LESSON 53

THE OWL (CONCLUDED)

猫头鹰（结束篇）

whole bones scarcely mouser
mice rolled surprised swallows
winking comical ducklings capture

  1. "What are you going to do with him, Harry?"

  2. "Let him go. He doesn't like this cage half so well as his old oak tree. A young owl can be tamed easily, but this one is too old to tame."

  3. "But won't he catch all your ducklings and little chickens?"

  4. "No, not while there are any rats or mice around. Father says an owl is a good mouser, and can catch more mice than half a dozen cats."

  5. "I'm glad I had a look at him before you let him go. What soft feathers he has!"

  6. "Yes, he can fly so softly that you can scarcely hear him, and for this reason he can easily surprise and capture his prey."

  7. "How comical he looks, winking his big eyes slowly, and turning his head from side to side!"

LESSON 53 - 图1

  1. "Yes; he is watching your dog. Be still. Bounce!

  2. "We have just found out a funny thing about his way of eating. He breaks the bones of a mouse, and then swallows it whole. After an hour or two, he throws up the bones and fur rolled up in a little ball."

【中文阅读】

1．“哈里，你打算把它怎么办呢？”

2．“放了它吧。它不喜欢这个笼子，喜欢的程度连它待在老橡树的一半都没有。一只幼小的猫头鹰可以很容易驯化，但这只已经老得无法驯化了。”

3．“但它不会去抓你的那些小鸭和小鸡吗？”

4．“不，当周围有老鼠的时候就不会抓。爸爸说猫头鹰是捕鼠能手，一只猫头鹰比五六只猫抓到的老鼠还要多。”

5．“我很高兴在你放走它之前看到了它。它的羽毛多柔软啊！”

6．“是啊，它能飞得很轻，以至于你都听不到声响。这样它能很轻易地突袭并抓到它的猎物。”

7．“它看起来好滑稽呀，缓慢地眨着大眼睛，左右摇晃着头。”

8．“是啊，它正在看你的狗呢！别动，鲍恩斯！”

9．“我们刚好发现了一件有趣的事，那就是它吃东西的方式。它咬断了一只老鼠的骨头，然后把它全吞了下去。过了一两个小时，猫头鹰又把骨头吐了出来，然后用毛发把自己卷成了一个小球。”