大家好，我是Fiona老師。
今天我們的英語閱讀是關於烏鴉，這隻烏鴉到底發生了什麼事情呢？項鍊又是怎麼回事呢？大家快點來讀一讀吧！
Once a crow and his wife built their nest atop a huge banyan tree beside a river. They were very happy there. But when the female crow laid her eggs, they were in for an unpleasant shock. A huge snake who lived in a hole at the bottom of the tree came up and ate all their beautiful eggs.
The crows were helpless with anger and pain. 「You can’t let this wicked snake eat our children anymore," cried the female crow bitterly. 「You have to find a way to save them from him,』 she said.
「Let us go to our friend the jackal. He is very clever. He will surely be able to help us with a solution," said the male crow.
They both flew to the cave in the forest where their friend the jackal lived.
The jackal saw them coming. 「Hello my friends. Why do you look so sad and worried? Can I help you in any way?"he asked.
「Every time my wife lays eggs in our nest, a wicked snake living at the foot of the tree eats them up," explained the crow.
「We want to get rid of him and save our children. Please tell us what we can do."
The jackal thought for some time. 「I know what you should do," said the jackal and he told the plan to the crows.
It was a habit of the queen to come with her maids for a bath to the river. When they did so, they removed all their clothes and jewels and placed them on the river bank. On the following day the queen and her maids as usual entered the river.
「You know what to do right?" asked the crow to his wife. 「Yes," she answered.
Both of them flew over the pile of clothes and jewels. The female crow swiftly picked up a precious pearl necklace in her beak. At the same time the male crow began to caw loudly to gain the attention of the queen and her maids.
「Oh, those crows have taken my pearl necklace." cried the queen. 「Guards!" she cried. 「Get that necklace back from those pesky crows." Her guards chased the crows shouting loudly.
The crows flew straight to the banyan tree with the guards close behind. Hearing all the noise, the snake came out of his hole at the foot of the tree. Immediately, the female crow dropped the necklace right where the snake was.
「Look out! There is a huge snake near the necklace," alerted one guard.
Before the snake could realise what was happening, the guards attacked him with sharp spears and killed him. The guards then picked up the necklace and took it back to their queen.
The crows thanked their friend the jackal for helping them get rid of their enemy. They lived happily with their children.
有一次，烏鴉和他的妻子在河邊的一棵巨大榕樹上築巢。他們在那裡非常開心。但是當雌烏鴉產卵時，它們會受到不愉快的震動。一個巨大的蛇住在樹底的一個洞裡，吃掉了所有漂亮的蛋。
烏鴉因憤怒和痛苦而無能為力。「你不能讓這條邪惡的蛇吃我們的孩子，」雌性烏鴉痛哭起來。她說：「你必須找到一種方法來拯救他們。」
「讓我們去找我們的豺狼吧。他很聰明。「他一定能幫我們解決問題，」雄烏鴉說。
他們倆都飛到了他們的豺狼居住的森林裡的山洞裡。
豺狼看見他們來了。「你好，我的朋友們。你為什麼看起來如此悲傷和焦慮？我能幫你什麼忙嗎？」他問。
烏鴉解釋說：「每當我的妻子在我們的窩裡產卵時，住在樹腳上的一條邪惡的蛇就會把它們吃掉。」
「我們想擺脫他，拯救我們的孩子。請告訴我們我們能做什麼。」
豺狼想了一會兒。「我知道你該怎麼辦，」豺狼說，他對烏鴉說了這個計劃。
女王帶著女僕去河邊洗澡是一種習慣。當他們這樣做的時候，他們把他們所有的衣服和珠寶都放在河岸上。第二天，女王和她的女僕像往常一樣進入了河裡。
「你知道該怎麼做嗎？」烏鴉問他的妻子。「是的，」她回答。
他們倆都飛過那堆衣服和珠寶。雌烏鴉迅速地在喙上撿到一條珍貴的珍珠項鍊。與此同時，雄烏鴉開始大聲啼哭，以引起女王和女僕們的注意。
「哦，那些烏鴉拿走了我的珍珠項鍊。」王后叫道。「警衛！」她哭了。「把那些項鍊從那些討厭的烏鴉身上拿回來。」她的衛兵追著烏鴉大喊。
烏鴉直奔榕樹，衛兵們緊跟在後面。聽到所有的噪音，蛇從樹腳下的洞裡出來了。立刻，雌烏鴉掉下了蛇的項鍊。
「當心！項鍊旁邊有一條巨大的蛇，」一名警衛警告說。
在蛇意識到發生了什麼之前，衛兵用鋒利的矛襲擊了他並殺死了他。警衛們拿起項鍊，把項鍊還給了他們的皇后。
烏鴉感謝他們的朋友豺狼幫助他們擺脫敵人。他們和孩子們幸福地生活在一起。