"Children's Books - White, E.B. - Charlotte's Web" - читать интересную книгу автора (Children's Books)

gave him a feeding around noontime each day, when Fern was away in
school. Wilbur loved his milk, and he was never happier than when Fern
was warming up a bottle for him. He would stand and gaze up at her with
adoring eyes.

For the first few days of his life, Wilbur was allowed to live in a box
near the stove in the kitchen. Then, when Mrs. Arable complained, he
was moved to a bigger box in the woodshed. At two weeks of age, he was
moved outdoors. It was apple-blossom time, and the days were getting
warmer. Mr. Arable fixed a small yard specially for Wilbur under an
apple tree, and gave him a large wooden box full of straw, with a
doorway cut in it so he could walk in and out as he pleased.

"Won't he be cold at night?" asked Fern.

"No," said her father. "You watch and see what he does."

Carrying a bottle of milk, Fern sat down under the apple tree inside the
yard. Wilbur ran to her and she held the bottle for him while he
sucked. When he had finished the last drop, he grunted and walked
sleepily into the box. Fern peered through the door. Wilbur was poking
the straw with his snout. In a short time he had dug a tunnel in the
straw. He crawled into the tunnel and disappeared from sight,
completely covered with straw.

Fern was enchanted. It relieved her mind to know that her baby would
sleep covered up, and would stay warm.

Every morning after breakfast, Wilbur walked out to the road with Fern
and waited with her till the bus came. She would wave good-bye to him,
and he would stand and watch the bus until it vanished around a turn.
While Fern was in school, Wilbur was shut up inside his yard. But as
soon as she got home in the afternoon, she would take him out and he
would follow her around the place. If she went into the house, Wilbur
went, too. If she went upstairs, Wilbur would wait at the bottom step
until she came down again. If she took her doll for a walk in the doll
carriage, Wilbur followed along. Sometimes, on these journeys, Wilbur
would get tired, and Fern would pick him up and put him in the carriage
alongside the doll. He liked this. And if he was very tired, he would
close his eyes and go to sleep under the doll's blanket. He looked cute
when his eyes were closed, because his lashes were so long. The doll
would close her eyes, too, and Fern would wheel the carriage very slowly
and smoothly so as not to wake her infants.

One warm afternoon, Fern and Avery put on bathing suits and went down to
the brook for a swim. Wilbur tagged along at Fern's heels. When she
waded into the brook, Wilbur waded in with her. He found the water quite
cold - too cold for his liking. So while the children swam and played
and splashed water at each other, Wilbur amused himself in the mud along
the edge of the brook, where it was warm and moist and delightfully