English · Intermediate
A young bird is rejected by the farmyard before discovering where he belongs.
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Scene 1 · Intermediate
Summer in the country was beautiful. Golden grain and green oats grew in the fields, and stacks of hay stood in the meadows. A stork walked on his long red legs, chattering in the Egyptian language he had learned from his mother. Beyond the fields lay great forests with deep pools among the trees.
An old farmhouse stood in a sunny spot beside a deep river. Between the house and the water grew huge burdock leaves, some so tall that a small child could stand beneath them. Under those leaves, the place felt as wild as the heart of a forest.
A duck had made her nest in this sheltered spot and was waiting for her eggs to hatch. The wait was beginning to tire her, and she rarely had visitors. The other ducks preferred swimming in the river to climbing the slippery bank to sit and chat with her.
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