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The Swallows Learn a Lesson
燕子的一課
Did you know that birds have lessons to learn?
你知道小鳥也要上課嗎？
This story tells about a hard lesson that all young swallows must learn.
這則故事講述了所有的小燕子都要學(xué)習(xí)的艱難一課。
Did you ever watch swallows flying around a barn-yard, and did you notice that they darted about instead of going straight ahead?
你看到過燕子在谷場附近飛嗎？你注意到它們?cè)诳焖凫`活的飛翔而不是直沖嗎？
Most other birds fly straight ahead because they are just going from one place to another.
大多數(shù)的鳥是直飛，因?yàn)樗鼈儍H僅是從一處飛到另一處。
But the swallows dart all around because they are catching flies and other insects in the air.
而燕子卻敏捷的飛翔，它們?cè)诓蹲娇罩械奈米雍推渌ハx。
They do not like to eat crumbs and seeds, as many other birds do, and the insects they catch are their only food.
它們不像其它鳥類一樣喜歡吃面包屑和種子，它們唯一的食物就是它們捕捉到的昆蟲。
So a young swallow has to learn to dart after insects and catch them a s they fly through the air.
年幼的燕子必須學(xué)會(huì)緊跟在昆蟲之后，并在飛行中捉住它們。
How does he learn to do this so well? The older birds teach him.
小燕子怎樣才能學(xué)好這一招呢？年長的燕子會(huì)教它的。
One summer day I saw a father and a mother swallow teaching their little ones how to get their food.
夏季的一天，我看到燕子爸爸和燕子?jì)寢屧诮趟鼈兊男⊙嘧尤绾尾妒场?/p>
Three young swallows, almost as big as their mother and father, were sitting on a telephone wire.
三只小燕子的個(gè)頭幾乎跟它們的父母一樣大，它們站在電線上。
They seemed frightened at the big world about them.
它們好像對(duì)周圍的這個(gè)偌大的世界有些害怕。
How far it looked down to the ground, and how high it looked up to the sky!
往下看，地面是那么地遙遠(yuǎn)，往上看，天空是那么地高不可攀。
So the young swallows sat close to each other on the wire.
小燕子們站在電線上，彼此都挨得很近。
Every little while their mother or father would fly up to them and flutter about them.
每過一會(huì)兒它們的爸爸媽媽就會(huì)飛到它們上方，在它們周圍拍打著翅膀。
Then the baby swallows would all tip up their heads and open their mouths just as wide as they could.
然后小燕子便會(huì)仰起頭、盡量張開它們的嘴巴。
At once the mother or father bird would drop a fly or other insect into one of the open mouths, and then dart away to get more food for the young swallows.
燕子爸爸和燕子?jì)寢屃⒖贪盐米踊蚴瞧渌ハx放進(jìn)一張張開的嘴巴里，然后飛走，再為小燕子們尋找更多的食物。
They did this for a long time.
它們這樣來來回回重復(fù)了很長一段時(shí)間。
At last the older birds thought that it was time for the baby swallows to learn a lesson.
最終，老燕子認(rèn)為是時(shí)候讓小燕子們學(xué)習(xí)這一課了。
They flew to the young birds, but this time they did not bring them anything to eat.
此時(shí)它們飛向小燕子，但這次它們什么吃的也沒帶來。
