DECEPTION PUNISHED.

There was an old woman who lived in the country, and who had two daughters, the eldest¹ of whom was fourteen years old, and the youngest twelve. Their mother was often obliged² to go to market to sell the produce of her small farm, and to leave her baby to the care of Anna, her eldest daughter. Anna was old enough to take care of the child, if she had liked the trouble, but that was not the case. As soon as her mother had gone, she placed the little creature in the cradle³, and told Mary to sit by it for a minute or two, and she would return directly⁴; but she seldom came back, till she heard old Dobbin trotting⁵ down the lane⁶, and then she ran in, and, if her sister had the baby on her lap⁷, snatched⁸ it up in her arms, so that her mother might think she had not left it.
Deception⁹ Punished

Little Mary never told tales of her sister, though her mother was sometimes angry that she had not finished her task of knitting¹⁰; and she could not help it, for the baby often cried, and would not stay in the cradle, and[41] Mary was obliged to hold it on her lap all the time her mother was away.

One morning, the good woman was making ready to go to market, and as she had a great deal to do, she said that she should not return so soon as usual. So she put some food for the baby by the fire, to keep it warm, and told Anna to be careful to feed it if it cried, and to sing it to sleep. But Anna had something to do that she liked better. So away she went, and Mary hardly knew what to do; for the baby did nothing but cry. It was crying when the naughty girl put it into the cradle, and left it, but she did not trouble her head about the matter.

Poor Mary warmed the food, and then took the child upon her lap, and fed it as well as she was able, and as she had seen her mother do. At last it became quiet, and Mary began to sing lullaby with such a sweet little voice, that it fell fast asleep.

I do not think you will be sorry to hear that Anna’s naughtiness was now discovered. Her mother had forgotten something which she was to have taken with her; so instead of staying longer than usual, she came back half an hour sooner. She was much surprised to find Mary alone with the baby. Anna was not to be found, though she called and inquired¹¹ for her all round the house; but she soon heard from her neighbors that[42] this was the way she always did. So her mother, as she was of no use to her, sent her to a farmer’s house, where she could not play any of her tricks, but was made to work very hard; and Mary, as she grew older, became every year more useful, and lived very happy with her mother and the little baby.

1 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

2 obliged   

adj.感激，感谢v.迫使做( oblige的过去式和过去分词 )；使负义务；满足请求；施惠

参考例句：

• We were obliged, faute de mieux, to drink the local beverage. 因为没有更好的饮料，我们只好将就着喝当地的。
• Parents are obliged by law to send their children to school. 法律规定父母必须送子女入学。

3 cradle   

n.摇篮，策源地，支船架；vt.把...放在摇篮里

参考例句：

• The baby was rocked to sleep in a cradle.婴儿在摇篮里被摇得睡着了。
• Tokyo was the cradle of Japanese culture.东京是日本文化的发源地。

4 directly   

adv.直接地，径直地；马上，立即

参考例句：

• I will telephone you directly I hear the news.我一听到消息，马上打电话给你。
• She answered me very directly and openly.她非常坦率地、开门见山地答复了我。

5 trotting   

小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• The riders came trotting down the lane. 这骑手骑着马在小路上慢跑。
• Alan took the reins and the small horse started trotting. 艾伦抓住缰绳，小马开始慢跑起来。

6 lane   

n.(乡间)小路(巷)；车(跑，泳)道；航道

参考例句：

• There is a shop at the end of this lane.这条胡同的顶头有一家商店。
• The champion is running in lane five.冠军跑在第五跑道上。

7 lap   

n.(坐立时)大腿的前部，膝部；(跑道的)一圈

参考例句：

• She is still going strong on the last lap.她在跑最后一圈时仍然劲头很足。
• She was sitting with her hands on her lap.她坐着，把手放到膝上。

8 snatched   

突然伸手拿取，攫取，抓住( snatch的过去式和过去分词 )； 抓紧时间做； 乘机获得； 夺去

参考例句：

• The boy snatched a piece of cake and ate it hungrily. 男孩抢过一块饼便贪婪地吃起来。
• The thief snatched her handbag and ran. 盗贼抢了她的手提包就跑。

9 deception   

n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计

参考例句：

• He admitted conspiring to obtain property by deception.他承认曾与人合谋骗取财产。
• He was jailed for two years for fraud and deception.他因为诈骗和欺诈入狱服刑两年。

10 knitting   

n.编结物；接合，联合；[外科]骨愈合v.（使）愈合( knit的现在分词)；编结，编织；（使）紧密地结合；织平针

参考例句：

• Weaving and knitting are traditional cottage industries. 编织和针织是传统的家庭手工业。
• manipulative skills such as typing and knitting 诸如打字、编织这样的技能

11 inquired   

打听，询问( inquire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• The pilot inquired about the weather condition. 这飞行员查问天气情况。