引導語：關於鸛鳥的安徒生童話故事，下面是小編整理的，歡迎大家閱讀，還有英文版的。
在一個小城市的最末尾的一座屋子上，有一個鸛鳥窠。鸛鳥媽媽和她的四個小孩子坐在裏面。他們伸出小小的頭和小小的黑嘴——因爲他們的嘴還沒有變紅。在屋脊上不遠的地方，鸛鳥爸爸在直直地站着。他把一隻腳縮回去，爲的是要讓自己嚐點站崗的艱苦。他站得多麼直，人們很容易以爲他是木頭雕的。他想"我的太太在她的窠旁邊有一個站崗的，可有面子了。誰也不會知道，我就是她的丈夫。人們一定以爲我是奉命站在這兒的。這可真是漂亮!"於是他就繼續用一隻腿站下去。
在下邊的街上，有一羣小孩子在玩耍。當他們一看到鸛鳥的時候，他們中間最大膽的一個孩子——不一會所有的孩子——就唱出一支關於鸛鳥的古老的歌。不過他們只唱着他們所能記得的那一點：
鸛鳥，鸛鳥，快些飛走;
去呀，今天是你待在家裏的時候。
你的老婆在窠裏睡覺，
懷中抱着四個小寶寶。
老大，他將會被吊死，
老二將會被打死，
老三將會被燒死，
老四將會落下來跌死!
“請聽這些孩子唱的什麼東西!"小鸛鳥們說。"他們說我們會被吊死和燒死!”
“你們不要管這些事兒!"鸛鳥媽媽說，"你們只要不理，什麼事也不會有的!”
小孩子繼續唱着，同時用手指着鸛鳥。只有一位名字叫彼得的孩子說譏笑動物是一樁罪過，因此他自己不願意參加。
鸛鳥媽媽也安慰着她的孩子。"你們不要去理會這類事兒。"她說，"你們應該看看爸爸站得多麼穩，而且他還是用一條腿站着!”
“我們非常害怕。"小鸛鳥們齊聲說，同時把頭深深地縮進窠裏來。
第二天孩子們又出來玩耍，又看到了這些鸛鳥。他們開始唱道：
老大將會被吊死，
老二將會被打死——
“我們會被吊死和燒死嗎?"小鸛鳥們說。
“不會，當然不會的，"媽媽說。"你們將會學着飛;我來教你們練習吧。這樣我們就可以飛到草地上去，拜訪拜訪青蛙;他們將會在水裏對我們敬禮，唱着歌：'呱!——呱!呱——呱!'然後我們就把他們吃掉，那纔夠痛快呢!”
“那以後呢?"小鸛鳥們問。
“以後所有的鸛鳥——這國家裏所有的鸛鳥——將全體集合攏來;於是秋天的大演習就開始了。這時大家就好好地飛，這是非常重要的。誰飛得不好，將軍就會用嘴把他啄死。所以演習一開始，他們就要好好地學習。”
“到那時候，像小孩子們唱的一樣，我們就會被打死了：——聽吧，他們又在唱了。”
“你們要聽我的話，不要聽他們的話，"鸛鳥媽媽說，"在這次大演習以後，我們就要飛到溫暖的國度裏去，遠遠地從這兒飛走，飛過高山和樹林。我們將飛到埃及去。那兒有三角的石頭房子——這些房子的頂是尖的，高高地伸到雲層裏去。它們名叫金字塔，它們的年齡比鸛鳥所能想象的還要老。這個國度裏有一條河。有時它溢出了河牀，弄得整個國家全是泥巴。這時我們就可以在泥巴上走，找青蛙吃。”
“哦!"所有的小鸛鳥齊聲說。
“是的!那地方真舒服!人們整天什麼事情都不必做，只是吃喝。當我們在那兒享福的時候，這兒的樹上連一片綠葉子也沒有。這兒的天氣是那麼冷，連雲塊都凍成了小片，落下來像些稀爛的白布片!”
她的意思是指雪，不過她沒有辦法表達清楚。
“頑皮的孩子也會凍成小片麼?"小鸛鳥們問。
“不，他們不會凍成小片的;不過他們跟那也差不多了。
他們得待在黑房間裏，愁眉苦臉。相反地，你們卻飛到外國去，那兒的花香，有溫暖的太陽光!”
