The Boy who Became a Stone

 One day a little boy named Elonen sat out in the yard making a bird snare¹, and as he worked, a little bird called to him: “Tik-tik-lo-den” (come and catch me).

 

“I am making a snare for you,” said the boy; but the bird continued to call until the snare was finished.

 

Then Elonen ran and threw the snare over the bird and caught it, and he put it in a jar² in his house while he went with the other boys to swim.

 

While he was away, his grandmother grew hungry, so she ate the bird, and when Elonen returned and found that his bird was gone, he was so sad that he wished he might go away and never come back. He went out into the forest and walked a long distance, until finally he came to a big stone and said: “Stone, open your mouth and eat me.” And the stone opened its mouth and swallowed³ the boy.

 

When his grandmother missed the boy, she went out and looked everywhere, hoping to find him. Finally she passed near the stone and it cried out, “Here he is.” Then the old woman tried to open the stone but she could not, so she called the horses to come and help her. They came and kicked it, but it would not break. Then she called the carabao and they hooked⁴ it, but [85]they only broke their horns⁵. She called the chickens, which pecked⁶ it, and the thunder⁷, which shook it, but nothing could open it, and she had to go home without the boy. 

1 snare   

n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑

参考例句：

• I used to snare small birds such as sparrows.我曾常用罗网捕捉麻雀等小鸟。
• Most of the people realized that their scheme was simply a snare and a delusion.大多数人都认识到他们的诡计不过是一个骗人的圈套。

2 jar   

n.罐子；坛子；瓶子

参考例句：

• I need to open this jar.我得打开这个罐子。
• Brian puts water into the jar.布赖恩把水灌到罐子里。

3 swallowed   

vt.& vi.吞，咽（swallow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Her throat constricted and she swallowed hard. 她喉咙发紧，使劲地咽了一下唾沫。
• She accidentally swallowed the poison and death was instantaneous. 她意外地吞下了毒药，当即就死去了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 hooked   

adj.钩状的，弯曲的

参考例句：

• I first got hooked on scuba diving when I was twelve. 12 岁时我开始迷上了带水肺潜水。
• He hooked his arm round her neck and pulled her head down. 他一只胳膊钩在她的脖子上，把她的头拉低。

5 horns   

n.角( horn的名词复数 )；号；角质；（蜗牛等的）触角

参考例句：

• The young goat was just beginning to grow horns. 这只小山羊刚开始长角。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The blare of horns could be heard in the distance. 可以听到远处传来的号角声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 pecked   

啄，啄食，小口地吃( peck的过去式和过去分词 )； 匆匆地吻

参考例句：

• The hen pecked a hole in the sack. 母鸡在麻袋上啄了一个窟窿。
• He pecked his aunt on the check. 他在姨妈的脸颊上匆匆吻了一下。

7 thunder   

n.雷电，雷声；v.打雷，大声喊出

参考例句：

• Did you hear the thunder in the night?你晚上听见打雷了吗？
• The thunder scared the children.雷声吓着了孩子。