Produced by D Alexander and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) THE POND _By Carl Ewald_ TRANSLATED FROM THE DANISH BY ALEXANDER TEIXEIRA DE MATTOS AND ILLUSTRATED BY _Warwick Reynolds_ [Illustration] THORNTON BUTTERWORTH LTD 15 BEDFORD ST LONDON WC2 _Published 1922_ [Illustration] THE ROYAL ROAD LIBRARY THE CARL EWALD BOOKS Translated by ALEXANDER TEIXEIRA DE MATTOS * * * * * 1. TWO-LEGS 2. THE OLD WILLOW TREE and other stories 6. THE POND THE NETTA SYRETT BOOKS 3. TOBY & THE ODD BEASTS 4. RACHEL & THE SEVEN WONDERS 8. MAGIC LONDON THE W. H. KOEBEL BOOKS 5. THE BUTTERFLIES' DAY 7. THE PAGEANT OF THE FLOWERS * * * * * THE ROYAL ROAD LIBRARY THE POND [Illustration: THE CRAYFISH DROPPED OFF p. 105] CONTENTS _Page_ CHAPTER I. THE BEGINNING 13 CHAPTER II. A MAN OF THE WORLD 19 CHAPTER III. A MOTHER 27 CHAPTER IV. THE WATER-SPIDER 37 CHAPTER V. THE BLADDER-WORT 49 CHAPTER VI. SUMMER 59 CHAPTER VII. THE CARP 67 CHAPTER VIII. THE MUSSEL 77 CHAPTER IX. THE WATER-LILY 91 CHAPTER X. THE CRAY-FISH'S JOURNEY 99 CHAPTER XI. THE WORST DAY OF ALL 109 CHAPTER XII. THE END 123 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS The cray-fish dropped off (_Colour_) _Frontispiece_ The pike appeared among the reeds with wide-open mouth and rows of sharp teeth and angry eyes (_Colour_) 40 'He was in my way,' said the spider 44 'Oh! really,' said the perch (_Colour_) 64 He slammed his shell down 80 The Water Lily (_Colour_) 96 He lay in the water, hit by a stray shot 116 CHAPTER I The Beginning [Illustration] One day in early spring, a young reed-warbler sat in a bush in Italy and hung his beak.