around as much as they wanted because green is good for the eyes. |
| – O, koliki je svijet! – čudili su se pačići, jer su sada zaista imali mnogo više mjesta nego kad su u jajima ležali. | “How big the world is!” all the ducklings said because they had quite a different amount of room now than when they were in the egg. |
| – Vi mislite da je to čitav svijet? – dočekala je patka. – Svijet se prostire daleko s one strane vrta, sve do župnikove njive, ali ja tamo još nikada nisam bila... Eto, sad ste se valjda svi izlegli – rekla je patka i pogledala. – Ne, nisu svi. Najveće jaje još je čitavo. Pa koliko ću još čekati? Već mi je dojadilo! – rekla je patka i opet sjela. | “Do you think this is the whole world?” asked their mother. “It stretches way down on the other side of the garden, right into the minister’s field! But I’ve never been there. You’re all here, aren’t you?” And she got up. “No, I don’t have all! The biggest egg is still lying there. How long is this going to take? I’m getting tired of this!” And she lay down again. |
| – Pa, kako je, kako? – zabrzala je njena stara prijateljica dolazeći joj u posjetu. | “How’s it going?” asked an old duck who came to visit. |
| – Ah, s jednim jajetom se nekako oteglo! – požalila joj se domaćica. – Nikako da se izleže pače. A pogledaj samo ove! Na svijetu ih nema ljepših! Svi liče na oca, na onog mangupa što ne dolazi ni da me vidi. | “The one egg is taking much too long,” said the duck who was lying there. “It won’t hatch! But look at the others! They’re the most beautiful ducklings I’ve seen. They all look like their father, that beast! He hasn’t come to visit me.” |
| – Daj da vidim to jaje što neće da se otvori – rekla je njena stara prijateljica. – Vjeruj mi to je tučje jaje. I meni su tako jednom podvalili, pa sam s mladuncima muku mučila: boje se vode ko ničega! Vikala sam na njih, prijetila, ali sve uzalud. Daj da vidim to jaje! E, rekla sam ja, to je tučje jaje! Bolje će biti, ostavi ti njega i hajde uči pačiće da plivaju! | “Let me see the egg that won’t hatch,” said the old duck. “You can be sure it’s a turkey egg. I was fooled like that one time too, and I had a lot of trouble and care with those children because they’re afraid of water, let me tell you. I couldn’t get them in. I quacked and snapped, but it didn’t help! Let me see the egg. Yes, it’s a turkey egg. Just leave it lying there and go teach the others to swim.” |
| – A neka, još ću malo pasjediti – rekla je domaćica. – Kad sam već toliko sjedila, posjediću još malo. | “I’ll just sit here a little bit longer,” said the duck. “Since I’ve sat here this long, I can just as well sit a little longer.” |
| – Kako hoćeš – otegla je stara patka i odgegala prema vodi. | “Suit yourself,” said the old duck, and she left. |
| Najzad se raspuklo i veliko jaje. "Piju-piju!" zapijuckalo je mladunče i iskobeljalo se iz ljuske. Bilo je to neobično veliko i ružno pače. Patka ga pogleda i pomisli: Nekako nakaradno veliko. Nijedno mi nije takvo. Nije valjda tuče? Ali i to ćemo mi brzo vidjeti. Moraće u vodu, makar ga gurala! | Finally the big egg cracked. “Peep, peep!” said the chick and tumbled out. He was so big and ugly. The duck looked at him. “That is one big duckling!” she said. “None of the others look like that. Can it be that it’s a turkey chick? Well, we’ll soon find out about that. He’s going in the water if I have to kick him in myself!” |
| Ujutro je osvanuo divan dan. Sunce je mamilo između gustih listova lobode i majka zajedno sa svojim pačićima krenu na vodojaže. Dođe do vode i skoči. Kva-kva – dozivala je mati pačiće i oni su sve jedno za drugim počeli skakati u vodu. Kako koje pače skoči tako i potone, ali odmah spretno izroni i počne da pliva tako da ga je milina pogledati. Nožice su im same od sebe veslale. Svi su sada plivali, plivalo je čak i ono ružno pače. | The next day the weather was lovely. The sun was shining on all the green burdock leaves. The mother duck with her whole family went down by the canal. Splash! She jumped into the water. “Quack, quack, quick” she said, and one duck after another plopped in. The water covered their heads, but they came up right away and floated very nicely. Their legs paddled instinctively, and they were all in the water, even the ugly gray chick was swimming along. |
