It was lovely summer weather in the country. The yellow corn, green oats, and golden haystacks in the meadows looked beautiful. The stork walking about on his long red legs, chattered in the Egyptian language that he had learned from his mother. The cornfields and meadows were surrounded by large forests with large brown tree trunks topped with green leaves and bright blossoms. In the midst of the forests were deep pools of clear, sapphire water.
Beside the forests was a river, and close by stood a pleasant old farmhouse. From the house, one could see down to the water, where great thistles grew so high that under the tallest dark green leaves, a small child could stand upright! This wild, secluded spot formed a snug retreat in which a duck sat on a nest, waiting for her young brood to hatch.
The duck was beginning to tire of her task, for the little ones were a long time coming out of their shells, and she seldom had any visitors. The other ducks much preferred swimming in the river than climbing the slippery banks to sit under a thistle leaf and talk with her. She shifted on the itchy twigs of her nest. Finally, she heard one shell crack, and then another and another, and from each came a fuzzy creature that lifted its head and cried, “Peep! Peep!”
“Quack, Quack,” said the mother as she stroked each soft, yellow duckling. They looked about them on every side as the large green leaves. Their mother allowed them to look as much as they liked, because green is good for the eyes. “How large the world is,” said the young ducks, when they found how much more room they had now than while inside their white eggshells.
“Do you imagine this is the whole world?” laughed their mother. “Wait till you have seen the garden; it stretches far beyond that field, but I have never ventured such a distance. Are you all out?” she continued, rising. “No, the largest egg lies there still! I wonder how long this is to last; I am quite tired of it!” Then she ruffled her feathers and seated herself again on the nest.
How did the author appeal to the readers’ sense of touch? Give examples from the text to support your ideas.