Harry and his Rabbits

Little Harry¹ feeding his Rabbits.

NEW-YORK

D. APPLETON & CO. 200 BROADWAY.

The care with which a doe rabbit provides for its young is very remarkable². She not only makes a nest of the softest hay, from which she carefully munches³ out all the harder portions, but she actually strips the fur or down off her own breast, to spread over the hay. At first she covers up her young ones with the same materials, in order to keep them warm, uncovering them only for the purpose of giving them suck. She is also extremely careful in proportioning this covering to the severity of the weather, and the tenderness or strength of her offspring, gradually diminishing it as they grow more robust⁴.

If rabbits are kept and raised apart from their mother, it is then necessary that proper attention should be paid to them by the person who undertakes to raise them. That is the reason why you see little Harry feeding his rabbits. Little Harry is the only son of a poor woman who lives in a small cottage at the end of a lane on a large farm in this state belonging to[70] a wealthy and thriving farmer. Although the farmer is very kind to Harry’s mother, allowing her to have the use of the cottage and an acre of ground free of rent, still the old woman has hard work to live comfortably. Knowing the advantages to be derived⁵ from the possession of a good education, she deprives herself of many comforts to enable her to send her only child, Harry, to school. Many of my little readers who peruse⁶ this, go to excellent schools, and never imagine that there are many who are deprived of that great advantage. When they think of this, and the opportunities they enjoy for improving themselves, they should exert themselves to the utmost to do so.

Harry being anxious to learn every thing he could, so that he might one day become a smart man, and be able to support his mother, never spent a cent for himself, but carried all he got to his mother. Perhaps you may think a poor little boy like him did not get many cents; but in this you are mistaken, for Harry was up bright and early every morning, and would often do little jobs for the farmers before he went to school. Then he had rabbit houses at the end of his mother’s cottage, where he kept a number of rabbits, which often had young ones; these he would take to market and sell for a good price. He raised a good many poultry⁷, which brought in a good deal of money for the[71] eggs and chickens. With these and other little matters that he raised on their acre of ground, he was enabled to collect enough money to pay for his schooling⁸, and give his mother many comforts.

I hope all my readers will join with me in wishing Harry’s efforts may be successful, and that they may reap that reward which industry and kindness to parents deserve.

W. P.

1 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

2 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

3 munches   

v.用力咀嚼（某物），大嚼( munch的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He tried to talk between munches on the sandwich. 他试图在吃三明治的当间儿讲话。 来自互联网
• A flying squirrel munches a meal on terra firma. 一只鼯鼠在地上贪婪的咀嚼着它的食物。 来自互联网

4 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

5 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 peruse   

v.细读，精读

参考例句：

• We perused the company's financial statements for the past five years.我们翻阅了公司过去5年来的财务报表。
• Please peruse this report at your leisure.请在空暇时细读这篇报道。

7 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

8 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。