K. D. Ushinsky “Alien Egg”
Early in the morning, old lady Daria got up, chose a dark, secluded place in the chicken coop, put a basket there, where thirteen eggs were laid out on soft hay, and sat the Corydalis on them. It was just getting light, and the old woman did not notice that the thirteenth egg was greenish and smaller than the others. The hen sits diligently, warming her testicles; she runs off to peck some grains, drink some water, and is back where she was: she’s even faded, poor thing. And she became so angry: she hisses, cackles, she doesn’t even let the cockerel come, but he really wanted to see what was going on there in the dark corner. The hen sat there for about three weeks, and the chicks began to peck out of the eggs one after another: they would peck the shell with their nose, jump out, shake themselves off and begin to run around, rake up the dust with their legs, look for worms.
Later than everyone else, a chick hatched from a greenish egg. And how strange he came out, round, fluffy, yellow, with short legs, and a wide nose. “I’ve got a strange chicken,” the hen thinks, “and it pecks and doesn’t walk like us; wide nose, short legs, kind of clubfooted, swaying from one foot to the other.” The hen marveled at her chick, but no matter what it was, it was still a son. And the chicken loves and takes care of him, like the others, and if she sees a hawk, then, fluffing up her feathers and spreading her round wings wide, she hides her chickens under herself, without distinguishing what kind of legs each has.
The hen began to teach the children how to dig worms out of the ground, and took her whole family to the shore of the pond: there were more worms there and the earth was softer. As soon as the short-legged chicken saw the water, it jumped straight into it. The chicken screams, flaps its wings, rushes to the water; the chickens were also worried: they were running, fussing, squeaking; and one cockerel, in fright, even jumped up on a pebble, stretched out his neck and for the first time in his life yelled in a hoarse voice: “Ku-ku-re-ku!” Help, kind people, my brother is drowning! But the brother did not drown, but joyfully and easily, like a piece of cotton paper, he swam through the water, scooping up the water with his wide, webbed paws. At the hen’s cry, old Daria ran out of the hut, saw what was happening, and shouted: “Oh, what a sin! Apparently, I blindly put a duck egg under the chicken.”
And the chicken was eager to get to the pond: they could force the poor thing away.
Listen to the story by K. D. Ushinsky “Alien Egg.” Were all the eggs the chicken sat on the same? What was the greenish egg chicken like? How was he different from other chickens? What did this strange chicken do when he saw the pond? Why did the chicken start screaming and rushing towards the pond? Who was this strange chicken? Who did you like most in the story?
K. D. Ushinsky “Cockerel with his family”
A cockerel walks around the yard: there is a red comb on its head and a red beard under its nose. Petya's nose is a chisel, Petya's tail is a wheel; there are patterns on the tail, spurs on the legs. With his paws, Petya rakes the pile, calls the hens and chicks together: “Crested hens! Busy housewives! Motley-pockmarked! Little black and white! Gather together with the chickens, with the little kids: I’ve saved you some grain!”
The hens and chicks gathered and cackled; If they didn’t share the grain, they got into a fight.
Petya the cockerel does not like unrest - now he has reconciled his family: one for the crest, that for the cowlick, he ate the grain himself, flew up the fence, flapped his wings, screamed cuckoo-cuckoo at the top of his lungs!
Questions to discuss with children
How does K. D. Ushinsky describe the cockerel in his story “Cockerel with his Family”? What kind of comb does he have, what kind of beard, what kind of nose, what kind of tail? What's on the cockerel's tail? What patterns can a cockerel have on its tail? What's on the rooster's legs? How does a cockerel call his family together? How does a cockerel restore order in his family? Did you like the cockerel? Draw it. What will the cockerel have the brightest, most beautiful?
M. Zoshchenko “Smart Bird”
One boy was walking in the forest and found a nest. And in the nest sat tiny naked chicks. And they squeaked.
They were probably waiting for their mother to fly in and feed them worms and flies.
The boy was glad that he had found such nice chicks, and wanted to take one to bring home.
As soon as he extended his hand to the chicks, suddenly some feathered bird fell from the tree like a stone at his feet.