| "Ne, neće biti da je tuče!" – razmišljala je majka. – Gledaj samo kako lijepo vesla nožicama i kako se uspravno drži! To je moje rođeno pače. A ako ga malo bolje pogledaš nije ni tako ružno." – Kva-kva! – povika pačićima. – Plivajte za mnom, povešću vas u svijet da vas pokažem pačjem sastajalištu. Samo se držite uza me da vas štogod ne zgazi. I dobro se čuvajte mačke! | “No, that’s no turkey,” she said. “Look how nicely he uses his feet, how straight he holds himself. It’s my own child! In reality he’s really quite attractive when you look closely at him. Quack, quack, quick! Come with me, and I’ll take you into the world and introduce you in the hen yard, but stay close to me so no one steps on you and watch out for the cats.” |
| I tako stigoše na pačje sastajalište. Tamo je vladala nečuvena graja. Dvije porodice su se tukle oko jedne jeguljine glave sve dok tu glavu nije ugrabila neka mačka. | They went into the hen yard. It was terribly noisy there because there were two families fighting over an eel head, but in the end the cat got it. |
| – Eto, vidite, tako vam je na svijetu! – rekla je patka i obliznula kljun, jer i njoj se htjelo jeguljine glave. – A sad požurite da se poklonite onoj staroj patki. Ona je ovdje najotmjenija. U njezinim žilama teče prava španska krv, zato je tako i debela. Kao što vidite, ona oko noge ima crvenu traku. To je nešto izvanredno lijepo i znači najveće odlikovanje što ga jedna patka može dobiti. Ono znači da je čuvaju i da po tome treba da je raspoznaju i ljudi i životinje. Idite lijepo i ne okrećite noge unutra. Dobro vaspitani pačići drže rastavljene noge, kao i njihov otac i mati! A sada prignite vratove i recite: kva! | “See, that’s the way of the world,” said the mother duck and licked her beak because she had also wanted the eel head. “Now shake a leg,” she said. “Hurry over and curtsey deeply to that old duck over there. She is the most distinguished of them all. She has Spanish blood. That’s why she’s so stout, and notice that she has a red cloth around her leg. That’s extremely wonderful, and the greatest recognition a duck can have. It means so much. It means they’ll never get rid of her, and she’ll be recognized by animals and people—Hurry up!—Not pigeon-toed! A properly raised duckling places his feet far apart, like father and mother. All right, now duck from the neck and say ‘Quack!’” |
| Tako njeni pačići i učiniše, ali patke što su ih posmatrale glasno zakvakaše: – Kva-kva, šta će nam to društvo! Kao da nas ionako nema dosta! Ih, kako samo izgleda ono pače! Ne treba nam ono ovdje! Istog trenutka zaletje se jedan patak i ujede pače za vrat. | And so they did, but the other ducks around looked at them and said quite loudly, “So, now we’ll have another set, as if there weren’t enough of us already! And ugh, how ugly that one duckling is! We won’t tolerate him!”—And right away a duck flew over to him and bit him in the neck. |
| – Ne diraj ga! – povika majka. – Ono nikome ne smeta! | “Leave him alone,” his mother said. “He’s not doing anything to anyone.” |
| – Ali ono je nezgrapno i čudnovato – dočeka patak što ga je ujeo. – Zato ga treba malo udesiti. | “No, but he’s too big and too odd,” said the duck who had bitten him. “So he has to be bullied.” |
| – Lijepa su to djeca u svoje majke! – javila se stara patka sa trakom oko noge. – Sva su lijepa, osim onog jednog. Dobro bi bilo kad bi se ono ponovo izleglo! | “Those are lovely children mother has,” said the old duck with the cloth around her leg. “All pretty, except that one, who isn’t a success. I would wish she could make it over again.” |
| – Ali to se ne može, milostiva! – rekla je majka. – Istina je, nije lijepo, ali je plemenito a i pliva kao i svako drugo, pa čak i nešto bolje. Kad poraste, valjda će biti ljepše i neće biti previše krupno. Predugo je ležalo u jajetu i zato zasada ne izgleda lijepo. – I majka ga kljunom pomilova po zatiljku i dodade. – Osim toga, muško je, pa mu taj izgled i ne smeta mnogo! Sakupiće ono već dosta snage da se probije u život! | “It can’t be done, Your Highness,” said the mother duck. “He isn’t attractive, but he has a wonderful disposition and swims as beautifully as the others, maybe even better. I think he’ll grow more attractive, or maybe with time he’ll get a little smaller. He was in the egg too long, and so he didn’t get the correct shape.” Then she picked at his neck and smoothed him out. “And he’s a drake after all,” she said, “so it doesn’t matter so much. I think he’ll be strong and make a splash in the world.” |
