The Young Rooster

A young Rooster（公雞） was summoned（被叫到） to his Father？蒺s bedside（床邊）.“Son，my time has come to an end，”said the aged bird.“Now it is your turn to crow up the morning sun each day.”

The young Rooster watched sadly his Father？蒺s life slipped away（逝去）.

Early the next morning，the young Rooster flew up to the roof of the barn（棚子）. He stood there，facing the east.

“I have never done this before，”said the Rooster.“I must try my best.”He lifted his head and crowed. A weak and scratchy（令人發(fā)癢的） croak（雞等發(fā)出的叫聲） was the only sound he was able to make.

The sun did not come up. Clouds covered the sky，and a damp（潮濕的） drizzle（蒙蒙細(xì)雨） fell all day. All of the animals of the farm came to the Rooster.

“This is a disaster（災(zāi)難）！”cried a Pig.

“We need our sunshine！”shouted a Sheep.

“Rooster，you must crow much louder，”said a Bull.“The sun is ninety-three million miles away. How do you expect it to hear you？”

Very early the next morning，the young Rooster flew up to the barn again. He took a deep breath，threw back his head and crowed. It was the loudest crow that was ever crowed since the beginnig of roosters.

The animals on the farm were awakened（喚醒） from their sleep with a start.

“What a noise！”cried the Pig.

“My ears hurt！”shouted the Sheep.

“My head is splitting（炸裂）！”said the Bull.

“I am sorry，”said the Rooster，“but I was only doing my job.”

He said this with a great deal of pride，for he saw，far to the east，the tip（頂，尖） of the morning sun coming up over the trees.

A first failure may prepare the way for later success.