Hvis anden går for tæt på vejen, løfter min datter den ikke, men hun følger den roligt tilbage til dammen.

And means duck in the indefinite form. Anden is the definite form, so it means the duck.

Danish often adds the definite article as an ending:

• en and = a duck
• anden = the duck

One thing that can confuse learners is that anden can also mean the other or the second in other contexts. Here, because it is the subject of the sentence and followed by the verb går, it is clearly the noun the duck.

For the same reason: Danish usually marks the by adding an ending to the noun.

• en vej = a road

• vejen = the road

• en dam = a pond
• dammen = the pond

So på vejen means on/near the road, and til dammen means to the pond.

When a noun has a possessive like min, din, hans, vores, etc., Danish normally uses the indefinite noun form.

So:

• min datter = my daughter
• not min datteren

This is different from English, where you do not see a form change. In Danish, possessives and definite endings usually do not appear together in this kind of phrase.

Because hvis introduces a subordinate clause. In Danish subordinate clauses, the word order is usually more like English: subject + verb.

So:

• Hvis anden går for tæt på vejen
  = If the duck goes/gets too close to the road

You do not use main-clause inversion here. The inversion happens in the following main clause instead.

This is because Danish main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb must come in the second position.

The whole initial hvis clause counts as position 1:

• Hvis anden går for tæt på vejen = position 1

So in the main clause, the finite verb must come next:

• løfter = position 2

After that comes the subject:

• min datter

So the structure is:

• Hvis ... , løfter min datter den ikke ...

This is very typical Danish word order after a fronted clause or phrase.

Because and is a common-gender noun, and the usual pronoun for a common-gender thing or animal is den.

So:

• en and
• anden
• den = it

For animals, Danish often uses den/det when the sex is unknown or unimportant. If the duck were being treated more personally, or if its sex mattered, you might sometimes see han or hun, but den is completely normal here.

Because short object pronouns like den, det, ham, hende often come before ikke in Danish.

So:

• min datter løfter den ikke rather than
• min datter løfter ikke den

The second version is not the normal neutral order here.

A useful pattern is:

• verb + subject + short object pronoun + ikke

So:

• løfter min datter den ikke

For means too, and tæt på means close to.

So:

• for tæt på vejen = too close to the road

This is a very common pattern in Danish:

• for stor = too big
• for dyr = too expensive
• for sent = too late

And:

• tæt på = close to / near

Danish often uses gå more broadly than English walk. With animals, gå can simply describe moving along on foot, or more generally going somewhere.

So anden går for tæt på vejen is natural Danish, even if in English you might translate it more idiomatically as:

• the duck gets too close to the road
• the duck goes too close to the road

Yes, but in this context følge can mean more than simply walking behind something. It can also mean go along with, accompany, or escort.

So hun følger den roligt tilbage til dammen suggests that she calmly goes with the duck and makes sure it gets back to the pond, not necessarily that she is just trailing behind it.

Because roligt is an adverb here.

• rolig = calm / quiet, used as an adjective
• roligt = calmly / quietly, used as an adverb

In the sentence, it describes how she follows the duck:

• hun følger den roligt tilbage = she calmly follows/escorts it back

A common pattern is that many Danish adjectives add -t when used adverbially:

• hurtig → hurtigt
• rolig → roligt

Because they do slightly different jobs.

• tilbage = back
• til dammen = to the pond

Together they mean:

• back to the pond

Tilbage shows return, while til dammen gives the destination. Danish often uses both, just like English does in go back to the pond.

Because each verb needs its own object.

There are two separate actions:

1. she does not lift it
2. she follows/escorts it back

So Danish repeats the object pronoun with each verb:

• løfter ... den ikke
• følger den ...

English can sometimes avoid repetition more easily, but in Danish this repetition is normal and clear.

Because Danish often uses the present tense for:

• general truths
• habits
• repeated situations
• future situations after words like hvis when the meaning is clear

So Hvis anden går ... løfter min datter ... men hun følger ... can mean something like:

• If the duck gets too close to the road, my daughter doesn’t pick it up, but calmly leads it back to the pond

This is normal Danish usage. You do not need a special future form here.