下载掌阅APP，畅读海量书库
立即打开
There was once a little gray lamb who was not happy.
His friends in the meadow said to him,“Come and play with us.”
But the lamb would not go.
Instead of playing, he stayed near his mother and cried.
What did the little lamb do?
“Why do you cry?” asked the old mother sheep.
“Oh, Mother,” said the lamb, “I am not happy.
The other lambs have white wool, but my wool is gray. I want white wool, too.”
An old father sheep saw that the little lamb was crying.
“Look at my wool,” said the father sheep.“It is gray.
I like gray wool. You should like it, too.”
But the little lamb still cried very hard.
He would not play with the other lambs.
After a while the little gray lamb went away to a corner of the meadow.
• Why did the lamb cry?
• What did the father sheep tell him?
There he saw some vines on the fence.
The vines had pretty white flowers.
“Please give me some of your flowers,”said the lamb.
“I will make a white coat of the flowers.
All the other lambs have white coats.”
The vines shook their heads, and said,“How foolish you are, little lamb!
You should not want a white coat.
Your gray coat is just as pretty as the white coats of the other lambs.”
The lamb did not get any flowers.
The little gray lamb went on.
He found a white hen on the gate.
• What did the lamb want the vines to do?
• What did the vines tell him?
“Please, Mrs. Hen,” said the lamb, “give me some white feathers. You have plenty.
I want to make a white coat.
All the other lambs have white coats.
I am very sad, because my coat is gray.”
“How foolish you are, little lamb!” said the hen.
“I have seen many brown chickens.
I have seen yellow chickens, too.
What did the lamb ask the hen to do?
The colored chickens are just as pretty as the white ones.
Gray lambs are just as pretty as white ones, too.
How foolish you would look covered with feathers!”
The old hen laughed and laughed.
She laughed so hard that she fell off the gate.
The little lamb cried again very hard.
Then the lamb ran to the old white horse.
“Please, Mr. Horse,” he said, “give me some of your white hairs.
I want enough to make a white coat.”
• Wh at did the white hen say about the colored chickens?
• Why did the old hen laugh?
The horse said, “Who ever heard of a lamb with horse hairs on it?
Go away, little lamb.
Your gray coat is beautiful.”
The little lamb went to the other lambs.
A white lamb said to him, “You are the only gray lamb in the meadow.
We will follow you because we can tell you from the others.
What did the horse say about the lamb’s coat?
Come, let us run to the fence.”
Off they went. All the white lambs followed the gray lamb.
After that the gray lamb played with the other lambs.
He was as happy as could be.
—— Lawton B. Evans
Why was the little lamb so happy?