ONE morning the old Water-rat put his head out of his hole.He had bright beady eyes and stiff grey whiskers and his tail was like a long bit of black india-rubber.The little ducks were swimming about in the pond, looking just like a lot of yellow canaries, and their mother, who was pure white with real red legs, was trying to teach them how to stand on their heads in the water."You will never be in the best society unless you can stand on your heads," she kept saying to them; and every now and then she showed them how it was done.But the little ducks paid no attention to her.They were so young that they did not know what an advantage it is to be in society at all."What disobedient children!"cried the old Water-rat; "they really deserve to be drowned.""Nothing of the kind," answered the Duck, "every one must make a beginning, and parents cannot be too patient." "Ah!I know nothing about the feelings of parents," said the Water-rat; "I am not a family man.In fact, I have never been married, and I never intend to be.Love is all very well in its way, but friendship is much higher.Indeed, I know of nothing in the world that is either nobler or rarer than a devoted friendship.""And what, pray, is your idea of the duties of a devoted friend?"asked a Green Linnet, who was sitting in a willow-tree hard by, and had overheard the conversation. "Yes, that is just what I want to know," said the Duck; and she swam away to the end of the pond, and stood upon her head, in order to give her children a good example."What a silly question!"cried the Water-rat."I should expect my devoted friend to be devoted to me, of course.""And what would you do in return?"said the little bird, swinging upon a silver spray, and flapping his tiny wings."I don't understand you," answered the Water-rat."Let me tell you a story on the subject," said the Linnet."Is the story about me?"asked the Water-rat."If so, I will listen to it, for I am extremely fond of fiction.""It is applicable to you," answered the Linnet; and he flew down, and alighting upon the bank, he told the story of The Devoted Friend. "Once upon a time," said the Linnet, "there was an honest little fellow named Hans.""Was he very distinguished?"asked the Water-rat."No," answered the Linnet, "I don't think he was distinguished at all, except for his kind heart, and his funny round good-humoured face.He lived in a tiny cottage all by himself, and every day he worked in his garden.In all the country-side there was no garden so lovely as his.Sweet-william grew there, and Gilly-flowers, and Shepherds'-purses, and Fair-maids of France.There were damask Roses, and yellow Roses, lilac Crocuses, and gold, purple Violets and white.Columbine and Ladysmock, Marjoram and Wild Basil, the Cowslip and the Flower-de-luce, the Daffodil and the Clove-Pink bloomed or blossomed in their proper order as the months went by, one flower taking another flower's place, so that there were always beautiful things to look at, and pleasant odours to smell."Little Hans had a great many friends, but the most devoted friend of all was big Hugh the Miller.Indeed, so devoted was the rich Miller to little Hans, that he would never go by his garden without leaning over the wall and plucking a large nosegay, or a handful of sweet herbs, or filling his pockets with plums and cherries if it was the fruit season."'Real friends should have everything in common,' the Miller used to say, and little Hans nodded and smiled, and felt very proud of having a friend with such noble ideas. 一天早晨，老河鼠從自己的洞中探出頭來(lái)。他長(zhǎng)著明亮的小眼睛和硬挺的灰色胡須，尾巴長(zhǎng)得像一條長(zhǎng)長(zhǎng)的黑色橡膠。小鴨子們?cè)诔靥晾镉沃?，看上去就像是一大群金絲鳥。他們的母親渾身純白如雪，再配上一對(duì)赤紅的腿，正盡力教他們?nèi)绾晤^朝下地在水中倒立。 “除非你們學(xué)會(huì)倒立，否則你們永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)進(jìn)入上流社會(huì)，”她老愛這么對(duì)他們說(shuō)，并不停地做給他們看。但是小鴨子們并未對(duì)她的話引起重視。他們太年輕了，一點(diǎn)也不知道在上流社會(huì)的好處是什么。 “多么頑皮的孩子呀！”老河鼠高聲喊道，“他們真該被淹死。” “不是那么回事，”鴨媽媽回答說(shuō)，“萬(wàn)事開頭難嘛，做父母的要多一點(diǎn)耐心?！?“啊：我完全不了解做父母的情感，”河鼠說(shuō)，“我不是個(gè)養(yǎng)家?guī)Э诘娜恕Ｊ聦?shí)上，我從未結(jié)過婚，也決不打算結(jié)婚。愛情本身倒是挺好的，但友情比它的價(jià)值更高。說(shuō)實(shí)在的，我不知道在這世上還有什么比忠實(shí)的友誼更崇高和更珍貴的了?！?“那么，請(qǐng)問，你認(rèn)為一個(gè)忠實(shí)的朋友的責(zé)任是什么呢？”一只綠色的紅雀開口問道，此時(shí)他正坐在旁邊一視柳樹上，偷聽到他們的談話。 “是啊，這正是我想知道的，”鴨媽媽說(shuō)。接著她就游到了池塘的另一頭，頭朝下倒立起來(lái)，為的是給孩子們做一個(gè)好榜樣。 “這問題問得多笨！”河鼠吼道，“當(dāng)然，我肯定我忠實(shí)的朋友對(duì)我是忠實(shí)的?！?“那么你又用什么報(bào)答呢？”小鳥說(shuō)著，跳上了一根銀色的枝頭，并撲打著他的小翅膀。 “我不明白你的意思，”河鼠回答說(shuō)。 “那就讓我給你講一個(gè)這方面的故事吧，”紅雀說(shuō)。 “是關(guān)于我的故事嗎？”河鼠問道，“如果是這樣的話，我很愿意聽，因?yàn)槲姨貏e喜歡聽故事?！?“它也適合你，”紅雀回答說(shuō)。他飛了下來(lái)，站立在河岸邊，講述起那個(gè)《忠實(shí)的朋友》的故事。 “很久很久以前，”紅雀說(shuō)，“有一個(gè)誠(chéng)實(shí)的小伙子名叫漢斯?！?“他是非常出色的嗎？”河鼠問道。 “不，”紅雀答道，“我認(rèn)為他一點(diǎn)也不出色，只是心腸好罷了，還長(zhǎng)著一張滑稽而友善的圓臉。他獨(dú)自一人住在小村舍里，每天都在自己的花園里干活。整個(gè)鄉(xiāng)下沒有誰(shuí)家的花園像他的花園那樣可愛。里面長(zhǎng)著美國(guó)石竹，還有紫羅蘭、有薺，以及法國(guó)的松雪草。有粉紅色的玫瑰、金黃色的玫瑰，還有番紅花，紫羅蘭有金色的、紫色的和白色的。隨著季節(jié)的更迭，耬斗菜和碎米薺，牛膝草和野蘭香，蓮香花和鳶尾草，水仙和丁香都爭(zhēng)相開放。一種花剛凋謝，另一種便怒放開來(lái)，花園中一直都有美麗的花朵供人觀賞，始終都有怡人的芳香可聞。 “小漢斯有許多朋友，但是最忠實(shí)的朋友只有磨坊主大休。的確，有錢的磨坊主對(duì)小漢斯是非常忠實(shí)的，每次他從小漢斯的花園經(jīng)過總要從圍墻上俯過身去摘上一大束鮮花，或者摘上一把香草。遇到碩果累累的季節(jié)，他就會(huì)往口袋里裝滿李子和櫻桃。 “磨坊主時(shí)常對(duì)小漢斯說(shuō)，‘真正的朋友應(yīng)該共享一切?！h斯微笑著點(diǎn)點(diǎn)頭，他為自己有一位思想如此崇高的朋友而深感驕傲。