幼儿童话51·会伪装成树的小鸟林鸱
1. 树上的小秘密
早晨，墨西哥的大森林里飘着白白的雾。看，一截灰灰的树桩！咦？树皮怎么在动？哈哈，原来是树鸟先生正闭着眼睛睡觉觉呢！他黄黄的眼睛像小玻璃球，羽毛跟着风轻轻摇，和树皮上的花纹一模一样。“嘘——”他用小嘴轻轻啄了下树干，“别吵呀，我在玩躲猫猫呢！”一只想吃果果的红眼睛小青蛙，吓得跳走了。
2. 哎呀！大蛇来了！
中午，太阳光像金线一样照进森林。突然，慢吞吞的树懒阿姨大叫：“小心！有蛇！”树鸟先生立刻不动了，缩得圆圆的，像个小树疙瘩，连眼睫毛都变成树皮上的缝缝了。大蛇的尖牙齿擦过他的小尾巴！树鸟先生听到“沙沙沙”的声音，是大蛇在爬，还有自己“扑通扑通”的心跳声。真奇怪，当他躲起来时，心跳声听起来就像大树在轻轻“咚咚”响。
3. 神奇的蛋宝宝
晚上，月亮婆婆给树桩披上银色的被子。树鸟太太在孵蛋宝宝啦！蛋宝宝一开始是白白的，亮晶晶的。慢慢的，它开始变色啦！它吸进了树桩的味道，变成了咖啡糖一样的褐色。过了好多天，蛋壳上还鼓起了小包包，像真的树疙瘩！小树鸟宝宝要出来啦！它用小嘴啄呀啄，咦？啄开的不是硬硬的蛋壳，而是软软的、有圆圈圈花纹的“树皮”！真神奇！
4. 变变变！小羽毛
在森林的魔法学校里，树鸟老师教小鸟们学躲猫猫。他站在一块烂木头上，闭着眼睛假装睡觉。一只鼻子很灵的蜜獾“呼哧呼哧”地走过来，越靠越近！就在蜜獾的大鼻子快要碰到他时，树鸟老师轻轻一抖，掉下几根小羽毛。这些小羽毛飘呀飘，在空中“嗖”的一下变了！它们变成了绿绿的、软软的苔藓，落在地上。蜜獾的爪子踩上去，就像踩进了一片绿色的、看不见的棉花糖里，什么都找不到了！
5. 躲猫猫的真本领
天快黑了，最后一只来找麻烦的大鸟飞走了。树鸟先生终于可以伸伸懒腰，拍拍翅膀。他看着树桩上那个新的、像树疙瘩一样的蛋宝宝，突然明白了：躲猫猫最厉害的本领，不是假装成别的东西，而是让森林觉得你就是它的一部分，是它的好朋友！就像现在，月光照着他，他好像是大树的好朋友，月光也是大树的好朋友，大家在一起，分不清谁是谁啦！
记住，这种会变树皮魔法的小鸟，它的名字叫林鸱 (chī)！它伪装起来啊，真的就像一小块树皮一样呢！
51. The Little Bird Who Pretends to Be a Tree: The Potoo
1. The Little Secret in the Tree
Morning in the great Mexican forest was draped in white mist. Look, a grey tree stump! Huh? Why is the bark moving? Ha ha! It was Mr. Potoo, fast asleep with his eyes closed! His yellow eyes were like little glass marbles, and his feathers fluttered softly in the breeze, looking exactly like the patterns on the tree bark. "Shhh—" He tapped the tree trunk gently with his beak. "Don't make noise, I'm playing hide-and-seek!" A little red-eyed frog, hoping for a berry, hopped away in fright.
2. Oh No! The Big Snake!
At noon, sunlight streamed into the forest like golden threads. Suddenly, slow-moving Sloth Auntie cried out: "Watch out! Snake!" Mr. Potoo froze instantly. He pulled himself in, round and tight like a little tree knot. Even his eyelashes looked like tiny cracks in the bark! The snake's sharp fangs brushed past his little tail! Mr. Potoo heard the "rustle, rustle, rustle" of the snake slithering away, and the "thump-thump, thump-thump" of his own heart. How strange! When he hid like this, his heartbeat sounded like the tree's own gentle "thump... thump...".
3. The Magical Egg Baby
At night, Grandmother Moon draped the tree stump in a silver blanket. Mrs. Potoo was sitting on her egg baby! The egg was white and shiny at first. Slowly, it began to change colour! It soaked up the colours and scent of the tree stump, turning a lovely brown like coffee candy. After many days, little bumps even appeared on the shell, like real tree knots! The little Potoo chick was ready to hatch! It pecked and pecked with its tiny beak. Huh? What it pecked open wasn't a hard shell, but soft, patterned "bark" with ringed circles! So magical!
4. Change, Change, Little Feathers!
In the forest's Magic School, Teacher Potoo taught the little birds how to play hide-and-seek. He stood on a piece of rotten wood, eyes closed, pretending to sleep. A honey badger with a very keen nose came "sniff-sniff-sniffing" closer and closer! Just as the badger's big nose was about to touch him, Teacher Potoo gave a little shake. A few small feathers drifted down. These little feathers floated and floated, then "whoosh!" changed in the air! They turned into soft, green moss and landed on the ground. When the honey badger's paw stepped on it, it was like stepping into invisible green cotton candy! He couldn't find anything at all!
5. The True Skill of Hide-and-Seek
As dusk fell, the last troublesome big bird flew away. Mr. Potoo could finally stretch his wings and give them a flap. He looked at the new egg baby on the stump, shaped just like a tree knot, and suddenly understood: The greatest skill in hide-and-seek isn't just pretending to be something else. It's making the forest feel you are part of it, its good friend! Like now, the moonlight shone on him. He felt like the tree's good friend, and the moonlight was the tree's good friend too. They were all together, blending into one, and you couldn't tell who was who anymore!
Remember, this little bird with tree-bark magic is called a Potoo (pronounced poh-TOO)! When it hides, it really does look just like a piece of tree bark!