SWEET CHARITY.

 A POOR little half-starved child, living in a London alley¹, had a ticket given to her by a kind lady to admit her to a free tea and entertainment. She was wild with delight at the idea, and was running up to tell her mother, when she stumbled² over a child crouched³ on the stairs crying.

 

She asked what was the matter. The child said her mother had beaten her because she asked for some breakfast, and she was so hungry she could not help crying.

 

“Well,” said the other child, placing the ticket in her hand, “take this, and get a good tea. I’ve had no breakfast either, but my mother never beats me.”

 

She then passed on, leaving the ticket in the hand of the astonished child.

1 alley   

n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路

参考例句：

• We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
• The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。

2 stumbled   

v.（不顺畅地）说( stumble的过去式和过去分词 )；跌跌撞撞地走；绊脚；（说话、演奏等）出错

参考例句：

• I stumbled and sprained my ankle. 我摔了一跤，把脚脖子扭了。
• The child stumbled and fell. 孩子绊了一下，摔倒了。

3 crouched   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
• The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身，准备猛扑。