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About a fortnight later the youngsters began to show their heads and their speckled breasts at the doorway, and presently they attempted to fly to the roof. Three of them succeeded, but the fourth fluttered to the ground; and Duncan’s mother, who happened to be watching, was just in time to save it from a neighbor’s cat. The hired man got a ladder and put the young bird back in the nest, and very soon the little family got safely away.
大约两个星期以后，蓝鸟宝宝们开始在门口露出头和有斑点的胸部，不久它们就想飞到屋顶上去。有三只成功了，其余四只坠落在地；邓肯的妈妈正好在旁边看着，她及时地从邻居家的猫手里把它们救了出来。雇工拿来一架梯子，把小鸟放回巢里。很快，这个小家庭就平安地飞走了。
Duncan was so much encouraged by his success that he began to plan for the following season. He built smaller, single-roomed houses for the bluebirds and tree-swallows, and put them up in the fall. He saved the larger house for the martins this time, by blocking the doorways with strips of wood until it was about time for them to return.
邓肯被他的成功所鼓舞，他开始为下一个季节做打算。他为蓝知更鸟和树燕子建造了更小的单间房屋，并在秋天搭建起来。这一次他把大房子留给了马丁，用木条堵住了门口，等它们再归。
Just as he had hoped, the first bluebirds built in one of the smaller boxes, and a pair of tree swallows in the other. But when he spoke of trying to get the purple martins, most of the neighbors shook their heads and laughed.
如他所期，第一只蓝知更鸟的窝建在一个小盒子里，一双树燕住在另一个盒子里。但当他说到想要让紫燕飞来，大多数邻居都摇头大笑。
