Johnny went to see his grandparents on their farm, and they gave him a slingshot (弹弓) to play with out in the woods. He was excited and practiced for some time. But he could never hit the target he had set.
Getting a little upset, he headed back for dinner. As he was going back, he saw his grandma’s duck. Without thinking, he let the slingshot fly, hitting the duck in the head and killing it.
In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the woodpile(柴堆), only to see his sister watching! But Sally said nothing. After lunch the next day, Grandma said, “Sally, help me with the dishes.”
But Sally said, “Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.” Then she whispered(耳语) to Johnny, “Remember the duck?” So Johnny did the dishes.
Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to ride horses, and Grandma said, “I’m sorry but I need Sally to help me make supper.”
Sally just smiled and said, “Well, that’s all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help you.” She whispered again, “Remember the duck?”
So Sally went to ride horses and Johnny stayed behind to help make supper. After several days of doing both his chores and Sally’s, Johnny finally couldn’t stand it any more.
He went to his grandma and said that he had killed the duck.
Grandma smiled. “Sweetheart, I know,” said Grandma. “You see, I saw the whole thing at the window that day, but because I love you, I forgave you. I just waited to find out when you would tell me what you did.”