這次以後，有一段時間過去了。小鳥已經長得很大，可以在窠裏站起來，並且遠遠地向四周眺望。鸛鳥爸爸每天飛回來時總是帶着好吃的青蛙、小蛇以及他所能尋到的鸛鳥吃的山珍海味。啊!當他在他們面前玩些小花樣的時候，他們是多麼高興啊!他把頭一直彎向尾巴上去，把嘴弄得啪啪地響，像一個小拍板。接着他就講故事給他們聽——全是關於沼澤地的故事。
“聽着，現在你們得學着飛!"有一天鸛鳥媽媽說。四隻小鸛鳥也得走出窠來，到屋脊上去。啊，他們走得多麼不穩啊!他們把翅膀張開來保持平衡。雖然如此，還是幾乎摔下來了。
“請看着我!"媽媽說。"你們要這樣把頭翹起來!你們要這樣把腳伸開!一、二!一、二!你要想在這世界上活下去就得這樣!”
於是她飛行了短短的一段距離。這些小鸛鳥笨拙地跳了一下。砰!——他們落下來了。因爲他們的身體太重了。
“我不要飛了!"一隻小鸛鳥說，同時鑽進窠裏去，"飛不到溫暖的國度裏去我也不在乎!”
“當冬天來了的時候，你想在這兒凍死嗎?你想讓那些小孩子來把你吊死，燒死，烤焦嗎?我現在可要叫他們來啦!”
“哦，不要叫吧!"這隻小鸛鳥說，同時像別的小鸛鳥一樣，又跳到屋頂上來了。到第三天他們能夠真正飛一點了。於是他們就以爲他們可以在空中坐着，在空中休息了。他們試了一下，可是——砰!——他們翻下來了，所以他們又得趕忙拍着翅膀。現在小孩子們又走到街上來了。他們唱着歌：
鸛鳥，鸛鳥，快些飛走!
“我們飛下去把他們的眼珠啄出來好嗎?"小鸛鳥們問。
“不可以，"媽媽說，"讓他們去吧!聽我的`話——這是更重要的事情!一、二、三!——現在我們可以向右飛!一、二、三!——現在我們可以向左繞着煙囪飛!看，這樣飛好多了!
你們的翅膀最後拍的那一下子非常好，非常利落，明天我可以准許你們和我一道到沼澤地去!有好幾個可愛的鸛鳥家庭帶着孩子到那兒去，讓我看看，我的孩子最漂亮。把頭昂起來，這樣纔好看，這樣纔得到別人欽佩!”
“不過，對那幾個頑皮的孩子，我們不報復他們一下麼?”
小鸛鳥們問。
“他們要怎樣叫就讓他們怎樣叫吧。當他們凍得發抖的時候，當他們連一片綠葉子或一個甜蘋果也沒有的時候，你們將遠走高飛，飛到金字塔的國度裏去。”
“是的，我們要報復一下!"他們互相私語着，於是他們又開始練習。
在街上的這些頑皮孩子中，最糟糕的是那個最喜歡唱挖苦人的歌子的孩子。歌就是他帶頭唱起來的，而且他還是一個非常小的孩子哩。他還不到六歲。小鸛鳥們無疑地相信他有一百歲，因爲他比鸛鳥爸爸和媽媽不知要大多少。事實上他們怎麼會知道小孩子和大人的歲數呢?他們要在這個孩子身上報仇，因爲帶頭唱歌的就是他，而且他一直在唱。小鸛鳥們非常生氣。他們越長大，就越不能忍受這種歌。最後媽媽只好答應准許他們報仇，但是必須等到他們住在這國家的最後一天才能行動。
“我們得先看一看你們在這次大演習中的表現怎樣?如果你們的成績很壞，弄得將軍不得不用嘴啄你們的前胸，那麼那些小孩子說的話就是對的了，至少在某一方面是如此!我們看吧!”
“是的，你看吧!"小鸛鳥們齊聲說。於是他們把一切氣力都拿出來。他們每天練習，飛得那麼整齊和輕鬆，即使看看他們一眼都是快樂的事情。
現在秋天到來了。所有的鸛鳥開始集合，準備在我們過冬的時候，向溫暖的國度飛去。這是一次演習!他們得飛過樹林和村子，試試他們究竟能飛得多好。它們知道這是一次大規模的飛行。這些年輕的鸛鳥們做出了很好的成績，得到了"善於捉青蛙和小蛇"的評語。這要算是最高的分數了。他們可以吃掉青蛙和小蛇，實際上他們也這樣做了。
“現在我們要報仇了!"他們說。
“是的，一點也不錯!"鸛鳥媽媽說，"我現在想出了一個最好的主意!我知道有一個水池，裏面睡着許多嬰孩。他們在等待鸛鳥來把他們送到他們的父母那兒去①。這些美麗的嬰孩在睡着做些甜蜜的夢——做了些他們今後不會再做到的甜蜜的夢。所有的父母都希望能得到這樣一個孩子，而所有的孩子都希望有一個姊妹或兄弟。現在我們可以飛到那個池子裏去，送給那些沒有唱過討厭的歌或譏笑過鸛鳥的孩子每人一個弟弟或妹妹。那些唱過的孩子一個也不給!”