| – A ostali pačići su zaista lijepi – rekla je stara patka. – Budite dobri i ponašajte se kao kod svoje kuće – rekla je pačićima. – A ako nađete neku jeguljinu glavu, donesite mi je. | “The other ducklings are lovely,” said the old duck. “Make yourselves at home, and if you find an eel head, you may bring it to me!” |
| I pačići su se zaista ponašali kao kod svoje kuće. | And they made themselves at home. |
| Ali ono jadno pače što se posljednje izleglo i bilo onako ružno, ujedale su, kljucale i zadirkivale ne samo patke nego i kokoši. – Nezgrapno je! – govorili su svi, a jedan ćuran što je s mamuzama došao na svijet i zato se smatrao carem, šepurio se kao neka jedrilica sa punim jedrima i, sav zajapuren, pošao je pravo na to jadno pače. Siroto pače više nije znalo kuda će. Bilo je žalosno što je tako ružno i što mu se čitavo pačje sastajalište ruga. | But the poor duckling who had been last out of the egg and who looked so dreadful was bitten, pushed, and made fun of, by both the ducks and the chickens. “He’s too big,” they all said, and the turkey rooster, who was born with spurs and thought he was an emperor, blew himself up like a clipper ship under full sail, went right up to him, gobbled at him, and turned red in the face. The poor duckling didn’t know whether he was coming or going, and was very sad because he was so ugly. Indeed, he was the laughing stock of the entire hen yard. |
| Tako je prošao već prvi dan, a kasnije je bilo sve gore i gore. Svi su proganjali to jadno pače. Pa i njegova rođena braća i sestre bili su grubi prema njemu i stalno su govorili: – Nakazo jedna, da ti hoće mačak vratom zavrnuti! Čak i mati mu je jednom rekla: – Dabogda te moje oči ne gledale: Patke su ga ujedale, kokoši kljucale, a djevojka što je hranila živinu nogom ga je udarala i gonila. | That’s how it went the first day, and later it became worse and worse. The poor duckling was chased by all of them. Even his siblings were mean to him and said continually, “if only the cat would take you, you nasty fright!” and his mother said, “I just wish you were far away.” The ducks bit him, the chickens pecked him, and the girl who fed the animals kicked at him with her foot. |
| To je jadnom pačetu toliko dozlogrdilo da je jednog dana preskočilo ogradu i pobjeglo. Male ptice u grmlju su se preplašile i razletjele na sve strane. "Pobjegle su zato što sam tako ružan!" – pomislilo je pače i zatvorilo oči. Bježalo je sve dalje dok nije stiglo do močvare gdje su živjele divlje patke. Tu je umorno i tužno pače preležalo čitavu noć. | Then he ran and flew over the hedge. The small birds in the bushes flew up in the air in fright. “It’s because I’m so ugly,” thought the duckling and closed his eyes, but he ran off anyway and came out to the big marshes where the wild ducks lived. He lay there the whole night, tired and sorrowful. |
| Kad su se ujutro digle divlje patke, ugledale su svog novog susjeda. – Ko si ti, odakle si? – pitale su ga one, a pače se okretalo na sve strane i pozdravljalo ih kako je najbolje znalo i umjelo. | In the morning the wild ducks flew up and looked at the new comrade. “What kind of a fellow are you?” they said, and the duckling turned from side to side and greeted everyone as best he could. |
| – Baš si ružan! – rekle su mu patke. – Ali nama to ne smeta, samo da se ne ženiš od nas! Jadno pače! Ono nije ni pomišljalo na ženidbu. Priželjkivalo je samo da ga puste da leži u trski i da pije vodu iz močvare. | “You’re remarkably ugly,” said the wild ducks, “but it doesn’t matter to us, as long as you don’t marry into our family.”—Poor thing! He wasn’t thinking of getting married, only hoped he would be allowed to lie in the rushes and drink some of the marsh water. |
