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THE STORKS
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ON the last house in a little village stood a Stork1's nest. The Mother Stork sat in it with her four young ones, who stretched out their heads with the pointed2 black beaks4, for their beaks had not yet turned red. A little way off stood the Father-Stork, all alone on the ridge5 of the roof, quite upright and stiff; he had drawn6 up one of his legs, so as not to be quite idle while he stood sentry7. One would have thought he had been carved out of wood, so still did he stand. He thought, “It must look very grand, that my wife has a sentry standing8 by her nest. They can't tell that it is her husband. They certainly think I have been commanded to stand here. That looks so aristocratic!” And he went on standing on one leg.

Below in the street a whole crowd of children were playing; and when they caught sight of the Storks9, one of the boldest of the boys, and afterwards all of them, sang the old verse about the Storks. But they only sang it just as he could remember it:

Stork, stork, fly away;

Go and stay at home today.

Your wife is lying in the nest,

With four young beneath her breast.

The first he will be hanged,

The second will be banged,

The third he will be burned,

And the fourth one will be turned

Outside in!

“Just hear what those boys are singing!” said the little Stork-children. “They say we're to be hanged and burned.”

“You're not to care for that!” said the Mother-Stork. “Don't listen to it, and then it won't matter.”

But the boys went on singing, and pointed at the Storks mockingly with their fingers; only one boy, whose name was Peter, declared that it was a sin to make jest of animals, and he would not join in it at all.

The Mother-Stork comforted her children. “Don't you mind it at all,” she said; “see how quiet your father stands, though it's only on one leg.

“We are very much afraid,” said the young Storks and they drew their heads far back into the nest.

Now today, when the children came out again to play, and saw the Storks, they sang their song:

The first he will be hanged,

The second will be hanged-----

“Shall we be hanged and burned?” asked the young Storks.

“No, certainly not,” replied the mother. “You shall learn to fly; I'll exercise you; then we shall fly out into the meadows and pay a visit to the frogs; they will bow before us in the water, and sing ‘Co-ax co-ax!’ and then we shall eat them up. That will be a real pleasure.”

“And what then?” asked the young Storks.

“Then all the Storks will assemble, all that are here in the whole country, and the autumn exercises begin: then one must fly well, for that is highly important, for whoever cannot fly properly will be thrust dead by the general's beak3; so take care and learn well when the exercising begins.”

“But then we shall be killed, as the boys say:----and only listen, now they're singing again.”

“Listen to me, and not to them,” said the MotherStork.

“After the great review we shall fly away to the warm countries, far away from here, over mountains and forests. We shall fly to Egypt, where there are three cornered houses of stone, which run up to a point and tower above the clouds; they are called pyramids, and are older than a stork can imagine. There is a river in that country which runs out of its bed, and then all the land is turned to mud. One walks about in the mud, and eats frogs.”

“Oh!” cried all the young ones.

“Yes! It is glorious there! One does nothing all day long but eat; and while we are so comfortable over there, here there is not a green leaf on the trees; here it is so cold that the clouds freeze to pieces, and fall down in little white rags!?”

It was the snow that she meant, but she could not explain it in any other way.

“And do the naughty boys freeze to pieces?” asked the young Storks.

“No, they do not freeze to pieces; but they are not far from it, and must sit in the dark room and cower10. You, on the other hand, can fly about in foreign lands, where there are flowers, and the sun shines warm.”

Now some time had elapsed, and the nestlings had grown so large that they could stand upright in the nest and look far around; and the Father-Stork came every day with delicious frogs, little snakes, and all kinds of stork-dainties as he found them. Oh! It looked funny when he performed feats11 before them! He laid his head quite back upon his tail, and clapped with his beak as if it had been a little clapper; and then he told them stories, all about the marshes13.

“Listen! Now you must learn to fly, ” said the Mother-Stork one day; and all the four young ones had to go out on the ridge of the roof . Oh , how they tottered14 ! how they balanced themselves with their wings , and yet they were nearly falling down .

