SWISS CHILDREN

You have just read a story about Louis and Marie, who live among the mountains of Switzerland.

Switzerland is a land of mountains and valleys and many beautiful lakes and rivers.

Most of the people live in the valleys and keep cattle, sheep, and goats.

In the springtime thousands of cattle are driven up into the mountains to stay all summer.

Many of the people go up into the mountains, too, and live in little huts. The men and boys take care of the cattle, and the women make butter and cheese.

The cows wear bells which tinkle¹ as they walk, and the music of all the bells, in the stillness of the mountains, is very beautiful.

In the fall the men drive the cattle down into the valleys again. When they reach the villages their friends come out to meet them, and every one has a holiday. The children think this is one of the best days in all the year. They like to hear the bells ringdecoration57decoration out their welcome; they like to see the flags and banners waving from the windows and the house-tops. They sing and dance and shout and are very merry.
boy and dog

At night there is a feast in the village square, and perhaps they like this best of all.

Many of the houses in Switzerland are very small and are made of wood. These little houses are called chalets.

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Louis and Marie live in a tiny chalet on the side of a steep mountain. Their father owns a farm and has cows and sheep and goats, and ever so many geese.

You never saw such a farm in all your life. The mountain is so steep that the fields and pastures seem to be tipped up on edge, and it looks as if the horses would fall off when the farmer is plowing² the fields, but they never do.

Louis has a pet dog. He harnesses his dog to a little wagon³ and drives him up and down the road. Sometimes he gives Marie a ride in the wagon.

Louis goes to the village school, and Marie will have to go as soon as she is six years old. There are very good schools in Switzerland, and the children learn the same things that you learn in your school.

These children have many odd playthings and toys carved out of wood. They have wooden whistles and horns, and little wooden goats and bears. Marie has a tiny chalet, almost like the one she lives in, which she calls her “playhouse.”

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The toys the children like best are the ones that have a music box in them. The Swiss people make all kinds of music boxes and put them in all kinds of things, in chairs and tables and clocks, and even in plates.

While the boys are learning to carve, the girls learn to embroider⁴ on linen⁵ and to make lace.

Very often the Swiss girls sit outside the door of their chalet making lace which they sell to the people who are travelling through the mountains.

Where do Louis and Marie live?

What does their father do?

Where do the cattle live in the summer?

Who takes care of them?

What do the women make, up in the mountains?

Which holiday do the Swiss children like best?

What do they do on this day?

What is a Swiss cottage called?

Why do people like to travel in Switzerland?

If you should go there, what would you like to see?

What would you like to buy?

1 tinkle   

vi.叮当作响；n.叮当声

参考例句：

• The wine glass dropped to the floor with a tinkle.酒杯丁零一声掉在地上。
• Give me a tinkle and let me know what time the show starts.给我打个电话，告诉我演出什么时候开始。

2 plowing   

v.耕( plow的现在分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• "There are things more important now than plowing, Sugar. "如今有比耕种更重要的事情要做呀，宝贝儿。 来自飘（部分）
• Since his wife's death, he has been plowing a lonely furrow. 从他妻子死后，他一直过着孤独的生活。 来自辞典例句

3 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

4 embroider   

v.刺绣于(布)上；给…添枝加叶，润饰

参考例句：

• The editor would take a theme and embroider upon it with drollery.编辑会将一篇文章，以调侃式的幽默笔调加以渲染。
• She wants to embroider a coverlet with flowers and birds.她想给床罩绣上花鸟。

5 linen   

n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的

参考例句：

• The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。
• Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。