The Country Girl and the Milk Pail

    A country girl was walking to the market one day，carrying a pail of milk on her head．As she walked along she began to daydream¹．“When I have sold the milk I shall get enough money to buy some eggs，”she thought．“I can put them to hatch under the broody hen and I shall have at least a dozen chicks to sell at the market．They will be ready just at the right time，when poultry³ are really expensive to buy，so I'll have enough money to buy a new dress．”
    “I wonder what colour of a dress I should buy，”she thought．“Green，I think．That suits me best．With a big，deep frill at the hem²．Oh，I'll look so beautiful that all the boys at the fair will want to dance with me．”
    “I'll have nothing to do with them，though，”she said to herself．“I'll just toss my head and walk away，no matter how they plead with me．”
    She gave her head a disdainful toss at the thought．Unfortunately she had quite forgotten that she was carrying a pail of milk on her head．Down fell the pail，spilling the fresh，creamy milk all over the road．“Oh my beautiful green dress，”she wailed⁴．“Oh my chickens！Oh my good fresh eggs！Oh my milk！”
    It was too late．The milk had all trickled⁵ away among the stones With nothing left to sell at the market the girl carried her empty buck-et sadly home．Don't count your chickens until they are hatched．Exercises：
    回答下列问题：
    ① What made the girl begin to daydream？
    ② What was her daydream about？
    ③ What happened at last？

1 daydream   

v.做白日梦，幻想

参考例句：

• Boys and girls daydream about what they want to be.孩子们遐想着他们将来要干什么。
• He drifted off into another daydream.他飘飘然又做了一个白日梦。

2 hem   

n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制

参考例句：

• The hem on her skirt needs sewing.她裙子上的褶边需要缝一缝。
• The hem of your dress needs to be let down an inch.你衣服的折边有必要放长1英寸。

3 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

4 wailed   

v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She wailed over her father's remains. 她对着父亲的遗体嚎啕大哭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The women of the town wailed over the war victims. 城里的妇女为战争的死难者们痛哭。 来自辞典例句

5 trickled   

v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动

参考例句：

• Blood trickled down his face. 血从他脸上一滴滴流下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The tears trickled down her cheeks. 热泪一滴滴从她脸颊上滚下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》