The Eagle, the Jackdaw and the Shepherd

An eagle made a swoop from a high rock and carried off a lamb . A jackdaw saw this and felt jealous .

“I am pretty strong,” he thought. “I can fly high and far, too.Maybe I can do the same.”

So he flapped his wings , flew to a large ram and intended to carry him of. However, his claws were entangled in the wool , and he was not able to free himself.

At that moment, a shepherd saw the jackdaw struggling . He ran to catch him and cut his wings at once. When the night fell, he took him home to his children.

“Father, what kind of bird is it?” asked the children.

“As far as I can see, he is a jackdaw, but he would like us to think him as an eagle,” replied the shepherd.

· Don't take on more than you can accomplish.

Key Words

▲ lamb [læm] n. 羔羊，小羊

▲ jackdaw [ˈdʒækdɔ:] n. 寒鸦

▲ jealous [ˈdʒeləs] adj. 妒忌的；羡慕的

▲ flap [flæp] v. 摆动；轻拍

● wing [wɪŋ] n. 翅膀，翼

▲ ram [ræm] n. 公羊

▲ intend [ɪnˈtend] v. 打算

▲ entangle [ɪnˈtæŋɡl] v. 使纠缠；缠住

▲ wool [wʊl] n. 羊毛

▲ shepherd [ˈʃepəd] n. 牧羊人

▲ struggle [ˈstrʌɡl] v. 挣扎