①根據在丹麥流行的一個傳說，嬰孩都是鸛鳥在母親分娩時送來的。
“不過那個開頭唱的孩子——那個頑皮的醜孩子!"小鸛鳥們都叫出聲來，"我們應該對他怎樣辦?”
“那個池子裏還有一個死孩子——一個做夢做死了的孩子。我們就把這個孩子送給他吧。那麼他就會哭，因爲我們帶給他一個死了的小弟弟，不過那個好孩子——你們還沒有忘記過他吧——他說過：'譏笑動物是一樁罪過!'我們將特地送給他一個弟弟和妹妹。因爲他的名字叫做彼得，你們大家也叫彼得吧!”
她所說的這句話大家都遵從了。所有的鸛鳥都叫彼得，他們現在還叫這個名字哩。
①鸛鳥是一種長腿的候鳥。它經常在屋頂上做窠。像燕子一樣，它到冬天就飛走了，據說是飛到埃及去過冬。丹麥人非常喜歡這種鳥。根據它們的民間傳說，小孩是鸛鳥從埃及送到世界來的。②按照外國人的習慣，對於親近的人用“你”而不是用“您”來稱呼。
鸛鳥英文版：
The Storks
ON the last house in a little village the storks had built a nest, and the mother stork sat in it with her four young ones, who stretched out their necks and pointed their black beaks, which had not yet turned red like those of the parent birds. A little way off, on the edge of the roof, stood the father stork, quite upright and stiff; not liking to be quite idle, he drew up one leg, and stood on the other, so still that it seemed almost as if he were carved in wood. “It must look very grand,” thought he, “for my wife to have a sentry guarding her nest. They do not know that I am her husband; they will think I have been commanded to stand here, which is quite aristocratic;” and so he continued standing on one leg.
In the street below were a number of children at play, and when they caught sight of the storks, one of the boldest amongst the boys began to sing a song about them, and very soon he was joined by the rest. These are the words of the song, but each only sang what he could remember of them in his own way.
“Stork, stork, fly away,
Stand not on one leg, I pray,
See your wife is in her nest,
With her little ones at rest.
They will hang one,
And fry another;
They will shoot a third,
And roast his brother.”
“Just hear what those boys are singing,” said the young storks; “they say we shall be hanged and roasted.”
“Never mind what they say; you need not listen,” said the mother. “They can do no harm.”
But the boys went on singing and pointing at the storks, and mocking at them, excepting one of the boys whose name was Peter; he said it was a shame to make fun of animals, and would not join with them at all. The mother stork comforted her young ones, and told them not to mind. “See,” she said, “How quiet your father stands, although he is only on one leg.”
“But we are very much frightened,” said the young storks, and they drew back their heads into the nests.
The next day when the children were playing together, and saw the storks, they sang the song again—
“They will hang one,
And roast another.”
“Shall we be hanged and roasted?” asked the young storks.
“No, certainly not,” said the mother. “I will teach you to fly, and when you have learnt, we will fly into the meadows, and pay a visit to the frogs, who will bow themselves to us in the water, and cry ‘Croak, croak,’ and then we shall eat them up; that will be fun.”
“And what next?” asked the young storks.
“Then,” replied the mother, “all the storks in the country will assemble together, and go through their autumn manoeuvres, so that it is very important for every one to know how to fly properly. If they do not, the general will thrust them through with his beak, and kill them. Therefore you must take pains and learn, so as to be ready when the drilling begins.”
“Then we may be killed after all, as the boys say; and hark! they are singing again.”
“Listen to me, and not to them,” said the mother stork. “After the great review is over, we shall fly away to warm countries far from hence, where there are mountains and forests. To Egypt, where we shall see three-cornered houses built of stone, with pointed tops that reach nearly to the clouds. They are called Pyramids, and are older than a stork could imagine; and in that country, there is a river that overflows its banks, and then goes back, leaving nothing but mire; there we can walk about, and eat frogs in abundance.”
“Oh, o—h!” cried the young storks.
“Yes, it is a delightful place; there is nothing to do all day long but eat, and while we are so well off out there, in this country there will not be a single green leaf on the trees, and the weather will be so cold that the clouds will freeze, and fall on the earth in little white rags.” The stork meant snow, but she could not explain it in any other way.
“Will the naughty boys freeze and fall in pieces?” asked the young storks.
