The Best English Fairy Tales / Лучшие английские сказки

He held his neck high and he cried out loudly: “I never dreamed I could be so happy, when I was the ugly duckling[7 - I never dreamed I could be so happy, when I was the ugly duckling – О таком счастье я и не мечтал, когда был гадким утенком!]!”

The Well of the World’S End[8 - The Well of the World’s End – Колодец на краю света]

Once upon a time, there was a girl whose mother had died, and her father married again. Her stepmother hated her because she was more beautiful than herself, and she was very cruel to her.

She used to make her do all the servant’s work. At last, one day, the stepmother thought to get rid of her[9 - the stepmother thought to get rid of her – мачеха задумала избавиться от нее.]. So she gave her a sieve and said to her: “Go, fill it at the Well of the World’s End and bring it home to me full.”

She thought the girl would not find the Well of the World’ s End.

And if she did, how could she bring home a sieve full of water?

Well, the girl started her journey. She asked everyone she met to tell her where the Well of the World’s End was. But nobody knew, and she didn’t know what to do. One day a little old woman told her where it was. Finally she reached the Well of the World’s End. But when she dipped the sieve in the cold, cold water, it all ran out again. She tried and tried again. She sat down and cried as if her heart could break.

Suddenly she heard a croaking voice, and she looked up. She saw a great frog with large eyes looking at her and speaking to her.

“What’s the matter, girl?” it said.

“Oh, dear, oh dear,” she said, “my stepmother has sent me all this long way to fill this sieve with water from the Well of the World’s End, and I can’t fill it.”

“Well,” said the frog, “do whatever I ask you for a whole night long, I’ll tell you how to fill it.”

So the girl agreed, and the frog said:

“Stop it with moss and put some clay, And then it will carry the water away”; and then it jumped into the Well of the World’s End.

So the girl found some moss, and she put some clay. Then she dipped it once again into the Well of the World’s End. This time, the water didn’t run out, and she turned to go away.

Just then the frog popped up its head out of the Well of the World’s End, and said: “Remember your promise.