| Tu je pače proležalo čitava dva dana, a onda su došle dvije guske, ili bolje rečeno, dva divlja guska. Još su bili vrlo mladi, pa su bili i vrlo drski. | He lay there for two whole days. Then two wild geese came, or rather two ganders, for they were both males, and they hadn’t been out of the egg for long, and that’s why they were so fresh. |
| – Slušaj prijane! – rekli su mu oni. – Strašno si ružan, ali nam se sviđaš. Hoćeš li s nama, pa da budeš ptica selica? Odmah tu, u susjednoj močvari, ima nekoliko ljepotica divljih gusaka, sve samih djevojaka! Divno gaču "ga-ga-ga!" Kod njih možeš imati uspjeha iako si tako ružan! | “Hey fellow,” they said. “You’re so ugly that you’re likable. Would you like to come along and migrate with us? Right near here in another bog are some sweet wild geese—all of them maidens who know how to quack, I tell you. You could get lucky, even as ugly as you are!” |
| Fiju! Fiju! – tog trenutka dva metka fijuknuše iz lovačke puške, oba gusana padoše mrtva u ševar i voda se oboji njihovom krvlju. Fiju! – ponovo se razliježe pucanj i čitavo jato divljih gusaka se diže iz trske. Sada poče pucnjava za njima. To je počinjao veliki lov. Lovci su polegli oko močvare, a neki su se popeli i na drveće čije su grane padale na ševar. Plavičasti dim poput oblaka provlačio se između tamnog drveća i dugo se rasplinjavao iznad močvare, a lovački psi su kroz šaš i trsku jurili preko te močvare. Kako se samo uplašilo jadno pače! Zakrenulo je glavu da je sakrije pod krilo, ali u tom trenutku pred njim se pojavila strašna psina, isplazila jezičinu, a oči sijevaju. Psina iskezila zube, gotovo njuškom da ga takne, ali ga ne taknu, nego ode kako je i došla. | Just then there was a “bang! bang!” up above, and both wild geese fell dead into the rushes, and the water turned blood red. “Bang! bang!” sounded again, and whole flocks of wild geese flew up from the rushes, and then there was more firing. It was a big hunt. The hunters were lying all around the marshes. Some were even sitting up in the tree branches that reached way out over the rushes. The blue smoke drifted like clouds in between the dark trees and hung far out over the water. Through the mud came the hunting dogs: splash, splash. Rushes and reeds swayed from side to side. It was fright ful for the poor duckling who turned his head around to hide it under his wing, and just then a dreadfully big dog was right by him. The tongue was hanging out of its mouth, and the eyes were shining so terribly nastily. He brought his mouth right down to the duckling, showed his sharp teeth and—splash! splash! He was gone again without taking him. |
| – Oh, hvala bogu! – odahnu pače. – Toliko sam ružan da ni pas neće da me ugrize. | “Oh, thank God,” sighed the duckling. “I’m so ugly that even the dog can’t be bothered to bite me.” |
| I tako je pače ostalo na miru. Ono se šćućurilo, a oko njega su odjekivali pucnji sve jedan za drugim. | And he lay perfectly still as the bullets whistled in the rushes, and shot after shot rang out. |
| Tek pri kraju dana nastala je tišina, ali se jadno pače nije usuđivalo ni da se pomakne. Pače je još nekoliko sati tako pritajeno čekalo, a onda je pogledalo oko sebe i najednom potrčalo što ga noge nose. Duvao je vjetar i pače je jedva batrgalo preko njiva i livada. | Not until late in the day was it quiet, but the poor duckling didn’t dare get up. He waited several more hours before he looked around, and then he hurried away from the marsh as fast as he could. He ran over fields and meadows. It was so windy that it was hard for him to keep going. |
| U kasno predvečerje pače je nekako stiglo do jedne bijedne seljačke kućice, koja je bila tako trošna da ni sama nije znala na koju će se stranu srušiti. A vjetar je duvao sve jače i jače, i jadno pače je moralo da sjedne da ga vjetar ne bi odnio. Najednom pače opazi da su vrata na kući bila tako nakrivljena da bi se moglo uvući u kuću. | Towards evening he reached a humble little farmer’s hut. It was so run down that it didn’t know itself on which side to collapse so it remained standing. The wind was blowing so hard around the duckling that he had to sit on his tail to avoid blowing over, and it got worse and worse. Then he noticed that the door was hanging on one hinge and was hanging so crookedly that he could slip through the crack into the room, and that’s what he did. |