She fell and lies in the grass.
The boy wanted to grab this bird, but it jumped a little, hopped on the ground and ran away to the side.
Then the boy ran after her. “Probably,” he thinks, “this bird hurt its wing, and that’s why it can’t fly.”
As soon as the boy approached this bird, it jumped again, jumped on the ground and again ran away a little.
The boy follows her again. The bird flew up a little and sat down in the grass again.
Then the boy took off his hat and wanted to cover the bird with this hat.
As soon as he ran up to her, she suddenly took off and flew away.
The boy was really angry with this bird. And he quickly went back to take at least one chick.
And suddenly the boy sees that he has lost the place where the nest was, and cannot find it.
Then the boy realized that this bird had deliberately fallen from the tree and was deliberately running along the ground in order to take the boy away from its nest.
Questions to discuss with children
What birds do you know? Where do birds build their nests? Why?
Did you like M. Zoshchenko's story? What is it called? Who did you like better in the story - the boy or the bird? Why? Tell me how the boy found a nest on the ground. Why was he happy? How did the bird manage to save its chicks?
I. S. Turgenev “Sparrow”
I was returning from hunting and walking along the garden alley. The dog ran ahead of me.
Suddenly she slowed down her steps and began to sneak; as if sensing game in front of him.
I looked along the alley and saw a young sparrow with yellowness around its beak and down on its head. He fell from the nest (the wind strongly shook the birch trees of the alley) and sat motionless, helplessly spreading his barely sprouted wings.
My dog was slowly approaching him, when suddenly, falling from a nearby tree, an old black-breasted sparrow fell like a stone in front of her muzzle - and all disheveled, distorted, with a desperate and pathetic squeak, he jumped twice in the direction of the toothy, open mouth.
He rushed to save, he shielded his brainchild... but his whole small body trembled with horror, his voice grew wild and hoarse, he froze, he sacrificed himself!
What a huge monster the dog must have seemed to him! And yet he could not sit on his high, safe branch... A force stronger than his will threw him out of there.
My Trezor stopped, backed away... Apparently, he recognized this power.
I hastened to call the embarrassed dog away and left in awe.
Yes, don't laugh. I was in awe of that small, heroic bird, of its loving impulse.
Love, I thought, is stronger than death and the fear of death. Only by her, only by love does life hold and move.
Issues for discussion
Listen to the story of I. S. Turgenev “Sparrow”. Who is this story about? Who did the dog notice? Tell me what the sparrow was like. Was it an old or a young sparrow? What happened to him?
What did the dog do when he smelled the sparrow? Who saved the young sparrow from the big dog? What did the old sparrow do? Was he scared? Why did he rush to protect his cub? How did the story end? Who did you like best in the story? Why?
K. D. Ushinsky “Swallow”
The killer whale swallow did not know peace, it flew all day long, carried straws, sculpted with clay, made a nest. She made a nest for herself: she carried testicles. I applied it to the testicles: it doesn’t come off the testicles, it’s waiting for the kids. I hatched the babies: the babies squeaked and wanted to eat. The killer whale flies all day long, knows no peace: catches midges, feeds the crumbs.
The inevitable time will come, the babies will fledge, they will all fly apart, beyond the blue seas, beyond the dark forests, beyond the high mountains. The killer whale swallow does not know peace: day after day it keeps on the prowl, looking for cute children.
Issues for discussion
Listen to the story of K. D. Ushinsky “Swallow”. Why does a swallow fly all day long and never find rest? What was the swallow doing? What is the name of the swallow in the story? How do you understand the words: “The time will come, the chicks will fledge...”?
N. Romanova “Smart Crow”
When I walk down the street now, I look carefully at the birds that sit on fences or run along paths. That’s why I immediately noticed the crow that I’ll tell you about now. She was unusual. Crows are generally different from other birds. They are like the “scientists” among them. The head is large, the beak is important. And they walk and do not jump like sparrows.
The crow I noticed seemed to me to have a damaged wing. And suddenly I see a cat coming out of the basement. The cat has cunning eyes, she sees everything, understands everything.
