"Can you lay eggs?" she asked.
"No."
"Well, you must hold your tongue, then."
And the cat asked: "Can you raise your back, or purr, or make sparks?"
"No."
"Well, then, you mustn't have any opinion when sensible folk are talking."
And the duckling sat in a corner, very much dispirited. He began thinking about the fresh air and the sunshine, and got such a wonderful longing to be floating on the water that at last he could not help telling it to the hen.
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"What is the matter with you?" she asked. "You have nothing to do, and that's why you get such silly ideas. Lay eggs, or purr, and they will pass away."
"But it is so delightful to swim about in the water!" said the duckling; "so delightful to get in over your head and dive down to the bottom."
"That must be a great pleasure, indeed!" said the hen. "You must be going mad! Ask the cat — he is the wisest creature I know — if he likes to float on the water, or dive under it, to say nothing of myself. Just ask our mistress, the old woman, who is wiser than any other person in the world. Do you think she would like to float about and get the water over her head?"
"You don't understand me," said the duckling.
"Well, if we don't understand you, who is likely to understand you? I don't suppose you think that you are wiser than the cat or the old woman, not to speak of myself? Don't be conceited, child, and be thankful to Heaven for all the kindness you have received. Have you not got a warm room, and nice company, where you can learn something? But are a chatterer, and it isn't pleasant to be in your company. Believe me, I only speak for your own good. I say unpleasant things to you, but by that you may know your true friends. Now just set about laying eggs and learning to purr or make sparks!"