“No, they will not freeze and fall into pieces,” said the mother, “but they will be very cold, and be obliged to sit all day in a dark, gloomy room, while we shall be flying about in foreign lands, where there are blooming flowers and warm sunshine.”
Time passed on, and the young storks grew so large that they could stand upright in the nest and look about them. The father brought them, every day, beautiful frogs, little snakes, and all kinds of stork-dainties that he could find. And then, how funny it was to see the tricks he would perform to amuse them. He would lay his head quite round over his tail, and clatter with his beak, as if it had been a rattle; and then he would tell them stories all about the marshes and fens.
“Come,” said the mother one day, “Now you must learn to fly.” And all the four young ones were obliged to come out on the top of the roof. Oh, how they tottered at first, and were obliged to balance themselves with their wings, or they would have fallen to the ground below.
“Look at me,” said the mother, “you must hold your heads in this way, and place your feet so. Once, twice, once, twice—that is it. Now you will be able to take care of yourselves in the world.”
Then she flew a little distance from them, and the young ones made a spring to follow her; but down they fell plump, for their bodies were still too heavy.
“I don’t want to fly,” said one of the young storks, creeping back into the nest. “I don’t care about going to warm countries.”
“Would you like to stay here and freeze when the winter comes?” said the mother, “or till the boys comes to hang you, or to roast you?—Well then, I’ll call them.”
“Oh no, no,” said the young stork, jumping out on the roof with the others; and now they were all attentive, and by the third day could fly a little. Then they began to fancy they could soar, so they tried to do so, resting on their wings, but they soon found themselves falling, and had to flap their wings as quickly as possible. The boys came again in the street singing their song:—
“Stork, stork, fly away.”
“Shall we fly down, and pick their eyes out?” asked the young storks.
“No; leave them alone,” said the mother. “Listen to me; that is much more important. Now then. One-two-three. Now to the right. One-two-three. Now to the left, round the chimney. There now, that was very good. That last flap of the wings was so easy and graceful, that I shall give you permission to fly with me to-morrow to the marshes. There will be a number of very superior storks there with their families, and I expect you to show them that my children are the best brought up of any who may be present. You must strut about proudly—it will look well and make you respected.”
“But may we not punish those naughty boys?” asked the young storks.
“No; let them scream away as much as they like. You can fly from them now up high amid the clouds, and will be in the land of the pyramids when they are freezing, and have not a green leaf on the trees or an apple to eat.”
“We will revenge ourselves,” whispered the young storks to each other, as they again joined the exercising.
Of all the boys in the street who sang the mocking song about the storks, not one was so determined to go on with it as he who first began it. Yet he was a little fellow not more than six years old. To the young storks he appeared at least a hundred, for he was so much bigger than their father and mother. To be sure, storks cannot be expected to know how old children and grown-up people are. So they determined to have their revenge on this boy, because he began the song first and would keep on with it. The young storks were very angry, and grew worse as they grew older; so at last their mother was obliged to promise that they should be revenged, but not until the day of their departure.
“We must see first, how you acquit yourselves at the grand review,” said she. “If you get on badly there, the general will thrust his beak through you, and you will be killed, as the boys said, though not exactly in the same manner. So we must wait and see.”
“You shall see,” said the young birds, and then they took such pains and practised so well every day, that at last it was quite a pleasure to see them fly so lightly and prettily. As soon as the autumn arrived, all the storks began to assemble together before taking their departure for warm countries during the winter. Then the review commenced. They flew over forests and villages to show what they could do, for they had a long journey before them. The young storks performed their part so well that they received a mark of honor, with frogs and snakes as a present. These presents were the best part of the affair, for they could eat the frogs and snakes, which they very quickly did.
“Now let us have our revenge,” they cried.
“Yes, certainly,” cried the mother stork. “I have thought upon the best way to be revenged. I know the pond in which all the little children lie, waiting till the storks come to take them to their parents. The prettiest little babies lie there dreaming more sweetly than they will ever dream in the time to come. All parents are glad to have a little child, and children are so pleased with a little brother or sister. Now we will fly to the pond and fetch a little baby for each of the children who did not sing that naughty song to make game of the storks.”
“But the naughty boy, who began the song first, what shall we do to him?” cried the young storks.
“There lies in the pond a little dead baby who has dreamed itself to death,” said the mother. “We will take it to the naughty boy, and he will cry because we have brought him a little dead brother. But you have not forgotten the good boy who said it was a shame to laugh at animals: we will take him a little brother and sister too, because he was good. He is called Peter, and you shall all be called Peter in future.”
So they all did what their mother had arranged, and from that day, even till now, all the storks have been called Peter.