Now, I think, I too will see how birds and cats live in the wild.
There are sparrows jumping next to the cat, but the cat does not pay attention to them. Of course, this is a yard cat, she’s not like my Kotka - she won’t chase birds in vain. She knows that no matter how many birds jump nearby, it is still very difficult to catch them.
Another thing is a crow with a broken wing. You can catch this crow. I saw that the cat fell to the ground and began to sneak around. Only the crow also sees the cat, and this is what she came up with: the crow comes straight to me, saying, protect me, don’t give me offense, drive the cat away. Then the cat realized that I wouldn’t let her catch the crow, she stopped sneaking around and pretended that she didn’t need the crow at all.
Apparently, all cats know how to assume indifference! After all, my Kotka put on exactly the same indifferent look when he wanted me to leave him and the cannon Vanechka alone.
And the crow began to climb the tree. Jump, jump, the sick wing gets in the way, but quietly, calmly, higher and higher... she climbed a tree, settled comfortably among the branches and sits there, dozing. In a dream, all diseases disappear. Maybe the crow will be healthy when it wakes up.
Issues for discussion
What does a crow look like? What color is it? What does a crow eat? How does a crow scream? Where can you most often find a crow: in the city or in the forest?
Did you like N. Romanova’s story “Smart Crow”? Who is this story about? How are crows different from other birds? What was unusual about this crow? Who wanted to catch a crow with a broken wing? How did the cat behave when it saw the crow? What did the crow come up with to escape from the cat? Who did you like in this story: the cat or the crow?
V. Bianchi “The rooks discovered spring”
Large flocks of rooks appeared in villages everywhere. The rooks spent the winter in the south of our country. They were in a hurry to come to our north - to their homeland. On the way, they more than once found themselves in severe snowstorms. Dozens, hundreds of birds were exhausted and died on the way.
The strongest ones arrived first. Now they are resting. They strut along the roads and pick the ground with their strong noses...
Issues for discussion
What birds are the first to arrive in our region in the spring? Where do they spend the winter? Listen to V. Bianchi's story about rooks. What happened to the rooks on the way? Which rooks flew first? What are they doing now? What are rooks looking for in the ground?
Nadezhda Nikolaeva
A Tale of Wintering and Migratory Birds
A Tale of Wintering and Migratory Birds
Forest Doctor - Woodpecker said: “I have a strong beak and a long tongue - I can pull out the tree-destroying bark beetles from anywhere. Trees are not allowed to grow without my supervision, neither in winter nor in summer.”
Owl said: “I also can’t fly to warm places. There are a lot of mice in the summer, and if you don’t destroy them in the winter, they will eat all the mushrooms and berries in the summer.”
Pigeon said: “I want to stay because I’m used to people. It’s warm on the roofs of houses and that’s where my nests are. I don’t want to leave my home.”
Sparrow thought: “Chick-chirp, jump-jump. We are nimble and fast sparrows. People hang feeders in winter, feeding us and others birds. I think we won’t experience hunger.
These birds have become wintering birds.
Rest birds - heron, a swan, a seagull, a crane, a duck flew away because the water in rivers and lakes freezes in winter, and they are waterfowl.
Starlings, swallows, cuckoos and others birds which ate insects also flew to warmer climes and became migratory.
One rook thought for a long time, and when the snow covered the scattered grains in the fields, he also decided to fly away, but promised to return first.
Since then it has been like this: alone birds flew to warm regions where the water does not freeze and there are a lot of fish and insects. Some birds stay and feed themselves in winter. And many birds were left in the care of people to cultivate kindness and sensitivity towards their feathered friends.
Publications on the topic:
Conversation about wintering and migratory birds Target. To form a generalized idea of wintering and migratory birds, to learn to distinguish them by essential characteristics, the possibility of satisfaction.
Children and adults educational project on ecology “We are friends of wintering birds” Project passport Project type: natural science Duration: short-term (weekly) Participants: educators, parents, secondary school children.
The ecological holiday "Titmouse Day" is celebrated in many parts of our country. On this day, kind, caring people meet wintering birds.
