12、The Early Bird Catches the Worm 笨鸟先飞
It was a beautiful spring day in a forest in ancient China. The air was crisp and fresh, and the sun was shining brightly. In the dense forest, tall trees stood side by side. The sun’s rays hit the treetops and scattered through their branches. They cast shadows of light and dark on the forest floor.High up in a tree, a mother bird was resting in her nest. She had just hatched six baby birds, called nestlings. The nestlings were covered with soft fluffy down. They didn’t have flight feathers yet, so they weren’t ready to leave the nest.Five of the baby birds were strong. They chirped loudly. The one that had hatched last, though, was not strong at all. Mama Bird called him Xiao Liu, or Little Six. He was frail and quiet. Xiao Liu’s older brothers and sisters teased him often.“Chirp, chirp, look at Xiao Liu,” said Oldest Brother. “He’s so weak, he can barely move.”“Chirp, chirp,” said Fourth Sister. “I know. He wouldn’t budge. I had to climb over him to get to Mama.”“Chirp, chirp, I couldn’t sleep,” said Second Sister.“Xiao Liu was trying to move around. He’s so slow and clumsy! He kept stepping on me.”The older siblings pushed Xiao Liu around. They took his food.Sometimes they even snatched it right out of his mouth!“Chirp, chirp. That’s mine,” said Third Brother.“Chirp, chirp,” said Second Sister. “That worm looks yummy. I want it.”“Chirp, chirp, but I’m hungry!” cried Xiao Liu as his sister took the worm from his mouth.Xiao Liu’s brothers and sisters would call him names too. They gave him the nickname Clumsy Bird.“Chirp, chirp. Move out of the way, Clumsy Bird,” they chirped together.Xiao Liu did not like being laughed at or pushed around by his brothers and sisters.Xiao Liu was not physically strong when he hatched. But he did have a strong will. He decided he would get stronger. He would do exercises every day. Soon, his brothers and sisters would not laugh at him anymore!Every morning, Xiao Liu would rise before the sun even came up. Before his brothers and sisters woke, Xiao Liu would be finished with all his exercises and breakfast.“Chirp, chirp. What are you doing, Clumsy Bird?” asked Oldest Brother.Then he fell back asleep again.“Chirp, chirp, it’s too early, Clumsy Bird,” Second Sister complained.“Stop moving around so much.”Xiao Liu worked hard morning after morning after morning.He flapped his wings over and over and over again to make them stronger. He always got the first worms and bugs Mama brought back to the nest. All through the spring Xiao Liu woke up earlier than his brothers and sisters. He worked harder than they did, week after week. He ate big meals and did not go hungry, week after week.After a couple of months, all the birds had grown flight feathers. Mama Bird gathered her babies to teach them to fly. To everyone’s surprise,Xiao Liu was the first one to start flying! “Chirp, chirp, look at me!” Xiao Liu cried happily while his brothers and sisters struggled to fly from the nest.以下翻译来自百度翻译:
那是中国古代森林里一个美丽的春天。空气清新,阳光灿烂。在茂密的森林里,高大的树木并排矗立着。太阳光照射在树梢上,散落在树枝上。他们在森林的地面上投下了光明和黑暗的阴影。高高的树上,一只母鸟正在巢中休息。她刚刚孵出六只雏鸟,叫雏鸟。雏鸟身上覆盖着柔软的绒毛绒毛。它们还没有羽毛,所以还没有准备好离开巢穴。五只小鸟很强壮。他们叽叽喳喳地大声叫着。不过,最后孵化出来的那只并不强壮。鸟妈妈叫他小刘,或小六。他身体虚弱,沉默寡言。小刘的哥哥姐姐经常取笑他。“唧唧,唧唧,看看小刘,”大哥说他太虚弱了,几乎动弹不得。”“唧唧,唧唧,”四姐说我知道。他不肯让步。我得从他身上爬过去才能找到妈妈。”“唧唧,唧唧,”二姐说那条虫子看起来很好吃。我想要它。”“唧唧,唧唧,可我饿了!”小刘哭着说,他的妹妹从他嘴里叼走了虫子。小刘的兄弟姐妹也会骂他。他们给他起了个绰号叫笨鸟。“唧唧,唧唧。“让开,笨鸟,”他们一起叽叽喳喳地说。小刘孵化时身体并不强壮。但他确实有坚强的意志。他决定要变得更强壮。他每天都做运动。很快,他的兄弟姐妹们就不再嘲笑他了!每天早上,小刘都会在太阳升起之前起床。在他的兄弟姐妹醒来之前,小刘已经做完了所有的练习和早餐。他一次又一次地拍打翅膀,使它们更强壮。他总是得到妈妈带回来的第一批虫子。整个春天,小刘都比他的兄弟姐妹们醒得早。他比他们更努力地工作,一周又一周。他一周又一周地吃大餐,不饿。几个月后,所有的鸟都长出了飞行羽毛。鸟妈妈把她的孩子们召集起来教他们飞。令所有人惊讶的是,小刘是第一个开始飞行的人!”唧唧,唧唧,看着我!”小刘高兴地哭了,而他的兄弟姐妹们挣扎着从巢里飞出来。
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