第15章 THE CAT AND THE CANARY 小猫与金丝雀

Here is a cat with a poor little bird in its mouth. Perhaps you think it is a sparrow, that had flown down on the road to pick up a few crumbs, and was seized by this cruel cat.

You are wrong. This cat is the little bird's friend; and the bird is not a sparrow at all, but a pretty canary.

Come and I shall tell you the story of this picture.

“A lady had a canary, so tame that it would fly about her room, perch on her chair, hop on her finger, and eat crumbs out of her hand.

“The lady had also a cat, which often came into the room where the bird's cage hung. But the bird was in no danger from it. The cat had been taught, when quite a little kitten, to be kind to the bird; and the two were very good friends.

“One day the lady went into the kitchen. Her bird was on her shoulder, and the cat came running after her.

“The canary flew down from the lady's shoulder, to pick up a crumb from the floor.

“What was the lady's surprise, when in a moment the cat seized the bird in its mouth, and jumped upon the kitchen table with it!

“The lady was in terror at firsts for the safety of her bird; but she soon saw the cause of the strange conduct of her cat.

“Another cat was at the kitchen door, and her own cat had seized the bird to save it from danger!

“No sooner was the stranger driven out of the house, than the lady's cat let the canary go; and away it flew to its mistress quite unhurt.”

Questions

What kind of bird is that in the cat's mouth? Does it mean to hurt it? Why has it carried it off? What cat is that at the door? When did the cat let the bird go again? When had the cat been taught to be kind to the canary?

Pronunciation

per-haps' ca-na'-ry fin'-ger run'-ning soon'-er

spar'-row sto'-ry kit'-ten mo'-ment stran'-ger

cru'-el pic'-ture kitch'-en safe'-ty mis'-tress

pret'-ty la'-dy shoul'-der an-oth'-er un-hurt’

Write

mouth perch chair flew

seized friend strange quite

小猫嘴里叼着一只可怜的小鸟。或许你认为它是一只落在路边捡面包屑的小麻雀，被这只残忍的小猫抓住了。

你错了。这只猫是小鸟的朋友，这只小鸟也不是麻雀，而是一只漂亮的金丝雀。

我给你讲讲这幅画发生的故事。

“一位女士有一只金丝雀，它如此温顺可以围着房间飞，停落在她的椅子上，在她手指上跳舞，吃她手里的面包屑。

“这位女士也有一只小猫，经常来到挂鸟笼的房间。但是它不会给小鸟带来危险。自从小猫很小的时候，就已经教给它善待这只小鸟，他们是非常好的朋友。

“一天女士进入厨房。金丝雀在她肩上，小猫跟着她跑进来。”

“金丝雀飞离女士的肩膀，去捡地上的面包屑。”

“令女士非常惊讶的是，突然小猫抓住小鸟，用嘴叼着它跳出厨房！”

“女士起初非常担心小鸟的安危，但是不久她就看出了小猫奇怪行为的原因。”

“厨房门口有另一只猫，她的猫抓住小鸟是为了保护她！”

“这位不速之客刚被赶出厨房，猫就放了金丝雀；金丝雀安然无恙地飞向它的女主人。”