| A u toj kući je živjela jedna starica sa mačkom i kokoškom. Taj mačak, što ga je starica zvala Sinčićem, umio je da izvija leđima i da prede, umio je čak i iskre da baca ako ga neko u mraku uz dlaku gladi. Kokoška je imala vrlo male i kratke noge i zato su je zvali Kratkonoga. Dobro je nosila i starica ju je voljela kao rođeno dijete. | An old woman lived there with her cat and her hen, and the cat, whom she called Sonny, could arch his back and purr. He could even give off sparks if you petted him against the grain. The hen had quite small, low legs, and so she was called Cluckie-LittleLeg. She laid good eggs, and the woman was as fond of her as of her own child. |
| Odmah ujutro su primijetili strano pače i mačak je počeo da frče a kokoška da kakoće. | In the morning they noticed the foreign duckling at once, and the cat started to purr, and the hen to cluck. |
| – Šta je ovo? – začudila se starica i pogledala oko sebe, ali kako je slabo vidjela, učini joj se da je pače bilo neka ugojena patka što je ovamo zalutala, pa uzviknu: – Gle ti lijepe lovine! Sad ću imati i pačjih jaja! Samo da nije patak? To ćemo mi već vidjeti! | “What’s this?!” said the woman and looked all around, but she didn’t see very well, and so she thought the duckling was a fat run-away duck. “This is a rare find,” she said. “Now I can have duck eggs, as long as it’s not a drake. We’ll have to find out.” |
| I starica odluči da sačeka tri sedmice – za to vrijeme će vidjeti hoće li pače pronijeti. Tri sedmice su prošle, ali jaja ni za lijeka. Mačak je bio gospodar u kući, a kokoš gospodarica. Stalno su govorili: "Mi i svijet!", jer su smatrali da oni predstavljaju polovinu svijeta, i to onu bolju. Pače je smatralo da se i drukčije može gledati na te stvari, ali kokoška nije trpjela njegovo mudrovanje. | So the duckling was put on a three week trial, but no eggs appeared. The cat was the head of the household, and the hen was the mistress, and they said all the time, “We and the world” because they thought that they were half of it, and that the best half. The duckling thought there might be another opinion, but the hen wouldn’t tolerate that. |
| – Možeš li ti da nosiš jaja? – pitala ga ona. | “Can you lay eggs?” she asked. |
| Ne mogu... | “No.” |
| – E, onda ne otvaraj svoj kljun! | “Well then, keep your mouth shut.” |
| A mačak ga je pitao: – A umiješ li ti da izvijaš leđima? Umiješ li da predeš i da dlakom iskre bacaš? | And the cat said, “Can you arch your back, purr, and give off sparks?” |
| – Ne umijem. | “No.” |
| – E, onda se ne uplići kad pametniji govore! | “Well then you can’t have an opinion when sensible people are talking.” |
| Snuždeno i ojađeno, pače se povuklo u ćošak i počelo da mašta o svježem vazduhu i toplom suncu. I najednom ga obuzela neodoljiva želja da zapliva. Nije moglo izdržati a da to ne kaže i kokoški. | And the duckling sat in the corner in a bad mood. He started thinking about the fresh air and sunshine and had such a great longing to float on the water. At last he couldn’t help it, he had to tell the hen. |
| – Šta ti je u glavu došlo! – dočekala je ona. – Nemaš prečeg posla, pa ti gluposti u glavu dolaze. Bolje bi ti bilo da nosiš jaja ili da predeš, onda ne bi ludovao. | “What’s the matter with you?” she asked. “You don’t have anything to do, that’s why you get these wild ideas. Lay eggs or purr, and it’ll pass.” |
| – Ah, a tako je divno plivati po vodi! – uzdahnulo je pače. – Nema ništa ljepše nego kada zaroniš i glavom do dna dođeš! | “But it’s so lovely to float on the water,” said the duckling. “So lovely to have it wash over your head and dive down to the bottom.” |
| – Čudna mi zadovoljstva! – nasmija se kokoš. – Ti si pošašavio. Mačak je najpametnije stvorenje koje znam, pa njega upitaj da li on voli da pliva i da roni! A o sebi neću ni da govorim! A pitaj i našu staru gazdaricu, od nje na svijetu pametnije nema! Pitaj je da li bi ona htjela da pliva i da tone na dno! | “Sure, that’s a great pleasure,” said the hen. “You’ve gone completely crazy! Just ask the cat—he’s the wisest one I know—if he likes floating on the water or diving. I won’t speak about myself. Ask our mistress, the old woman. No one in the world is wiser than she is. Do you think she wants to float and have water gush over her head?” |
