The Baby Eagle

 　　Once upon a time there was a baby eagle living in a nest perched on a cliff overlooking a beautiful valley with waterfalls and streams, trees and lots of little animals, scurrying¹ about enjoying their lives.

　　The baby eagle liked the nest. It was the only world he had ever known. It was warm and comfortable, had a great view, and even better, he had all the food and love and attention that a great mother eagle could provide. Many times each day the mother would swoop² down from the sky and land in the nest and feed the baby eagle delicious morsels³ of food. She was like a god to him, he had no idea where she came from or how she worked her magic.

　　The baby eagle was hungry all the time, but the mother eagle would always come just in time with the food and love and attention he craved⁴. The baby eagle grew strong. His vision grew very sharp. He felt good all the time.

　　Until one day, the mother stopped coming to the nest.

　　The baby eagle was hungry. "I'm sure to die," said the baby eagle, all the time.

　　"Very soon, death is coming," he cried, with tears streaming down his face. Over and over. But there was no one there to hear him.

　　Then one day the mother eagle appeared at the top of the mountain cliff, with a big bowl of delicious food and she looked down at her baby. The baby looked up at the mother and cried "Why did you abandon me? I'm going to die any minute. How could you do this to me?"

　　The mother said, "Here is some very tasty and nourishing food, all you have to do is come get it."

　　"Come get it!" said the baby, with much anger. "How?"

　　The mother flew away.

　　The baby cried and cried and cried.

　　A few days later, "I'm going to end it all," he said. "I give up. It is time for me to die."

　　He didn't know his mother was nearby. She swooped⁵ down to the nest with his last meal.

　　"Eat this, it's your last meal," she said.

　　The baby cried, but he ate and whined⁶ and whined about what a bad mother she was.

　　"You're a terrible mother," he said. Then she pushed him out of the nest.

　　He fell.

　　Head first.

　　Picked up speed.

　　Faster and faster.

　　He screamed. "I'm dying I'm dying," he cried. He picked up more speed.

　　He looked up at his mother. "How could you do this to me?"

　　He looked down.

　　The ground rushed closer, faster and faster. He could visualize⁷ his own death so clearly, coming so soon, and cried and whined and complained. "This isn't fair!" he screamed.

　　Something strange happens.

　　The air caught behind his arms and they snapped away from his body, with a feeling unlike anything he had ever experienced. He looked down and saw the sky. He wasn't moving towards the ground anymore, his eyes were pointed⁸ up at the sun.

　　"Huh?" he said. "What is going on here!"

　　"You're flying," his mother said.

　　"This is fun!" laughed the baby eagle, as he soared and dived and swooped.

　　"Yes it is!" said the mother.

1 scurrying   

v.急匆匆地走( scurry的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We could hear the mice scurrying about in the walls. 我们能听见老鼠在墙里乱跑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We were scurrying about until the last minute before the party. 聚会开始前我们一直不停地忙忙碌碌。 来自辞典例句

2 swoop   

n.俯冲，攫取；v.抓取，突然袭击

参考例句：

• The plane made a swoop over the city.那架飞机突然向这座城市猛降下来。
• We decided to swoop down upon the enemy there.我们决定突袭驻在那里的敌人。

3 morsels   

n.一口( morsel的名词复数 )；（尤指食物）小块，碎屑

参考例句：

• They are the most delicate morsels. 这些确是最好吃的部分。 来自辞典例句
• Foxes will scratch up grass to find tasty bug and beetle morsels. 狐狸会挖草地，寻找美味的虫子和甲壳虫。 来自互联网

4 craved   

渴望，热望( crave的过去式 )； 恳求，请求

参考例句：

• She has always craved excitement. 她总渴望刺激。
• A spicy, sharp-tasting radish was exactly what her stomach craved. 她正馋着想吃一个香甜可口的红萝卜呢。

5 swooped   

俯冲，猛冲( swoop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The aircraft swooped down over the buildings. 飞机俯冲到那些建筑物上方。
• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it. 鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来，并把它杀死。

6 whined   

v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 )；哀诉，诉怨

参考例句：

• The dog whined at the door, asking to be let out. 狗在门前嚎叫着要出去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He whined and pouted when he did not get what he wanted. 他要是没得到想要的东西就会发牢骚、撅嘴。 来自辞典例句

7 visualize   

vt.使看得见，使具体化，想象，设想

参考例句：

• I remember meeting the man before but I can't visualize him.我记得以前见过那个人，但他的样子我想不起来了。
• She couldn't visualize flying through space.她无法想像在太空中飞行的景象。

8 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。