Summary of educational activities on the formation of ideas about wintering birds in the preparatory school group “Young ornithologists” Topic: “Young ornithologists” Prepared by teacher: Svetlana Leonidovna Kargina Purpose: to clarify and expand ideas about wintering birds.
“Conversation about wintering and migratory birds.” Program content: - to consolidate the concept of “wintering” birds, “migratory” birds; - clarify knowledge.
Lesson summary “Visiting wintering birds” Municipal budgetary preschool educational institution Kindergarten No. 1 “Alyonushka” of the urban district of the city of Oktyabrsky Republic.
Educational activity “Meeting migratory birds” Goal: To clarify children’s knowledge about spring and migratory birds. Educational objectives: To clarify and expand children’s ideas about spring and signs.
An educational fairy tale for a conversation about domestic animals and birds and their young One day, near the yard, a cub woke up and began calling for its mother. Suddenly he heard frogs croaking nearby. The cub thought they were laughing.
1 - About the little bus who was afraid of the dark
Donald Bisset 
A fairy tale about how mother bus taught her little bus not to be afraid of the dark... About the little bus who was afraid of the dark read Once upon a time there was a little bus in the world. He was bright red and lived with his dad and mom in the garage. Every morning …
2 - Three kittens
Suteev V.G. 
A short fairy tale for the little ones about three fidgety kittens and their funny adventures. Little children love short stories with pictures, which is why Suteev’s fairy tales are so popular and loved! Three kittens read Three kittens - black, gray and...
3 - Hedgehog in the fog
Kozlov S.G. 
A fairy tale about a Hedgehog, how he was walking at night and got lost in the fog. He fell into the river, but someone carried him to the shore. It was a magical night! Hedgehog in the fog read Thirty mosquitoes ran out into the clearing and began to play...
4 - About the mouse from the book
Gianni Rodari 
A short story about a mouse who lived in a book and decided to jump out of it into the big world. Only he did not know how to speak the language of mice, but knew only a strange book language... Read about a mouse from a book...
5 - Apple
Suteev V.G. 
A fairy tale about a hedgehog, a hare and a crow who could not divide the last apple among themselves. Everyone wanted to take it for themselves. But the fair bear judged their dispute, and each got a piece of the treat... Apple read It was late...
6 - Black Pool
Kozlov S.G. 
A fairy tale about a cowardly Hare who was afraid of everyone in the forest. And he was so tired of his fear that he decided to drown himself in the Black Pool. But he taught the Hare to live and not be afraid! Black Whirlpool read Once upon a time there was a Hare...
7 - About the Hippopotamus, who was afraid of vaccinations
Suteev V.G. 
A fairy tale about a cowardly hippopotamus who ran away from the clinic because he was afraid of vaccinations. And he fell ill with jaundice. Luckily, he was taken to the hospital and treated. And the hippopotamus became very ashamed of his behavior... About the Hippopotamus, who was afraid...
8 - Mom for Baby Mammoth
Nepomnyashchaya D. 
A fairy tale about a baby mammoth that melted out of the ice and went to look for its mother. But all the mammoths have long since died out, and the wise Uncle Walrus advised him to sail to Africa, where elephants live, which are very similar to mammoths. Mom for...
WONDERFUL HOUSES
or
A TALE ABOUT WINTER AND BIRDS.
In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there was a magical forest. Many trees grew in that forest: spiky fir trees, slender aspens, curly birches, ... And in that forest lived many beautiful birds and nimble sparrows, and voracious pigeons, and nimble titmice and cheerful jays and singing nightingales and many, many others. All the birds lived cheerfully and amicably, flew from branch to branch, caught midges, bugs, worms and sang songs.
But then one day a sorceress appeared in the garden. She was dressed in white clothes and had a cold air about her. The sorceress said:
I am the sorceress Winter. I brought snow with me and will soon cover the whole earth with it. The snow will cover everything with a white fluffy blanket. And then my brother, Grandfather Frost, will come and freeze the fields, meadows and rivers.
