` Let me look at it , ' said the old neighbour . ` Ah , I thought so ; it is a turkey 's egg . Once , when I was young , they tricked me to sitting on a brood of turkey 's eggs myself , and when they were hatched the creatures were so stupid that nothing would make them learn to swim . I have no patience when I think of it . ' ` Well , I will give it another chance , ' sighed the duck , ` and if it does not come out of its shell in another twenty-four hours , I will just leave it alone and teach the rest of them to swim properly and to find their own food . I really ca n't be expected to do two things at once . ' And with a fluff of her feathers she pushed the egg into the middle of the nest . All through the next day she sat on , giving up even her morning bath for fear that a blast of cold might strike the big egg . In the evening , when she ventured to peep , she thought she saw a tiny crack in the upper part of the shell . Filled with hope , she went back to her duties , though she could hardly sleep all night for excitement . When she woke with the first steaks of light she felt something stirring under her . Yes , there it was at last ; and as she moved , a big awkward bird tumbled head foremost on the ground . There was no denying it was ugly , even the mother was forced to admit that to herself , though she only said it was ` large ' and ` strong . ' ` You wo n't need any teaching when you are once in the water , ' she told him , with a glance of surprise at the dull brown which covered his back , and at his long naked neck . And indeed he did not , though he was not half so pretty to look at as the little yellow balls that followed her . When they returned they found the old neighbour on the bank waiting for them to take them into the duckyard . ` No , it is not a young turkey , certainly , ' whispered she in confidence to the mother , ` for though it is lean and skinny , and has no colour to speak of , yet there is something rather distinguished about it , and it holds its head up well . ' ` It is very kind of you to say so , ' answered the mother , who by this time had some secret doubts of its loveliness . ` Of course , when you see it by itself it is all right , though it is different , somehow , from the others . But one can not expect all one 's children to be beautiful ! '
By this time they had reached the centre of the yard , where a very old duck was XXXXX , who was treated with great respect by all the fowls present .
Filled answered expect giving pushed sitting swim teach waiting whispered