| – Vi mene ne razumijete! – reklo je pače. | “You don’t understand me!” said the duckling. |
| – Ako te mi ne razumijemo, ko će te onda razumjeti? Ne misliš valjda da si pametniji i od mačka i naše gazdarice, a o sebi da i ne govorim. Ne diži nos, drago dijete, radije zahvali stvoritelju na svemu dobru kojim si nagrađen. Zar nisi došao u toplu sobu i društvo od kojeg možeš nešto naučiti? Ali ti si obično blebetalo i nije nimalo prijatno s tobom prijateljevati! Ja ti želim samo dobro, zato ti i govorim neugodne stvari. Po tome se i poznaje pravi prijatelj. Zato ti kažem: gledaj ti da što prije naučiš nositi jaja i da se naučiš presti i bacati iskre. | “Well, if we don’t understand you, who would? You’ll certainly never be wiser than the cat or the woman, not to mention me! Don’t make a fuss, child! And thank your creator for all the good that’s been done for you. Haven’t you come to a warm house and companions you can learn from? But you’re a fool, and it isn’t fun to hang around with you. Believe me, it’s for your own good that I tell you these unpleasant things, and it’s how you can tell your true friends. Just take care to lay eggs, or learn to purr or give off sparks!” |
| – A meni se čini da ću ja morati u široki svijet! – odgovorilo je pače. | “I believe I’ll go into the wide world,” said the duckling. |
| – E, onda sretan ti put! – dočekala je kokoška. | “Yes, you just do that,” said the hen. |
| I pače je zaista otišlo. Ono je plivalo i ronilo, ali su ga zbog njegove ružnoće sve životinje poprijeko gledale. | And so the duckling went. He floated on the water, and dove into it, but all the animals shunned him because of his ugliness. |
| Tako je i jesen došla. Lišće u šumi je požutjelo, potamnjelo i opalo. Vjetar se poigravao s opalim lišćem, a u vazduhu se već osjećala zima – već su se nadvili tmasti oblaci puni kiše i snijega, a na ogradi je stajao gavran i od hladnoće graktao: "Gra-gra!" Jeza je hvatala pri samoj pomisli na zimu. Za jadno pače su se približavali crni dani! | Then autumn came. The leaves in the woods turned yellow and brown. The wind picked them up so they danced around, and the air looked cold. The clouds were heavy with hail and snowflakes, and on the fence the raven sat and cried, “Ow! Ow!” from the cold. You could really freeze if you thought about it, and the poor duckling truly was having a hard time. |
| Jedne večeri kad je već sunce zalazilo, iza grmlja se u rumenilu sunca pojavilo čitavo jato divnih velikih ptica. Takve divote pače još nikada nije vidjelo. Te ptice sa dugačkim i vitkim vratovima bile su veličanstvene u sjaju svoje nježne bjeline. To su bili labudovi koji su, klikćući i šireći dugačka krila, letjeli iz tih hladnih krajeva u južne predjele gdje se vode ne smrzavaju. Labudovi su letjeli visoko, visoko i malo pače je obuzeo neki čudan osjećaj. Ono se na vodi okretalo poput nekog točka, a onda je najednom isteglo vrat i podiglo glavu koliko je moglo i pustilo tako snažan i prodoran krik da se i samo od njega uplašilo. | One evening when there was a lovely sunset, a whole flock of beautiful big birds came out of the bushes. The duckling had never seen any more lovely. They were a quite shiny white with long supple necks. They were swans, and they uttered some really astonishing sounds, spread out their wide magnif icent wings, and flew away from the cold climes to warmer lands, to open waters. They rose so high, so high, and the little ugly duckling became so strangely happy. He turned around in the water like a wheel, stretched his neck high up in the air towards them, and uttered a cry so loud and strange that it frightened him when he heard it. |