Winter waved her sleeve and the leaves flew off the trees. She waved it again and white fluffy snow fell from the sky and everything - the earth, trees, bushes were covered with a white blanket. And the sun is shining, but for some reason it doesn’t warm. Bugs, spiders and midges quickly hid under the bark of the trees.
It became cold for the birds. They began to think about what to do next. Larks and nightingales invited everyone to fly away from the cold winter to warmer lands. Sparrows and tits, on the contrary, offered to stay and fly closer to kind people. The birds argued for a long time, but they could not agree among themselves, and each bird did its own thing. Larks and nightingales flew to warmer climes, and sparrows, titmice and other birds moved closer to people.
Well, are the birds scared of me? - asked Winter.
No, Auntie, Winter, we are not afraid of you. “We fluffed our feathers, jumped on the branches and we are not cold at all,” the birds answered.
What will you eat? After all, all the bugs and spiders hid. Come on, fly away to warmer climes too.
“No, we won’t fly away,” answered the birds. “We will find berries and seeds.”
And winter brings even more frost. The birds became completely hungry. They fly hungry and cold. What to do? There are no berries left at all, and seeds cannot be obtained from under the snow. The birds are sad. They fly everywhere, looking for food. Their feathers were frayed and they had no strength left.
And Winter is happy.
Well, what did I tell you, there is no food here for you.
Suddenly the birds see a small wooden house hanging. The birds decided to look into this house, and there was apparently no food there. And seeds, and bread crumbs, and even - a titmouse's joy - a piece of lard. The birds were delighted, ate to their fill and flew off to tell their hungry friends about the unusual house. And when the birds flew back, they saw that there were many such houses hanging. And in every house there are a lot of delicious seeds, berries, and grains.
Winter saw this and let in even more frost, but the birds were not afraid. Well-fed, they spread their feathers and do not freeze.
I decided to see, Winter, who helps the birds. She quietly crept up to the houses and saw children who were clearing the houses of snow and pouring grain and other food into them. And the guys called the houses feeders.
Winter tried to scare the children with frosts, but they were not afraid of her. We dressed warmly and came back to the feeders.
And the birds decided to thank the children for their help. They began to learn new bird songs for spring.
On the topic: methodological developments, presentations and notes
Conversation about wintering and migratory birds
Goal: To form a generalized idea of wintering and migratory birds, to learn to distinguish them by an essential feature: the ability...
Quiz about wintering and migratory birds
This quiz is for children in the preparatory group. The assignments are presented in an accessible and interesting form. The tasks are aimed at developing and expanding the horizons of children....
N. Sladkov “Polite Jackdaw”
I have many acquaintances among wild birds. I know only one sparrow. He is all white - an albino. You can immediately tell him apart in a flock of sparrows: everyone is gray, but he is white.
I know Soroka. I distinguish this one by its impudence. In winter, it used to be that people would hang food outside the window, and she would immediately fly in and ruin everything.
But I noticed one jackdaw for her politeness.
There was a snowstorm.
In early spring there are special snowstorms - sunny ones. Snow whirlwinds swirl in the air, everything sparkles and rushes! Stone houses look like rocks. There is a storm at the top, snowy waterfalls flow from the roofs as if from mountains. Icicles from the wind grow in different directions, like the shaggy beard of Santa Claus.
And above the cornice, under the roof, there is a secluded place. There, two bricks fell out of the wall. My jackdaw settled in this recess. All black, only a gray collar on the neck. The jackdaw was basking in the sun, and even pecking at some tasty morsel. Cubby!
If this jackdaw were me, I would not give up such a place to anyone!
And suddenly I see another one, smaller and duller in color, flying up to my big jackdaw. Jump and jump along the ledge. Twist your tail! She sat down opposite my jackdaw and looked.
The wind flutters it - it breaks its feathers, and whips it into white grain!
My jackdaw grabbed a piece of it in his beak - and walked out of the recess onto the cornice! She gave up the warm place to a stranger!
And someone else's jackdaw grabs a piece from my beak - and goes to her warm place. I pressed someone else's piece with my paw and it pecked. What a shameless one!
