It was on a winter morning, near Oxford, Maryland, that I set the breakfast table beside the huge
window, which __ 1__ the Tred Avon River. The snow decorated the shore in white. For a moment I
stood quietly against the bookcase, appreciating what the night's snow had __ 2__.
3 I leaned forward and peered (盯着看) close to the frosted window. "It really is!" I cried
out loud. "There is a goose out there!" I __ 4__ to the bookcase and pulled out a pair of binoculars
(望远镜). Into their sights came the __ 5__ of a large Canada goose, very still, its wings folded tight to
its sides, its __ 6__ frozen to the ice.
Then from the dark sides, I saw a line of swans. They crossed __7__ the west of the broad river,
moving __ 8__ to the east.
As I __ 9__, the leader swung to the right, and then the white __10__ of birds become a white circle.
It floated from the top of the sky downward. At last, as easy as feathers coming to earth, the circle
__11__ the ice. The swans __12__ the frozen goose! Amazingly, those bills (啄) began to work on
__13_. The long necks were lifted and curved down, __14__. It went on for a long time. At last, the
goose was free and __15__ its big webbed (有蹼的) feet slowly. The goose __16__ its wings as far
as they would go. The swans took off and __17__ on their eastward journey, in perfect formation, to
their secret destination. __18__ them, rising with incredible speed and joy, the goose moved into the sky.
I watched them __19__ they disappeared over the tips of the farthest trees. Only then did I realize that
tears were running down my cheeks.
This is a true story. I do not try to interpret it here. I just often __20__ it in the bad moments, and tell
myself, "If so for birds, why not for man?