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.

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1 stork
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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。