My jackdaw is on the ledge - under the snow, in the wind, without food. The snow whips her, the wind breaks her feathers. And she, stupid, endures! Doesn't kick out the little one.
“Probably,” I think, “the alien jackdaw is very old, so they give way to it. Or maybe this is a well-known and respected jackdaw? Or maybe she’s small and remote—a fighter.” I didn’t understand anything then...
And recently I saw: both jackdaws - mine and someone else's - sitting side by side on an old chimney and they both had twigs in their beaks.
Hey, they're building a nest! Everyone will understand this.
And the little jackdaw is not at all old and not a fighter. And she’s no stranger now. And, of course, not respected by everyone.
And my friend the big jackdaw is not a jackdaw at all, but a gal!
But still, my gal friend is very polite. This is the first time I've seen this.
M. Prishvin “Guys and Ducklings”
The little wild teal duck finally decided to move her ducklings from the forest, bypassing the village, into the lake to freedom. In the spring, this lake overflowed far, and a solid place for a nest could only be found about three miles away, on a hummock, in a swampy forest. And when the water subsided, we had to travel all three miles to the lake.
In places open to the eyes of man, fox and hawk, the mother walked behind so as not to let the ducklings out of sight for a minute. And near the forge, when crossing the road, she, of course, let them go ahead. That’s where the guys saw them and threw their hats at them. All the time while they were catching the ducklings, the mother ran after them with an open beak or flew several steps in different directions in the greatest excitement. The guys were just about to throw hats at their mother and catch her like ducklings, but then I approached.
- What will you do with the ducklings? - I asked the guys sternly.
They chickened out and replied:
- Let's go.
- Let’s “let it go”! - I said very angrily. - Why did you need to catch them? Where is mother now?
- And there he sits! - the guys answered in unison.
And they pointed me to a nearby hillock of a fallow field, where the duck was actually sitting with her mouth open in excitement.
“Quickly,” I ordered the guys, “go and return all the ducklings to her!”
They even seemed to be delighted at my order and ran up the hill with the ducklings. The mother flew away a little and, when the guys left, rushed to save her sons and daughters. In her own way, she quickly said something to them and ran to the oat field. Five ducklings ran after her. And so, through the oat field, bypassing the village, the family continued its journey to the lake.
I joyfully took off my hat and, waving it, shouted:
- Bon voyage, ducklings!
The guys laughed at me.
-Why are you laughing, you fools? - I told the guys. - Do you think it’s so easy for ducklings to get into the lake? Quickly take off all your hats and shout “goodbye”!
And the same hats, dusty on the road while catching ducklings, rose into the air; the guys all shouted at once:
- Goodbye, ducklings!
M. Prishvin “Zhurka”
Once we had it - we caught a young crane and gave it a frog. He swallowed it. They gave me another and I swallowed it. The third, fourth, fifth, and then we didn’t have any more frogs at hand.
- Good girl! - my wife said and asked me:
- How many of them can he eat? Ten maybe?
“Ten,” I say, “maybe.”
- What if it’s twenty?
“Twenty,” I say, “hardly...
We clipped the wings of this crane, and he began to follow his wife everywhere. She milks the cow - and Zhurka goes with her, she goes to the garden - and Zhurka needs to go there, and she also goes to collective farm field work with her, and to fetch water. The wife got used to him as if she were her own child, and without him she is already bored, she can’t live without him. But only if it happens - he’s not there, only one thing will shout: “Fru-fru,” and he runs to her. So smart!
This is how the crane lives with us, and its clipped wings keep growing and growing.
Once the wife went down to the swamp to fetch water, and Zhurka followed her. A small frog sat by the well and jumped from Zhurka into the swamp. The frog is behind him, and the water is deep, and you can’t reach the frog from the shore. Zhurk flapped his wings and suddenly flew away. His wife gasped and followed him. He waved his arms, but he couldn’t get up. And in tears, and to us: “Oh, oh, what grief! Ahah!" We all ran to the well. We see Zhurka sitting far away, in the middle of our swamp.
