9. SNOWDROP'S NEST.

 1. Weeks went by. Snowdrop thought that it was time for her to bring some more little ducklings into the world, instead of those which she had lost.

 

2. So, down among the green rushes at the very brink¹ of the pond, she made a nest. It was not much more than a[Pg 137] bundle² of straws which the wind had swept into that place but it did very well.

 

3. Snowdrop had poked³ the straws into a heap⁴ with her beak⁵. She trod⁶ them down with her feet, made a round hole with her breast in the middle, and put a few feathers inside.

 

4. In this rough nest she laid seven pale green eggs, and very pretty they looked. Betty no sooner heard of this, than she ran as fast as she could to the spot. She had a kind thought in her head.

 

5. She had now no little ones of her own; and somehow, though she laid an egg each day in the wicker nest, it was always gone before night. So she had nothing to sit on.

 

6. And so it had come into her good heart that she would offer to sit on Snowdrop's eggs for her. "I promise you to do it well," said she to the duck.

 

7. "If you trust me with your eggs I will treat them just as if they were my own. And when the young are hatched⁷ I will nurse the dear little things, teach[Pg 138] them, and bring them up better than you could do yourself."

 

8. The duck, who just then saw her drake bowing his head to her as he swam along, thought that she would like to join him on the pond.

 

9. Snowdrop loved pleasure. Why should she sit cooped up on a nest for four weeks, when she might be having fun on the pond? Betty was willing to do it for her.

 

10. She liked hunting for slugs and worms, or swimming races with her drake, better than sitting still. So she said "yes" to Betty's offer and marched off.

 

11. The good little hen climbed as well as she could on to the nest; but she did not half like the look of it. Why, the eggs were ready to roll out at the sides! And her body was not so big as that of Snowdrop, neither were her wings so wide.

 

12. It was a great job for her to keep the large eggs under cover at all, but she shook out her feathers and spread out her wings as far as they would go, though it made them ache.[Pg 139]

 

13. Then she felt nervous because the pond was so near. "It is bad for eggs to get damp!" she said to herself. "What could make that foolish Snowdrop choose such a place? And I dare say that I shall get the cramp⁸ too."

 

14. But she sat on bravely for all that. Betty never left the eggs of which she was taking care, except for a few moments when she was forced by hunger to run to the yard.

 

15. The good farmer's wife saw her racing⁹ there one day. She watched her pick up some corn in a great hurry and then rush off. She went after Betty and saw her get into the nest of the duck, to sit there after her hasty¹⁰ meal.

 

Write: The hen wished to sit on the eggs of the duck. She did not leave them except to get food when she was hungry. The wife of the farmer found the eggs.

 

Questions: 1. What did Snowdrop make among the rushes? 2. How many eggs did she lay? 3. What did the hen offer to do? 4. What did Snowdrop say? 5. How did Betty get food? 6. Who saw her running back to the eggs?

1 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

2 bundle   

n.捆，包，束；一堆，一批；v.把…扎成一捆

参考例句：

• My uncle sent me a large bundle on my birthday.我生日时叔父给我寄来一个大包裹。
• Dad found a bundle of spelling mistakes in my composition.爸爸在我作文里找出一大堆拼写错误。

3 poked   

v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
• His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 heap   

n./vt.堆；一堆；堆积；许多，大量；装载

参考例句：

• The gardener began to heap up the fallen leaves.园丁开始把落叶堆起来。
• There was a big heap of stones in the road.路上有一大堆石头。

5 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。

6 trod   

v.踩，踏( tread的过去式 )；踩成；踏出；步行于

参考例句：

• Ouch! You trod on my toe! 哎哟！你踩着我的脚指头了！
• Every day he trod the same path through the woods. 他每天沿同一条路走过森林。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 hatched   

孵化( hatch的过去式和过去分词 )； 孵出，破壳而出； 秘密策划，（尤指）密谋； 使（小鸟、小鱼、小虫等）孵出

参考例句：

• Silkworms are fed mulberry leaves after they have hatched. 蚕孵出后食桑叶。
• Ten out of the set of twelve were hatched. 一窝十二个蛋孵出了十个。

8 cramp   

n.痉挛；[pl.](腹)绞痛；vt.限制，束缚

参考例句：

• Winston stopped writing,partly because he was suffering from cramp.温斯顿驻了笔，手指也写麻了。
• The swimmer was seized with a cramp and had to be helped out of the water.那个在游泳的人突然抽起筋来，让别人帮着上了岸。

9 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

10 hasty   

adj.草率的，急速的，匆忙的，仓促完成的

参考例句：

• She's too hasty;she should learn to think before speaking.她太轻率了，她应该学会话出口前想一想。
• You will have time for a hasty snack before the train leaves.火车离站前你还能抓紧时间吃一顿快餐。