German composition

Section 66 Tender, Trusty, and True. — VI

Well, little (S. 10, N. 2) Channing knew⁠1 the birds did not gape because he preached a long sermon, but (S. 6, N. 10) because they were hungry. So⁠2 what did he do? He ran straight⁠3 home (S. 63, N. 8), got⁠4 some nice soft crumbs of bread, and fed the little birds with them (S. 4, N. 5, B); and⁠5 after that he fed them regularly every day after⁠6 having come home from school. But⁠7 one day (S. 19, N. 2), when he went to⁠8 the nest, there it lay on the ground, torn and bloody, and the little birds all dead; and the father-bird⁠9 was crying⁠10 on a wall, and the mother-bird⁠11 was crying on a tree. Then little Channing tried⁠12 to tell them that he did not kill⁠13 their poor young brood; that⁠14 he never could do such a mean, cruel thing as that, and that⁠15, on the contrary⁠16, he had tried to feed them. But it was no use; the little birds could not understand him, and⁠17 kept on crying; and at last he sat down, and wept bitterly.

Notes

1 Supply here the conj. daß.

2 Say ‘What did he therefore (also) do?’

3 stracks.

4 holte sich.

5 and — that, und von da an.

6 so bald er von der Schule nach Hause gekommen war.

7 This passage will read more elegantly by beginning with the conj. ‘when’, which must be followed by the subject ‘he’. ‘But’ should then be rendered by jedoch, which takes the third place.

8 nach.

9 das Männchen.

10 jammern; on = upon.

11 das Weibchen.

12 sich bemühen.

13 Use the Perf. Subj. according to App. §§ 28 and 30.

14 daß er eine so gemeine Grausamkeit nie begehen könne.

15 In subordinate clauses, the subject stands in most cases immediately after the conjunction or relative pronoun.

16 im Gegenteil. See S. 15, N. 3.

17 und jammerten weiter.