| Pače nikako nije moglo da odvoji pogled od tih divnih i sretnih ptica. A kada su one potpuno nestale iz njegovog vidokruga, pače je ponovo zaronilo na dno, a kada je opet izronilo iz vode, ono je bilo kao izvan sebe. Ono nije znalo ni kako se te ptice zovu, ni kuda lete, ali je osjećalo da ih je zavoljelo kako ništa dosad nije voljelo. Međutim pače im nije zavidjelo – ta kako bi ono moglo poželjeti da bude onako lijepo! Ono bi bilo presretno kada bi ga bar patke primile u svoju sredinu. Jadno ružno pače! | Oh, he couldn’t forget the beautiful birds—the happy birds—and as soon as they were out of sight, he dove straight to the bottom. When he came up again, he was quite beside himself. He didn’t know what the birds were called, nor where they were going, but still he loved them as he had never loved anyone. He didn’t envy them. How could it occur to him to wish for such beauty? He would have been happy if only the ducks would have accepted him amongst them—the poor ugly animal! |
| A zima je bila hladna, tako hladna! Pače je moralo stalno plivati da se voda ne bi zaledila, ali se otvor u kojem je pače plivalo ipak iz noći u noć smanjivao. Pače je moralo svom snagom veslati svojim nožicama da bi spriječilo potpuno zamrzavanje vode, ali je najzad sasvim malaksalo, zastalo je i zamrzlo se u novoj kori leda. | And the winter was cold, so cold. The duckling had to swim around in the water to keep it from freezing solid, but every night the hole where he was swimming got smaller and smaller. The ice froze so it cracked. The duckling had to keep moving his legs to keep the ice from closing in. Finally he weakened, lay quite still, and froze into the ice. |
| Ujutro je naišao neki seljak, pa kada vidje šta se dogodilo, on razbi led svojom desnom klompom i odnese pače svojoj ženi. U njihovoj kući pače je opet oživjelo. | Early in the morning a farmer came by, saw him, went out and kicked the ice in pieces with his wooden shoe, and carried him home to his wife where the duckling revived. |
| Njihova djeca su htjela da se igraju s njim, ali ono je pomislilo da i ona hoće da mu nešto napakoste, pa se dalo u bijeg. Bježeći od njih, palo je u vedricu i tako čitavu prostoriju poprskalo mlijekom. Žena zavika, poče da lomi rukama, i pače u strahu upade u stap sa maslom, pa zatim u naćve pune brašna i tek onda se, onako brašnjavo, nekako nađe na podu. Istom sada nasta prava gužva. Žena nadiže graju i baci za njim mašice, a djeca uza smijeh i viku potekoše da ga hvataju. Sva sreća pa su vrata bila otvorena, te pače pobježe napolje, zavuče se pod grm i iznemoglo klonu u svježi snijeg. | The children wanted to play with him, but the duckling thought they wanted to hurt him and flew in fright right up into the milk bowl so the milk splashed out into the room. The woman screamed and threw up her arms, and then he flew into the trough where the butter was and then down into the flour barrel and up again. What a sight he was! And the woman screamed and hit at him with the bellows, and the children ran here and there trying to catch the duckling, laughing and shrieking! Luckily the door stood open; out he flew through the bushes to the newly fallen snow, and there he lay in a swoon. |
| I suviše bi bilo tužno kada bi pričali sve nevolje koje je pače prepatilo tokom duge zime. Ležalo je u maloj bari među trskama sve dok nije dugo očekivano sunce opet zasjalo i ogrijalo. A onda su i ševe zapjevale i nastalo je divno proljeće. | But it would be far too sad to tell all the suffering and misery he had to endure during that hard winter. When the sun started to warm up again, he was lying in the rushes between the reeds. The larks were singing, and it was spring, lovely springtime. |
| Jednog dana pače uzmahnu krilima, a ona, sada ojačala, zašuštaše jače nego ikada ranije i pače se vinu uvis. Pače još nije ni došlo k sebi od uzbuđenja, a već se našlo u nekom vrtu gdje su jabuke cvjetale i opajao miris jorgovana što se svojim granama nadnio nad vodu dubokog kanala. O, kako je to sve bilo divno! Kako je opajao dah proljeća! Šušteći krilima i lagano klizeći po vodi, najednom su se iza žbunja pojavila tri bijela labuda. Pače je već vidjelo takve ptice, ali sada, kada ih ugleda tu pred sobom, obuze ga neizdrživa tuga i ono uzdahnu: | Then he lifted his wings all at once. They were stronger than before and carried him powerfully away, and before he knew it, he was in a big garden where apple trees were blooming, and where the lilacs smelled sweet and hung on long green branches right down towards the meandering canals. Oh, it was lovely there, so fresh and newly green, and right in front of him out of the thicket came three lovely white swans. They ruffled up their feathers and floated so lightly on the water. The duckling recognized the magnificent animals and was filled with a strange melancholy. |