“Only look at me,” said the mother. “Thus you must hold your heads !Thus you must pitch your feet! One , two ! One , two ! That' s what will help you on in the world . ”

Then she flew a little way, and the young ones made a little clumsy leap. Bump! ----There they lay, for their bodies were too heavy .

“I will not fly!” said one of the young Storks, and crept back into the nest ; “I don' t care about getting to the warm countries . ”

“Do you want to freeze to death here , when the winter comes? Are the boys to come and hang you, and singe15 you , and roast you? Now I' ll call them . ”

“Oh , no ! ” cried the young Stork , and hopped16 out on to the roof again like the rest .

On the third day they could actually fly a little, and then they thought they could also soar and hover17 in the air. They tried it, but----bump! ----Down they tumbled, and they had to flap their wings again quickly enough. Now the boys came into the street again, and sang their song:

Stork , stork , fly away !

“Shall we fly down and pick their eyes out?” asked the young Storks.

“No , ” replied the mother, “let them alone . Only listen to me , that ' s far more important . One , two , three ! ----Now we fly round to the right . One , two , three!----Now to the left round the chimney! See, that was very good! the last flap with the wings was so neat and correct that you shall have permission tomorrow to fly with me to the marsh12! Several nice stork families go there with their young: show them that mine are the nicest, and that you can stalk proudly; that looks well, and will get you consideration . ”

“But are we not to take revenge on the rude boys?” asked the young Storks.

“Let them scream as much as they like . You will fly up to the clouds, and get to the land of the pyramids, when they will have to shiver, and not have a green leaf or a sweet apple . ”

“Yes , we will revenge ourselves ! ” they whispered to one another; and then the exercising went on.

Among all the boys down in the street, the one most bent18 upon singing the teasing song was he who had begun it, and he was quite a little boy. He could hardly be more than six years old . The young Storks certainly thought he was a hundred, for he was much bigger than their mother and father; and how should they know what age childrenand grown-up people may be? Their revenge was to come upon this boy, for it was he who had begun, and he always kept on. The young Storks were very angry; and as they grew bigger they were less inclined to bear it : at last their mother had to promise them that they should be revenged, but not till the last day of their stay .

“We must first see how you behave at the grand review. It you get through badly, so that the general stabs you through the chest with his beak, the boys will be right, at least in one way . Let us see . ”

“Yes , you shall see!” cried the young Storks ; and then they took all imaginable pains . They practised every day , and flew so neatly19 and so lightly that it was a pleasure to see them .

Now the autumn came on ; all the Storks began to assemble , to fly away to the warm countries while it is winter here . That was a review . They had to fly over forests and villages, to show how well they could soar, for it was a long journey they had before them. The young Storks didtheir part so well that they got as a mark, “Remarkably well , with frogs and snakes . ” That was the highest mark ; and they might eat the frogs and snakes and that is what they did .

“Now we will be revenged ! ” they said .

“Yes , certainly ! ” said the Mother-Stork . “ What I have thought of will be the best . I know the pond in which all the little mortals lie till the stork comes and brings them to their parents . The pretty little babies lie there and dream more sweetly than they ever dream afterwards . All parents are glad to have such a child, and all children want to have a sister or a brother. Now we will fly to the pond, and bring one for each of the children who leave not sung the naughty song and laughed at the storks.”

“But he who began to sing----That naughty , ugly boy ! ” screamed the young Storks ; “what shall we do with him?”

