2. BETTY IS SPOILT.

 1. Time passed on, and Betty grew fast in size and beauty. Her mistress made up her mind to send her to the Poultry¹ Show at the Crystal Palace.

 

2. The cook and all who saw her said that Betty ought to go, her beauty was so great. She was quite a perfect pattern of what a white hen of her sort ought to be.

 

3. She would be certain to win a first prize of the first class, they all thought. Poor Betty! From the day that it was settled for her to go to the Poultry Show her troubles began.

 

4. When first it was made known in the yard she became rather vain, in spite of all that her mother could say. The[Pg 111] fact was that the old hen felt proud of it herself, and Betty knew it.

 

5. She would be always pluming² the feathers of her daughter, cackling loudly, and calling to strange chickens to come and admire the lovely back and smooth wings of her child.

 

6. The young cocks from next door sat on the railings to chatter³, and even[Pg 112] forgot to quarrel. They stared at Miss Betty as she walked with her beak⁴ in the air, and they made rude remarks.

 

7. "Why don't you grow a pair of spurs and learn to crow?" they called out. When Mrs. Dorking, Betty's mother, heard these speeches from the young cocks she flew into a great passion.

 

8. "I will set the dog at you, you young scamps, if you do not be off this moment," cried she. So they dropped off one by one, for they did not know that the old hen was not able to carry out her threat.

 

9. As Betty became vain she became idle too. Instead of making her mother and sisters happy with her pretty playful ways, and making herself useful and pleasant at home, she grew pettish⁵.

 

10. And instead of working to help earn her own living, by catching⁶ flies, scratching up worms, and watching under the old oak tree for cock-chafers, she would lose patience, and call loudly to the cook to bring her food.

 

11. And, strange to say, the cook would come too, and, not content with waiting[Pg 113] on Betty, would drive away each fowl⁷ and chick that came up to share what she had brought.

 

12. She let none of them have a bit till Betty had eaten all that she pleased. Was not this enough to spoil any young hen? Betty was fast getting pert. All this was because of her good looks and her five toes.

 

13. You will see after a while that she would have been more happy if she had been born ugly, or with four toes, like her sisters.

 

Write: Betty was to go to a show. She grew vain when she heard this. And as she became vain she grew idle too. She was spoilt.

 

Questions: 1. Where did Betty's mistress think of sending her? 2. What did they all think that she would get at the show? 3. What made her grow proud? 4. What did she do instead of earning her living? 5. What did the young cocks say? 6. What answer did the old hen make to them?

1 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?

2 pluming   

用羽毛装饰（plume的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• The two birds were pluming their wings on the tree. 两只鸟正在树上整理他们的翅膀。
• The chimneys were pluming the sky; The engine was pluming black smoke. 发动机正在喷射一缕缕轻烟。

3 chatter   

vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战

参考例句：

• Her continuous chatter vexes me.她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。
• I've had enough of their continual chatter.我已厌烦了他们喋喋不休的闲谈。

4 beak   

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。

5 pettish   

adj.易怒的，使性子的

参考例句：

• I can't act in pettish to you any further.我再也不能对你撒娇了。
• He was getting more and more pettish and hysterical.他变得越来越任性，越来越歇斯底里。

6 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

7 fowl   

n.家禽，鸡，禽肉

参考例句：

• Fowl is not part of a traditional brunch.禽肉不是传统的早午餐的一部分。
• Since my heart attack,I've eaten more fish and fowl and less red meat.自从我患了心脏病后，我就多吃鱼肉和禽肉，少吃红色肉类。