Duckling by Kamila Shamsie

Author:Kamila Shamsie [Shamsie, Kamila]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781473577879
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2020-07-28T00:00:00+00:00

‘It isn’t very nice to show off,’ said the duckling, and the cat arched her back and said it wasn’t showing off if you were merely stating a fact.

‘Anyway,’ said the goat, ‘you haven’t laid an egg yet. What right do you have to speak?’

‘I’m allowed an opinion without laying an egg,’ said the duckling. The goat stamped its feet and the cat hissed.

‘You are only here to be useful. If you can’t be useful, at least be quiet,’ said the goat.

‘And while you’re at it,’ said the cat, ‘you must learn to purr like a cat, and produce milk like a goat.’

‘Why must I?’ said the duckling.

‘Because we were here first, and this is what we do,’ said the cat and goat together, in a way that told you they had been saying these words a very long time, so long they no longer really knew what they meant or if they were even true.

‘But I can do new things,’ said the duckling. ‘I can swim on the surface of the river, and I can dive down into its depths. I can fly. I can —’

‘I … I … I!’ said the cat. ‘You conceited creature. If flying or swimming or diving were useful don’t you think one of us would have learnt to do it by now?’

The duckling didn’t answer because she was filled with such a longing to be in the river, and to feel the cool water close over her as she dived down, shutting out the cruel world.

‘I think I should go away from here,’ said the duckling, when she was finally able to speak again, and the goat and cat said, ‘Yes! Go! You aren’t like us, you wrong wrong bill-faced raincloud-feathered flying diving swimming creature.’

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.