“There is a, little dead child in the pond, one that has dreamed itself to death; we will bring that for him. Then he will cry because we have brought him a little dead brother. But that good boy----you have not forgotten him, the one who said , ‘It is wrong to laugh at animals!’ for him we will bring a brother and a sister too. And as his name is Peter, all of you shall be called Peter too . ”

And it was done as she said ; all the storks were named Peter, and so they are all called even now.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 stork hGWzF     
n.鹳
参考例句:
  • A Fox invited a long-beaked Stork to have dinner with him.狐狸请长嘴鹳同他一起吃饭。
  • He is very glad that his wife's going to get a visit from the stork.他为她的妻子将获得参观鹳鸟的机会感到非常高兴。
2 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
3 beak 8y1zGA     
n.鸟嘴,茶壶嘴,钩形鼻
参考例句:
  • The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
  • This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。
4 beaks 66bf69cd5b0e1dfb0c97c1245fc4fbab     
n.鸟嘴( beak的名词复数 );鹰钩嘴;尖鼻子;掌权者
参考例句:
  • Baby cockatoos will have black eyes and soft, almost flexible beaks. 雏鸟凤头鹦鹉黑色的眼睛是柔和的,嘴几乎是灵活的。 来自互联网
  • Squid beaks are often found in the stomachs of sperm whales. 经常能在抹香鲸的胃里发现鱿鱼的嘴。 来自互联网
5 ridge KDvyh     
n.山脊;鼻梁;分水岭
参考例句:
  • We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
  • The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。
6 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
7 sentry TDPzV     
n.哨兵,警卫
参考例句:
  • They often stood sentry on snowy nights.他们常常在雪夜放哨。
  • The sentry challenged anyone approaching the tent.哨兵查问任一接近帐篷的人。
8 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
9 storks fd6b10fa14413b1c399913253982de9b     
n.鹳( stork的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Meg and Jo fed their mother like dutiful young storks. 麦格和裘像一对忠实的小鹳似地喂她们的母亲。 来自辞典例句
  • They believe that storks bring new babies to the parents' home. 他们相信白鹤会给父母带来婴儿。 来自互联网
10 cower tzCx2     
v.畏缩,退缩,抖缩
参考例句:
  • I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat.我决不会在任何一位大师面前发抖,也不会为任何恐吓所屈服。
  • Will the Chinese cower before difficulties when they are not afraid even of death?中国人死都不怕,还怕困难吗?
11 feats 8b538e09d25672d5e6ed5058f2318d51     
功绩,伟业,技艺( feat的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • He used to astound his friends with feats of physical endurance. 过去,他表现出来的惊人耐力常让朋友们大吃一惊。
  • His heroic feats made him a legend in his own time. 他的英雄业绩使他成了他那个时代的传奇人物。
12 marsh Y7Rzo     
n.沼泽,湿地
参考例句:
  • There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
  • I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。
13 marshes 9fb6b97bc2685c7033fce33dc84acded     
n.沼泽,湿地( marsh的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Cows were grazing on the marshes. 牛群在湿地上吃草。
  • We had to cross the marshes. 我们不得不穿过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
14 tottered 60930887e634cc81d6b03c2dda74833f     
v.走得或动得不稳( totter的过去式和过去分词 );踉跄;蹒跚;摇摇欲坠
参考例句:
  • The pile of books tottered then fell. 这堆书晃了几下,然后就倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The wounded soldier tottered to his feet. 伤员摇摇晃晃地站了起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 singe rxXwz     
v.(轻微地)烧焦;烫焦;烤焦
参考例句:
  • If the iron is too hot you'll singe that nightdress.如果熨斗过热,你会把睡衣烫焦。
  • It is also important to singe knitted cloth to obtain a smooth surface.对针织物进行烧毛处理以获得光洁的表面也是很重要的。
16 hopped 91b136feb9c3ae690a1c2672986faa1c     
跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 ); 单足蹦跳; 齐足(或双足)跳行; 摘葎草花
参考例句:
  • He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。
  • He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车,向市区开去。
17 hover FQSzM     
vi.翱翔,盘旋;徘徊;彷徨,犹豫
参考例句:
  • You don't hover round the table.你不要围着桌子走来走去。
  • A plane is hover on our house.有一架飞机在我们的房子上盘旋。
18 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
19 neatly ynZzBp     
adv.整洁地,干净地,灵巧地,熟练地
参考例句:
  • Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
  • The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。


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