The Brave Cockatoo　勇敢的美冠鹦鹉

One Charles Durand,of whose travels and adventures a book has been written,owned a cockatoo,which he carried about with him on his journeys;the bird's name was Billy,and he seems to have been as wise as he was loving.Charles was asleep in his tent,when he was roused by a sharp,shrill cry of the bird,of“Time to rise!time to rise!”accompanied by a violent flapping of the wings.So awakened,Charles looked around,wondering what had disturbed his feathered friend.The cause was soon plain—a deadly snake lay coiled up close to his bed,prepared to spring on the defenseless man.Just when he thought that all hope was at an end,the brave cockatoo sprang from his perch,seized the reptile by the neck,and held him tight till his master could summon help.

一个叫查尔斯·杜兰德的人有一只美冠鹦鹉，出门旅行时他总是带着它，还有一本专门写他冒险旅程的书呢。鹦鹉的名字叫比利，它不但忠心耿耿，而且聪明异常。“快起！快起！”那天，查尔斯在帐篷里睡得正香，突然鹦鹉的尖叫和翅膀猛烈的扑棱声惊醒了他。他不由得四下张望，不知什么惊扰了他的长羽毛朋友。原因很快就清楚了——一条能致人死命的毒蛇蜷在他的床前，正虎视眈眈地盯着他这个毫无防备的人，随时准备发起进攻。就在他以为一切都完了的时候，勇敢的美冠鹦鹉从栖木上猛扑了下来，一下子啄住了毒蛇的脖子，紧紧地咬住不放，直到主人找来帮手。