Reading makes a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man. Histories make men wise; poems witty; the mathematics subtle; natural philosophy deep; moral grave; logic and rhetoric able to contend. ------Francis Bacon(1561-1626)
A Brief Introduction of Charlotte's Web
Charlotte's Web, written by American authorE.B.White, is a book about how a little girl named Fern, with the help of a friendly spider named Charlotte, saved the pig, Wilbur, from the usual fate of pigs.
When Wilbur is in danger of being slaughtered by the farmer, Charlotte writes messages praising Wilbur (such as "Some Pig") in her web.
Charlotte's Web is considered a classic of children's literature,which is also popular with adults.
The book was first published in 1952, with illustrations by Garth Williams.
Charlotte's Web was made into an animated feature by Hanna-Barbera Productions and Paramount Pictures in 1973.
Paramount released a direct-to-video sequel, Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure, in the US in 2003 (Universal released the film internationally).
A live-action film version of E. B. White's original story was released on December 15, 2006.
A video game based on this adaption was also released on December 12.
A Brief Introduction of Chapter 1 Before Breakfast
One day in the morning,Fern, a little girl at an age of 8, was ready to have breakfast when she saw her Papa going out with an ax.
She was wondered about it.
Her mom told her that some pigs were born
last night and one of the pigs is a runt who is very small and weak, and it would never amount to anything. So her father had decided to do away with it, that is, to kill it.
After knowing that,Fern felt it was unfair to kill the little pig just because he was smaller than the others.
Therefore, she ran after his father out to prevent him from killing the pig.
Conversations between Fern and her father.
"Please don't kill it!" Fern sobbed. "It's unfair."
Mr. Arable stopped walking. "Fer," he said gently, "you will have to learn to control yourself."
"Control myself?" yelled Fern. "This is a matter of life and death, and you talk about controlling myself." Tears ran down her cheeks and she took hold of the ax and tried to pull it out of her father's hand.
"Fern," said Mr. Arable, "I know more about raising a litter of pigs than you do. A weakling makes trouble.Now run along!"
"But it's unfair," cried Fern."The pig couldn't help being born small, could it? If I had been very small at birth, would you have killed me?"
Mr. Arable smiled. "Certainly not," he said, looking down at his daughter with love. "But this is different. A little girl is one thing, a little runty pig is another."
"I see no difference," replied Fern, still hanging on to the ax."This is the most terrible case of injustice I ever heard of."
A queer look came over John Arable's face. He seemed almost ready to cry himself. "All right," he said."You go back to the house and I will bring the runt when I come in. I'll let you start it on a bottle, like a baby. Then you'll see what trouble a pig can be."
"He's yours," said Mr. Arable. "Saved from an untimely death. And may the good Lord forgive me for this foolishness."
Finally, Fern successfully talked her father into not to kill the little pig.
To Mr. Arable(an experienced pig raiser), A pig is just a pig. It means nothing to him. Especially, a small and weak one, which was really a trouble. If not to kill it, it would take him much energy to look after it. As a result, the best and simplest way was to kill it.
However, from Fern's point of view,it was quite different. Everything has their lives even though a pig. To kill a pig who was born smaller than others was the most unjust thing she had ever heard of. The pig couldn't help being born small. It was not his fault. He shouldn't sacrifice for it.
The words she said to her father actually moved me a lot, especially this one "if I had been very small at birth, would you have killed me?"
Fern is a kind hearted girl, who loves animals and treats them as her friends; she is a brave girl, who dares to fight against her father; she is alsoa clever girl, who persuades her father by wisdoms not by tears.
Conversation between Avery and their father.
Avery, Fern's elder brother, loved Fern's pig and also begged their father for one.
"Can I have a pig, too, Pop?" asked Avery.
"No, I only distribute pigs to early risers," said Mr. Arable. "Fern was up at daylight, trying to rid world of injustice. As a result, she now has a pig. A small one, to be sure, but nevertheless a pig.It just shows what can happen if a person gets out of bed promptly.
What Fern's father said causes me to think deeply about getting up early.
There was no doubt that if Fern wasn' t an early riser, then the pig would die on that morning. Fortunately, he was a lucky pig.
Try to be an early riser, you may not save somebody's life, but at least you can change yourself, to be healthier, to lengthen your days to a certain degree, and the most important, to make yourself better.
TO BE AN EARLY RISER, I AM IN.