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There was 9nce a goose. And he was a very silly goose. He wls_ jealous _of all th贸 other birds and animals uod qlrarrelled with them all. And he hissed at them all. Tlrey all shook their heads and said: 'oWhat a goose!"
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One duy the goose saw a swan on the pond. He'admiród the swan's long neck
verv much.
'llf only I had a neck like
that!'o
thought the goose. And he said to the swan: o'Let's change. You have my neck, and I'lI have youri." The swan thought it oyer and said he would.
So they changed necks. But the goosó did not know what to do with thó long swań's neck. I{e tried turning it on one side, and stretching it out, ańd making it into a ring, but it was all no good.
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Then a pelican saw the goose and eould not help laughiog. ybu're not a gooń and you're not a swań,'o hó said. "Wh/, "he' And laughed and "laughed uńa laughed. The goose was offended and was just-going to hiss, when he noticed that the pelican had a big bus hanging from his beak. 'oIt only thought.
/ had a
bealc with
And he said to the pelican: "Let's change! You have my red beak, and I'll have your§,
bug and all." The pelican laughed, but then he said: 'oYes.'o So they changed.
a
bug hanging from
it!"
he
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The goo§e _thought changing with other birds was great fun. He cńanged legE with u".*io"o and got the craoe's"long thin legs instead of his own webbed feet. Ą
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He changed his big(J white wings for the little black of a
"ro*."
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Ĺ‚vings
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But it took him a lonq time to persuade the peacdck to change his lovely tail for a stumpy goose's tail.
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But' the good-.natured cock
gave the goose his comb and his
wattle, and taught him how to
say oocock-a-doodle-doo."
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And you never saw such a ,funny bird aยง the
now.
gooยงe was
He strutted about the farmyard on the crane's legs, flapped the crovr's yiogg" T th9 silliest wa/l and stretched it . 'lbng
swan's neelc
One duy
in itl
it
dir"ctions. met a flock of geese.
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*Honk! Honk! Whatever sort of a bird is that?" rvondered the geese. his crowoยง "I'm a gooser" said the goose? flapping wings, stretching out his ยงwan's neck, and crowing witlr his pelican's beak: "Cock-a.doodle-doo, I'm the grandesi gooยงe in the world!" ,,olf you're a goose, then come with uยงr" said the geese.
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The geeยงe went into the meado\,lr and our gooยงe went with them.
A1l the other geese nibbled at the blades of grass, but our gooยงe could only ร pen arrcl shut the beak with the big bag, he could not nibble grass.
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.1',ry. T.ben the geese went to have a swim ol the pond, and our goose went after them. They all_ beg_an swimmingu but our goose cou_l{ only run along- the bank could not swim witE the long -he crane's legs. The other gee§e laughed tike anything and he" crowed "back at theń: o' C ock-a-doodle-doo!"
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Just aยง the other geeยงe were comiog out of the pond, what did they see but a fox! They only honlred and flew away. But our goose stayed behind. He could not fly .on his crow'ยง wings, and when he tried to run on his crane'ยง legs the peacock's tail got caught in the reeds.
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so the fox took him by his long swan's neclc and carried hirf off. Vhen the other geese saw this they rushed at the fox and begarr pecking him all over.
The fox let go of the goose and ran away. "ThalĘ Iou, _ goosies, you have saved my life," said the goose. "N[ow I know what to do."
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The goose gave the s\,yan back his long neck, the pelican, his beak with the b"g hanging from i!, the crane, his long thin legs, the crow, =his _ liitle black wings, the peacock, hiŚ lovely śpreadingtail, and the kind coclc, his comb and his wattle and his 6'cock-a-doodle-doo."
And now the goose was a
again.
goose
But he wasn't a silly goose any
more and he wasn't jeaious
one.
of ani-
What a goose, what a goose!
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DRAWlNGs BY THE AUTHOR B. cyTEEB
3To I]To 3A nTﾅ「A?
FORElON LANGUAGES PUBLlSHlNG HOUSE Printed in the Union of Souiet Socialist Republics