Come, let us sit down under the shade of this big tree.
How its branches reach over, and dip down into the water. It is like a
great umbrella. It is an old tree. See how thick the trunk is. It is
nice to sit in its shade on such a warm day. We will ask the miller to
give us some corn, and we will feed the ducks. There are five of
them—white as snow, and with bright yellow bills and legs.
Here they come!—one, two, three, four, five. Let us name them. Ala, Ela,
Ila, Ola, Ula. The names sound very much alike, but that will make no
difference to them. And if you call one the others are sure to follow.
Quack—quack—quack—quack—quack!
They know what we are sitting here for, and they are in haste to be fed.
They are always hungry.
Now throw the corn out, where the water is deep. See the ducks dive for
it! That one is standing on its head. How queer it looks, with its
yellow legs kicking up on top of the water. Over goes that one! Heels
over head! The ducks don’t mind. Now let them quack, quack for a while.
Soon they will sail off to their pet feeding-ground, where the earth is
moist and there are soft grasses.
[Illustration]
Look! look! What is the matter? A big turtle has seized one of the ducks
by the leg. It cannot get away. Isn’t that too bad! Now there are only
four white ducks on the mill-pond.