- Fru-fru! - I shout.
And all the guys behind me also shout: “Fru-fru!”
And so smart! As soon as he heard our “fru-fru”, he immediately flapped his wings and flew in. At this point the wife can’t remember herself with joy and tells the kids to run quickly after the frogs. This year there were a lot of frogs, the guys soon collected two caps. The guys brought frogs and began giving and counting. They gave me five - I swallowed them, they gave me ten - I swallowed them, twenty and thirty... And so I swallowed forty-three frogs at one time.
L. Voronkova “Swans and Geese”
Suddenly grandfather stopped digging, tilted his head to the side and listened to something.
Tanya asked in a whisper:
- What's there?
- Do you hear the swans trumpeting?
Tanya looked at her grandfather, then at the sky, then again at her grandfather and smiled:
- So, do swans have a trumpet?
- What a pipe there is! - Grandfather laughed. “They just scream so long, so they say they are trumpeting.” Well, do you hear?
Tanya listened. Indeed, somewhere high, high, distant, drawn-out voices were heard.
“Look, they’re flying home from overseas,” said grandfather. - How they call each other. No wonder they are called whoopers. And there, they flew past the sun, they became visible... Do you see?
- See see! - Tanya was delighted. - They fly like a rope. Maybe they'll sit here somewhere?
“No, they won’t sit here,” said grandfather thoughtfully, “they flew home!”
- How - home? - Tanya was surprised. - Don’t we have a house?
- Well, that means it’s not a home for them.
Tanya was offended:
- Swallows have a home, larks have a home, starlings have a home... But they don’t have a home?
— And their house is closer to the north. There, they say, there are a lot of swamps and lakes in the tundra. That’s where they nest, where it’s quieter and where there’s more water.
- Don’t we have enough water for them? There’s a river, there’s a pond... After all, we’re better off anyway!
“Whoever was born where is useful there,” said grandfather. - To each his own region is better.
At this time, the geese came out of the yard, stopped in the middle of the street, raised their heads and fell silent.
“Look, grandfather,” Tanya whispered, tugging at his sleeve, “and our geese are also listening to the swans!” As if they didn’t fly to the tundra!
- Where can they go? - said grandfather. - Our geese are heavy to lift! - And he began to dig the ground again.
The swans fell silent in the sky, disappeared, and melted into the distant blue. And the geese cackled, creaked and waddled down the street. And goose tracks were clearly imprinted in triangles on the damp road.
V. Veresaev “Brother”
At the corner of my dacha there was a tub full of water. Nearby is an elderberry bush. On an elder tree sat side by side two young sparrows, still very young, with down showing through their feathers, with bright yellow sinuses along the edges of their beaks. One boldly and confidently fluttered onto the edge of the tub and began to drink. He drank and kept glancing at the other and calling to him in his ringing language. Another - a little smaller - sat on a branch with a serious look and cautiously glanced sideways at the tub. And apparently he was thirsty - his beak was agape from the heat.
And suddenly I saw clearly: the first one, he had been drunk for a long time and was simply encouraging the other by example, showing that there was nothing terrible here. He continuously jumped along the edge of the tub, lowered his beak, grabbed the water and immediately dropped it from his beak, and looked at his brother and called him. The little brother on the branch made up his mind and flew to the tub. But as soon as he touched the damp, green edge with his paws, he immediately fluttered back into the elderberry tree in fear. And he started calling him again.
And finally achieved it. The little brother flew onto the tub, sat down uncertainly, fluttering his wings all the time, and drank. Both flew away.
V. Bianchi “Foundling”
The boys destroyed the wheatear's nest and broke its testicles. Naked, blind chicks fell out of the broken shells.
I managed to take only one of the six testicles from the boys intact.
I decided to save the chick hidden in it.
But how to do that?
Who will hatch it from the egg?
Who will feed?
I knew the nest of another bird nearby - the mocking warbler. She just laid her fourth egg.
But will the remnant accept the foundling? The wheatear egg is pure blue. It is larger and does not at all look like mocking eggs: they are pink with black dots. And what will happen to the wheatear chick? After all, he is about to come out of the egg, and the little mockers will hatch only in another twelve days.
