"Where's Papa going with that ax (斧)?" said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.
"To the pig house," replied Mrs. Arable. "Some pigs were born last night."
"I don't see why he needs an ax," continued Fern.
"Well." said her mother, "one of the pigs is very small and weak, so your father has decided to do away with it."
"Do away with it?" shouted Fern. "You mean kill it? Just because it's smaller than the others?" Fern pushed a chair out of the way and ran outdoors. Fern's shoes were wet by the time she caught up with her father.
"Please don't kill it!" she sobbed (哭诉), "____"
"Fern," he said softly, "you will have to learn to control yourself."
"Control myself?" shouted Fern. "This is a matter of life and death, and you talk about controlling myself."
"Fern," said Mr. Arable, "I know more about raising pigs than you do. A weak pig makes trouble. Now run along!"
"The pig couldn't decide whether it was born small, could it? If I had been very small at birth, would you have killed me?" said Fern.
Mr. Arable smiled. "Certaınly not," he said. "All right. You go back to the house and I will bring the pig when I come in. I'll let you keep it. Then you'll see what trouble a weak pig can be." When Mr. Arable returned to the house half an hour later, he carried a box under his arm. He set it down at Fern's chair. When Fern came downthe stairs, she saw the box. Then she opened it. There, inside, looking up at her, was the newborn pig.
"Look at it!" she said, "It's absolutely (绝对地) perfect."
a. Mrs. Arable told Fern about the pig.
b. Fern saw the newborn pig in the box.
c. Fern stopped her father from killing the pig.
d. Fern ran outdoors to catch up with her father.
e. Mr. Arable returned to the house with the pig.