Английский язык с Робинзоном Крузо (в пересказе для детей),

After this I made all the pots and jars and plates and pans that I needed (после этого я сделал все горшки, кувшины, тарелки и миски, которые были нужны). They were of all shapes and sizes (они были всех форм и размеров).

You would have laughed to see them (вы бы посмеялись, увидев их).

Of course I was awkward at this work (конечно, я был неуклюжим/неловким при этой работе). I was like a child making mud pies (я был подобен ребенку, делающий пироги из грязи).

But how glad I was when I found that I had a vessel that would bear the fire (но как рад я был, когда обнаружил, что у меня был сосуд, который вынес бы огонь)! I could hardly wait to put some water in it and boil me some meat (я едва мог ждать, чтобы налить воды в него и сварить себе мясо).

That night I had turtle soup (в тот вечер у меня были черепаховый суп; night — ночь; вечер) and barley broth for supper (ячменная похлебка на ужин).

question [ˈkwestʃ(ǝ)n], metal [ˈmet(ǝ)l], ugly [ˈʌɡlɪ], bear [ˈbeǝ], fire [ˈfaɪǝ], earthenware [ˈǝ:Ɵ(ǝ)nweǝ], piece [pi:s], burn [bǝ:n], broth [brɔƟ]

I BECOME A POTTER

WHEN it came to making bread, I found that I needed several vessels. In fact, I needed them in many ways. It would be hard to make wooden vessels. Of course it was out of the question to make vessels of iron or any other metal. But why might I not make some earthen vessels?

If I could find some good clay, I felt quite sure that I could make pots strong enough to be of use.

After much trouble I found the clay. The next thing was to shape it into pots or jars.

You would have laughed to see the first things I tried to make. How ugly they were!

Some of them fell in pieces of their own weight. Some of them fell in pieces when I tried to lift them.

They were of all shapes and sizes.

After I had worked two months I had only two large jars that were fit to look at. These I used for holding my rice and barley meal.

Then I tried some smaller things, and did quite well.

I made some plates, a pitcher, and some little jars that would hold about a pint.

All these I baked in the hot sun. They kept their shape, and seemed quite hard. But of course they would not hold water or bear the heat of the fire.

One day when I was cooking my meat for dinner, I made a very hot fire. When I was done with it, I raked down the coals and poured water on it to put it out.

It so happened that one of my little earthenware jars had fallen into the fire and been broken. I had not taken it out, but had left it in the hot flames.

Now, as I was raking out the coals, I found some pieces of it and was surprised at the sight of them, for they were burned as hard as stones and as red as tiles.

"If broken pieces will burn so," said I, "why cannot a whole jar be made as hard and as red as these?"