Will the mockingbird feed the foundling?
The mockingbird's nest was placed so low on the birch tree that I could reach it with my hand.
When I approached the birch tree, the mocking bird flew off its nest. She fluttered along the branches of neighboring trees and whistled pitifully, as if begging not to touch her nest.
I placed the blue egg with her crimson ones, walked away and hid behind a bush.
Mockingbird did not return to the nest for a long time. And when she finally flew up, she didn’t immediately sit down in it: it was clear that she was looking at someone else’s blue egg with disbelief.
But still she sat in the nest. This means she accepted someone else's egg. The foundling became an adopted child.
But what will happen tomorrow when the little wheatear hatches from the egg?
When I approached the birch tree in the morning the next day, a nose was sticking out on one side of the nest, and a mocking tail was sticking out on the other.
When she flew off, I looked into the nest. There were four pink eggs and next to them a naked, blind wheatear chick.
I hid and soon saw a mocking bird fly in with a caterpillar in its beak and put it into the little wheatear’s mouth.
Now I was almost sure that the mocking would feed my foundling.
Six days have passed. Every day I approached the nest and every time I saw the mockingbird’s beak and tail sticking out of the nest.
I was very surprised how she managed to feed the wheatear and hatch her eggs.
I quickly moved away so as not to interfere with her in this important matter.
On the seventh day, neither beak nor tail stuck out above the nest.
I thought: “It's over! The mockingbird has left the nest. The little wheatear died of hunger.”
But no, there was a live wheatear in the nest. She was sleeping and didn’t even lift her head up or open her mouth: that meant she was full.
She had grown so much these days that she covered the pink testicles barely visible from underneath with her body.
Then I guessed that the adopted child thanked his new mother: with the warmth of his little body he warmed her testicles and hatched her chicks.
And so it was.
Mockingbird fed the fosterling, and the fosterling hatched her chicks.
He grew up and flew out of the nest before my eyes.
And just by this time the chicks hatched from the pink eggs.
Mockingbird began to feed her own chicks and fed them well.
Issues for discussion
Who is N. Sladkov’s story “The Polite Jackdaw” about?
Why did the jackdaw give up her warm place to another bird?
Listen to M. Prishvin's story “Guys and Ducklings.” Can we call this work a fairy tale? Why? (There are no fairy-tale characters in it and no miracles happen.) Can you say that this is a poem? (No, there is no melody or melodiousness in it, the endings of the words in the lines do not rhyme, it is not distinguished by imagery.) Who is this story about? Why did the teal duck end up on the road? Where was she going with the ducklings? Why do you think the guys started catching ducklings? How did the duck behave at this time? (She ran after them with her beak open or flew in different directions in the greatest excitement.) Why was she so worried? Who saved the ducklings? What did the duck do when the ducklings were returned to her? How did the story end? What did the author teach you?
Who is M. Prishvin’s story “Zhurka” about? Why is it called that? How did the young crane get to people? Could he fly when his wings were clipped? What did he start doing? How did the hunter's wife call him to her? Tell me what happened when the crane grew back its clipped wings. How did the story end? Who did you like in the story? Why?
What do you know about swans? What kind of birds are these? Where do they live? What types of geese are there? Do swans fly away somewhere for the winter? When do they return home? Do domestic geese fly south? Listen to how L. Voronkova talks about domestic geese and swans returning from overseas to their home. What can you say about the way swans cry? Why does grandfather compare their scream to the sound of a trumpet? So, what are the swans doing? (They shout, trumpet, call to each other.) What is another name for swans? Where do the swans fly? Why? Can geese fly to the tundra?
Who is V. Veresaev’s story “Brother” about? What were the sparrows like? (Young, small, with fluff showing through the feathers.) Were they similar or different? Which sparrow did you like best? Why? What was the first sparrow? (Brave, courageous, lively, self-confident.) What was the second sparrow like? (Timid, fearful, cowardly, timid, cautious.) Tell me how the sparrow called his little brother to drink water.