武太白·白话英语·总目录合集（2016-2020）
Intrduction
A kind old lady saved a girl from high fever on a snowy night. The girl's family, foxes in fact, return the favour.
上面是上图是用Word 2019检测出来的本故事文本适用年级信息。一般来说，中国学生的阅读能力比英美学生落后4-6年，按照最低值，3.7+4=7.7年级，相当于国内使用人教版统编英语教材的八年级学生。上海地区的小朋友六年级即可试读本故事。
The Heart of Winter
Once upon a time in Japan, there was a small tea house by the side of a mountain path. The tea house was owned by an old lady who lived there by herself. Every day the old lady made wonderful rice dumplings, and all the travelers who passed by stopped to taste them.
“What delicious rice dumplings.” They all said, before continuing their journey much refreshed.
In the winter time, there was always snow in front of the tea house. The old lady had a hard time clearing it all away. Every day she first had to remove the snow from around the shop, and then make her rice dumplings and prepare tea ready for her customers.
“This really is a hard task,” muttered the old lady to herself as she shoveled the snow. “My back is breaking.”
One evening the old lady was resting inside her tea house, exhausted after a hard day's work. She heard someone knocking at the front door.
“Who could be traveling past at this time of night?” She wondered. She opened the door and a stranger stepped in. “Grandmother. I need some help. One of my children has been taken ill suddenly. She's really, very sick. I need to find help for her.”
“Well, I'm afraid there aren't any doctors up here in the mountains,” replied the old lady.
“I don't know what to do,” said the man. “She's the youngest of my five children, and she's got a high fever. She's become very weak.”
“Have you given her any medicine yet?” Asked the old lady.
“No. We don't have any to give her.” replied the anxious man.
Hearing that, the old lady quickly fetched some homegrown herbal medicine and gave it to him.
“You should boil this and make her drink it. That will bring down the fever and make her well again. Why don't I come to your house and prepare it for her myself?”
“That's very kind of you,” said the man. “We live high up in the mountains. Follow me.”
The old lady lit a lantern and the two set out together into the stormy night. The wind soon blew out the lantern and the old lady was afraid she would stumble and fall.
“I can't see where I'm going without the light,” she said.
“Don't worry. Grandmother,” said the man, “I'll carry you.”
He lifted her up and they made their way swiftly through the snow. The old lady was surprised at how easily he could find his way in the dark.
When they arrived at the man's house, the old lady found the sick child moaning in pain. Her three brothers and her sister looked all anxiously. The old lady prepared her herbal medicine at once.
“Drink this and you'll soon feel better,” she told the child. She sat with the sick child all night long, giving her medicine and soothing her hot forehead with a cool, damp cloth.
By the next morning, the fever had passed and the young girl was sleeping comfortably.
“You have done us a big favor,” said the man. And he and his wife bowed respectfully to the old lady to express their gratitude.
“We are very poor, but we would like to give you something in return for your help.”
But the kind-hearted old lady refused to accept any gift. “Don't mention it.” She said. “I'm just happy that your child is getting better.”
“well, we will never forget your kindness to us.” they said.
The four children offered to walk the old lady back to her home. It was a beautiful morning. The snow had stopped falling and the sky was clear. The children set out in high spirits, flattening the crisp, fresh snow with their feet in order to make the journey easier for the old lady.
“Come this way, grandmother,” they called. “We want to show you something beautiful.”
The children led the old lady to the edge of a frozen lake. The morning sun was shining brightly. And the ice-covered lake was as clear as a mirror. The beauty of the ice and snow was reflected in the wide surface of the lake. The old lady stood there, silently full of admiration for the breathtaking sight.
The tall trees at the edge of the lake were dusted with snow. Long, thin icicles hung from the tips of some of their branches. In the silver light of the sun, the trees appeared to be covered with flowers of ice.
“What a magical sight!” thought the old lady.
When they reached the old ladies’ tea house, the children said “Goodbye.” “Take care,” said the kind old lady as she watched them leave. As they turned to go, she spotted something strange. The children all had bushy, brown tails, peeping out of their clothes. She looked closer.
“Why? They’re little foxes!” she exclaimed.
The old lady sat by the fire and made herself some tea while she thought about what had happened.
“So, they were all foxes,” she thought. “The father fox disguised himself as a man and came to me because his child was sick. They deceived me.”
She poured herself more tea. “It doesn't matter anyway. Being sick is as bad for an animal as it is for a person. I'm glad that I was able to help her.”
Not long afterwards, there was a spell of bad weather. It snowed all day every day. The old lady's tea house was almost buried under the snow. There was too much of it for her to clear away herself.
“Oh dear, my house will collapse under the weight of all this snow, if I don't do something,” she sighed.
Suddenly she heard the sound of singing nearby. The old lady opened her door and looked out. To her surprise she saw two large foxes and five little foxes shoveling snow from her roof and the path outside her house. The foxes sang merrily as they shoveled the snow out of the way. The old lady realized it was the fox family she had helped earlier in the winter. They had come to return her favour.
After the work was finished, the old lady invited the fox family into her house for some tea and rice dumplings.
“Thank you for all your help today.” she said。
“Not at all.” Said the fox couple. “We simply wanted to return your kindness to us.”
The five little foxes were having a good time.
“Your rice dumplings are delicious,” they told her mischievously. “We will always be pleased to come and clear your snow.”
The fire in the stove burned brightly. The old lady poured more tea and sighed contentedly.
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