Lesson 4　Castle-building　第4课　搭积木

anger castle foundation rattling tower

dismay sofa interested passion pile

mimic nodded exclaimed already spilled

"O pussy！"cried Herbert, in a voice of anger and dismay, as the blockhouse he was building fell in sudden ruin. The playful cat had rubbed against his mimic castle, and tower and wall went rattling down upon the foor.

Herbert took up one of the blocks and threw it fercely at pussy. Happily, it passed over her and did no harm.His hand was reaching for another block, when his little sister Hetty sprang toward the cat, and caught her up.

"No, no, no！"said she，"you sha'n't hurt pussy！She didn't mean to do it！"

Herbert's passion was over quickly, and, sitting down upon the foor, he covered his face with his hands, and began to cry.

"What a baby！"said Joe, his elder brother, who was reading on the sofa."Crying over spilled milk does no good. Build it up again."

"No, I won't，"said Herbert, and he went on crying.

"What's all the trouble here?"exclaimed papa, as he opened the door and came in.

"Pussy just rubbed against Herbert's castle, and it fell down，"answered Hetty."But she didn't mean to do it；she didn't know it would fall, did she, papa?"

"Why, no！And is that all the trouble?"

"Herbert！"his papa called, and held out his hands."Come."The little boy got up from the foor, and came slowly, his eyes full of tears, and stood by his father.

"There is a better way than this, my boy，"said papa."If you had taken that way, your heart would have been light already. I should have heard you singing over your blocks instead of crying.Shall I show you that way?"

Herbert nodded his head, and papa sat down on the foor by the pile of blocks, with his little son by his side, and began to lay the foundation for a new castle.

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“噢，讨厌的猫！”赫伯特大哭起来，又生气又沮丧，因为他正在搭的积木瞬间倒塌了。贪玩的猫蹭了他的模拟城堡，塔和墙倒了一地。

赫伯特捡起一块积木，愤怒地扔向那只猫。很幸运，积木飞过了猫，并没有伤害到它。赫伯特正要拿起另一块积木，这时，他的妹妹海蒂快速扑向猫，把它抱了起来。

“不，不，不！”她说，“你不能伤害它！它不是故意的！”

赫伯特很快就泄了气，坐在地板上，用手捂着脸，开始大哭起来。

“真是孩子气！”他的哥哥乔说。此刻，他正坐在沙发上看书。“为打翻的牛奶哭泣是没有用的。再搭一次吧！”

“不，我不愿意。”赫伯特说，他又哭了起来。

“发生什么事了？”爸爸大声问。他打开门，走了进来。

“猫咪蹭了一下赫伯特的城堡，它就倒了，”海蒂说，“但是，它不是故意的；它并不知道城堡会倒的，是吗，爸爸？”

“当然！这就是所有的麻烦吗？”

“赫伯特，”爸爸叫了他，并且伸出双手，“快过来。”小男孩从地板上站了起来，慢慢走过来，眼里噙满了泪水，他站到爸爸的身旁。

“好孩子，比起生气和哭泣，还有更好的解决办法，”爸爸说，“如果你那样做，你就会感到好过些。我本应该听到你对着积木唱歌而不是哭泣的。想让我演示给你看吗？”

赫伯特点点头。爸爸在那堆积木旁坐下来，他的小儿子就在他的旁边，他开始重新搭积木。