The devoted mother

胡文亞

A mother duck and her little ducklings were on their way to a lake one day. The ducklings were very happy following their mother and quack-quacking along the way.

All of a sudden， the mother duck saw a fox at a distance. She was frightened and shouted， “Children， hurry to the lake. Theres a fox！”

The ducklings hurried towards the lake. The mother duck wondered what to do. Then she had an idea， pretending to be hurt.

When the fox saw her， he became happy. He said to himself， “It seems that shes hurt and cant fly！ I can easily catch and eat her！” Then he ran towards her.

The mother duck ran， leading the fox away from the lake. The fox followed her. Now he wouldnt be able to harm her ducklings. The mother duck looked towards her ducklings and saw that they had reached the lake. She was relieved （松口氣）， so she stopped and took a deep breath.

The fox thought she was tired and he came closer， but the mother duck quickly spread her wings （翅膀） and rose up in the air. She landed in the middle of the lake and her ducklings swam to her.

The fox looked in disbelief at the mother duck and her ducklings. He could not reach them because they were in the middle of the lake.

閱讀選擇

1. What is the meaning of the word “duckling” in Chinese？

A. 母鴨 B. 小鴨 C. 公鴨

2. The mother duck was frightened and shouted because .

A. a duckling is missing

B. the ducklings cried too loudly

C. she saw a fox not far away

3. Why was the fox happy when he saw the duck？

A. Because he believed she was hurt.

B. Because he thought she was alone.

C. Because he saw so many ducks.

4. How did the duck get away from the fox？

A. She ran very fast.

B. She took a deep breath.

C. She quickly spread her wings and flew in the air.