第5期:早饭前(5)

When Mr. Arable returned to the house half an hour later, he carried a carton under his arm.

Fern was upstairs changing her sneakers. The kitchen table was set for breakfast,

and the room smelled of coffee, bacon, damp plaster, and wood-smoke from the stove. Put it on her chair! said Mrs. Arable.

Mr. Arable set the carton down at Fern's place. Then he walked to the sink and washed his hands and dried them on the roller towel.

Fern came slowly down the stairs. Her eyes were red from crying.

As she approached her chair, the carton wobbled,

and there was a scratching noise. Fern looked at her father.

Then she lifted the lid of the carton. There, inside, looking up at her,

was the newborn pig. It was a white one.

The morning light shone through its ears, turning them pink.