Animal Stories. Let's read in English!

Valery Larchenko, 2020

Это книга – сборник сказок, стишков и загадок. Он составлен так, чтобы максимально помочь читателю в освоении и закреплении английской лексики. Сначала идет текст на английском и русском языках. Далее следует русский вариант. И, в завершение, предлагается произведение на английском. Прочитав сказку, или стишок, на сдвоенном, а, затем, русском вариантах, и перейдя к английскому переводу, вы уже понимаете о чем идет речь в произведении. Читая и перечитывая книгу вы будете быстро усваивать английскую лексику. От общего представления будете переходить к детальной картине описываемых событий.

THE GREATEST FRIEND

Once upon a time, there was an eagle in the world. He was big and strong. The eagle flew high over the fields, forests and mountains, looking out for prey.

But, one day, when the eagle was flying over one village, a shot rang out suddenly and the eagle fell to the ground.

A bleeding eagle was spotted by a sparrow that flew past.

Sparrow was very scared and wanted to fly away.

— Help me! — Whispered the eagle. — The hunter shot me and hurt my wing.

— But you will eat me. — The sparrow answered.

— No, I won’t touch you! — The eagle said, barely audible. — I give you the word of the eagle!

Sparrow nibbled the medicinal herbs of the plantain and tied up the wound of the eagle. Then the sparrow flew to the far spring and carried the spring water in the dipper to the eagle. And also, the sparrow dragged the pieces of meat that he stole at the village wedding feast.

So the sparrow courted an eagle until it fully recovered and by and by was quite wealthy.

–Thank you, little sparrow! — Said the eagle, saying goodbye. — From now on you are my greatest friend.

And the eagle flapped its wings and flew away into the distant blue sky…

Once, a sparrow flies through the garden. Chirps, enjoys the sun.

Suddenly, a cat! Hop! She grabbed the sparrow, squeezed him in sharp claws, going to eat him.

And then, like a whirlwind flew. That was the eagle, which saw from the sky, in what a trouble a sparrow fell and rushed to help him.

Like a stone, the eagle fell on a cat. He beats her with his powerful wings, scratches with sharp claws, pecks a cat with a curved, hooked, beak.

The cat hissed, released sparrow from her claws, and began to fight off the eagle with her paws. Then she saw that she wouldn’t cope with eagle. The cat turned and rushed off to the nearest woodshed.

And then the sparrow recovered a little from the cat’s paws. He smoothed out his rumpled feathers and asked the eagle:

— I am so small and weak, and you are so big and strong. But, you stood up for me, rescued me out of misfortune. Why?

— Because, you are my friend. — The eagle replied. — You are my greatest friend.

Friendship, it is not measured by size, but does by courage and kindness.