Chinese Original Classic Picture Books Written by Bo
Jin
Fairy Tale
Illustrated by Li
Li
Two Cotton Gloves Edited by the Children’s Literature Committee of the China Writers’ Association Consultant Bo Jin Chief Editor Hongbo Gao
China Children's Press and Publication Group Beijing
One winter, the northwest wind kept blowing, cutting into people’s faces like knives! 2
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Mother squirrel was going to give birth to their babies, but she had not yet found a shelter. Father squirrel sighed. He jumped off the tree and started his search for a place for mother squirrel to give birth in.
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He looked here and there and finally found a large and round tree hole. He looked inside, but at once a rough voice was heard, “Sorry, this tree hole is occupied.� Immediately father squirrel recognized the voice of the big black bear, and quickly ran away.
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He looked here and there and finally found a small and round tree hole. He looked inside, but at once a sharp voice was heard, “Sorry, this tree hole is occupied.� Immediately father squirrel recognized the voice of the little hedgehog, and quickly ran away.
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The wind was blowing harder and harder, carrying snowflakes. Mother squirrel huddled up, holding her bulging stomach and squatting on a branch. She was so worried that she felt like crying.
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Father squirrel sighed. He jumped off the tree and resumed his search for a place where mother squirrel could give birth. 12
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He walked in the snow, looking here and there, but even a grass nest was nowhere to be found. His feet were almost frozen, but he did not care. He just wanted to find to a safe place where mother squirrel could give birth to their babies!
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风，越刮越 猛；雪，越下越 紧。五只小松鼠依 偎着妈妈还喊冷。 松鼠爸爸就用自己 的大尾巴堵在棉手 套的口上，为他们 挡风雪。 他迎着风雪卧 在棉手套的外面， 他冻得发僵了，也 不肯离开一步。
He had been walking for ages when suddenly he stepped on something soft. He swept the snow aside with his fluffy tail. Oh, he found a cotton glove!
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He knew that it must have been lost by a careless child.
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He could not afford to be too picky and quickly helped mother squirrel into the glove. Soon, she gave birth to five baby squirrels.
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The five little squirrels were very curious. They wiggled here and dug there. Finally, they settled into the five fingers of the cotton glove, each making a finger into a room.
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The little squirrels slept soundly, with mother squirrel lying beside them to protect them.
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Father squirrel also wanted to get into the cotton glove to warm himself, but it was too crowded inside. He had to get out and lie outside the glove, covering himself with his fluffy tail.
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The wind blew harder and harder, and the snow intensified with every passing moment. The five little squirrels snuggled against their mother, but they still felt cold.
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Father squirrel blocked the glove opening with its big tail to protect them from the wind and snow. He lay outside the glove against the wind and snow. He was almost frozen, but he would never leave his wife and children.
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Suddenly, father squirrel heard footsteps coming nearer and nearer. Finally he saw two snow shoes in front of him.
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He looked up and saw a boy standing there, with one hand wearing a cotton glove and the other bare. Father squirrel immediately understood that the boy had come to look for his lost glove.
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Unfortunately, father squirrel was right. The boy bent down to reach for the glove. Father squirrel said, “Thank you for your cotton glove.�
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The boy said, “I should thank you for taking care of my glove!” “No,” father squirrel said, “I should thank you. Look, my five little squirrels and their mother are taking shelter in your cotton glove! Otherwise, they would have been frozen to death.”
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“Then why didn’t you get in it?” The little boy asked. “It’s too crowded inside, so I chose to stay outside blocking the wind and snow for them.” Father squirrel said proudly.
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It was not until then that the little boy realized that father squirrel was covered in snow. Without hesitation he took off the other cotton glove and gently placed it on the ground. Then he turned back and left quietly.
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Mother squirrel and her five little squirrels stuck out their heads to thank him, but the little boy had already walked away into the thick snow.
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Farther squirrel said, “Let’s take good care of these two cotton gloves. When spring comes and it gets warm, we must return them to the kind boy.”
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The five little squirrels looked at the disappearing back of the boy and shouted together, “When we grow up, we will go along with mother and father to return the gloves!� And they did.
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