| – Poletjeću u susret tim kraljevskim pticama! Znam, ubiće me što se ovako ružan usuđujem da im se približim. Ali neka! Bolje je da me oni ubiju nego da me patke grizu, kokoši kljucaju i ona djevojka na dvorištu nogama ćuška. Bolje mi je da umrem tako nego da skapavam na zimi! I pače prhnu u vodu i zapliva prema divnim labudovima, a kada ga labudovi ugledaše, oni uzdignutih krila poletješe prema njemu. – Evo, ubijte me! – promuca jadno pače i nakloni glavu prema vodi da tako dočeka svoju smrt. Ali šta je to? Na glatkoj vodenoj površini vidi sebe! To više nije bilo ono nezgrapno, sivo i ružno pače, nego pravi pravcati labud! | “I’ll fly over to them, those regal animals, and they’ll peck me to death because I who am so ugly dare approach them. But it doesn’t matter. Better to be killed by them than to be nipped by the ducks, pecked by the hens, kicked by the girl who watches the hen yard, and suffer in the winter.” So he flew onto the water and swam towards the splendid swans. They saw him and plunged towards him with ruffled feathers. ”Just kill me,” said the poor bird, and he bent his head down towards the surface of the water and waited for death—but what did he see in the clear water? He saw his own reflection, and he was no longer a clumsy dark grey bird, ugly and nasty. He was himself a swan. “The newest one is the prettiest!” |
| Nije bilo presudno to što se izlegao u pačjem gnijezdu, nego to što je na svijet došao iz labuđeg jajeta! | You see, it doesn’t matter whether you’re born in a duck yard as long as you’ve lain in a swan’s egg! |
| Poslije svih onih nevolja i stradanja kroz koje je prošao, mladi labud je, eto, dočekao dane radosti. I on je zaista znao cijeniti ovaj trenutak sreće! Veliki labudovi su plovili oko njega i milovali ga svojim kljunovima. | He felt truly glad about all the distress and tribulations he had suffered. He understood his happiness now, and all the beauty that greeted him. And the big swans swam around him and stroked him with their beaks. |
| U vrt je dotrčalo nekoliko dječaka i djevojčica i počeli su u vodu bacati komadiće hljeba i zrnje. Najednom je najmlađi dječak uzviknuo: | Some small children came into the garden. They threw bread and grain out into the water, and the smallest one cried: |
| – Evo novog labuda! | “There’s a new one!” |
| I svi ostali se obradovaše i zapljeskaše: – Novi labud! Novi labud! Poskakujući od radosti, djeca su otrčala po svoje roditelje, a kad su se svi iskupili oko labudova, svi su u jedan glas ponavljali: – Ovaj labud je najljepši! Najmlađi, a najljepši! A stari labudovi se izmakoše i pred njim pokloniše. | And the other children chimed in, “yes, there’s a new one!” They clapped their hands and danced around, ran after their father and mother, and bread and cakes were thrown in the water, and they all said, “The newest one is the prettiest! So young and so lovely.” And the old swans bowed to him. |
| Mladi labud se zastidje i sakri glavu pod lijevo krilo. Od velike sreće bio je potpuno zbunjen. Bio je ponesen osjećanjem iznenadne sreće, ali ne i osjećanjem oholosti, jer nijedno dobro srce nije sklono oholosti. Dobro se on sjećao toga kako su ga progonili i ismijavali, a sada mu, eto, govore da je najljepši među ovim divnim pticama. Rascvjetali jorgovan pruža svoje grane prema njemu, a sunce ga grije tako toplo i tako nježno. I mladi labud raširi krila, izdiže glavu i iz dubine srca zaklikta: – Kad sam bio ružno pače, o ovakvoj sreći ni sanjao nisam! | Then he felt quite bashful and stuck his head behind his wings. He didn’t himself quite know why. He was too happy, but not at all proud because a good heart is never proud. He thought about how he had been pursued and persecuted and now heard everyone say that he was the most lovely of all the beautiful birds, and the lilacs bowed down their branches right down to the water to him, and the sun shone so warm and good. He ruffled his feathers, lifted his slender neck, and from his heart he rejoiced, “I never dreamed of this much happiness when I was the ugly duckling.” |