10. THE WEE DUCKS.

 1. "Pretty dear!" said the farmer's wife to Betty, as she saw her climb gently on to the eggs and spread out her small wings as far as she could.

 

2. "This will never do," she went on. "If you want to hatch them, my pretty, you had better do it in your own nest."

 

3. So she stooped down, stroked Betty's white back softly, and then, with a firm, gentle hand, pushed her aside while she took all the seven eggs into her apron¹.

 

4. At first Betty did not like it. She did not know what Snowdrop would say, and besides, she had a longing² inside her to finish the job. She wanted to see the dear little things come from the shells.

 

5. "I shall love them as my own," said she, "unless the farmer's wife takes them from me." But she was quite happy when she saw the eggs placed safely in her own snug³ dry nest.

 

6. Betty sat on the eggs for three long[Pg 141] weeks. She knew that was the proper time to wait for her own broods. But still no sign of the young ones was to be seen.

 

7. "I do believe that cold water has killed them before they are born!" said poor Betty, "for they never ought to have been laid so near a pond."

 

8. She sat on and on, for a fourth week. And, at the end of that time, she had her reward. There was a little faint tapping sound inside the shells.

 

9. The baby ducks were trying to get[Pg 142] out of prison. She helped them by picking away bits of the shell as it broke, to let the light in at their tiny windows.

 

10. At last seven little yellow things as soft as satin cried, "peep, peep!" in a pretty whisper round her feet. Their bills and their feet were rather flat, it is true, but what of that? Betty loved them as if they were her own chicks.

 

11. "Of course I do not expect that they will be quite so handsome, so clever, or so good as if born from my own eggs," said she.

 

12. "They will be poor weak little things. I can see that they are rather stupid, even now, from their staying in the shells a week longer than they ought.

 

13. "But I must take a little extra care with them!" Very proud was Mother Betty, but in spite of all her fondness, the young ducks gave her much trouble.

 

14. They would not come when they were called. And they would play in the gutter⁴. They dabbled⁵ with their little yellow feet in the black mud, as often as ever they could.[Pg 143]

 

15. They liked digging in a dirty ditch for worms better than feeding from a nice clean plate. And they will gobble snails⁷, shells and all, no matter what Betty said.

 

Write: It was four weeks before the eggs were hatched. Betty found that the young ducks did not like to feed as chicks did. They loved to dabble⁶ in the mud.

 

Questions: 1. What did the farmer's wife say when she saw Betty climb into the nest? 2. Where did she put the eggs? 3. How long did Betty sit on them? 4. Where did the young ducks want to play? 5. What did they wish to eat? 6. Why did Betty think them stupid?

1 apron   

n.围裙；工作裙

参考例句：

• We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。
• She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。

2 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

3 snug   

adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房

参考例句：

• He showed us into a snug little sitting room.他领我们走进了一间温暖而舒适的小客厅。
• She had a small but snug home.她有个小小的但很舒适的家。

4 gutter   

n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟

参考例句：

• There's a cigarette packet thrown into the gutter.阴沟里有个香烟盒。
• He picked her out of the gutter and made her a great lady.他使她脱离贫苦生活，并成为贵妇。

5 dabbled   

v.涉猎( dabble的过去式和过去分词 )；涉足；浅尝；少量投资

参考例句：

• He dabbled in business. 他搞过一点生意。 来自辞典例句
• His vesture was dabbled in blood. 他穿的衣服上溅满了鲜血。 来自辞典例句

6 dabble   

v.涉足，浅赏

参考例句：

• They dabble in the stock market.他们少量投资于股市。
• Never dabble with things of which you have no knowledge.绝不要插手你不了解的事物。

7 snails   

n.蜗牛；迟钝的人；蜗牛( snail的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think I'll try the snails for lunch—I'm feeling adventurous today. 我想我午餐要尝一下蜗牛——我今天很想冒险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most snails have shells on their backs. 大多数蜗牛背上有壳。 来自《简明英汉词典》