Question

read the passage from the willow-wren and the bear
when the fox felt the first sting, he started so that he lifted one leg, from pain, but he bore it, and still kept his tail high in the air; at the second sting, he was forced to put it down for a moment; at the third, he could hold out no longer, screamed, and put his tail between his legs. when the animals saw that, they thought all was lost, and began to flee, each into his hole, and the birds had won the battle.
then the king and queen flew home to their children and cried: children, rejoice, eat and drink to your heart’s content, we have won the battle! but the young wrens said: we will not eat yet, the bear must come to the nest, and beg for pardon and say that we are honourable children, before we will do that. then the willow-wren flew to the bear’s hole and cried: growler, you are to come to the nest to my children,
which excerpt from the passage encompasses the falling action of the story?
∘ \when the fox felt the first sting, he started so that he lifted one leg, from pain, but he bore it, and still kept his tail high in the air.\
∘ \when the animals saw that, they thought all was lost, and began to flee, each into his hole, and the birds had won the battle.\
∘ \then the king and queen flew home to their children and cried: ‘children, rejoice, eat and drink to your heart’s content, we have won the battle!’\
∘ \and now at last the young wrens were satisfied, and sat down together and ate and drank, and made merry till quite late into the night.\

Explanation:

To determine the falling action, we analyze the story structure. The falling action occurs after the climax (the battle's outcome) and leads to the resolution.

• The first option describes the fox during the battle (rising action or climax).
• The second option describes the animals fleeing after the battle, but it's more of the immediate aftermath of the climax.
• The third option shows the King and Queen returning home to celebrate, which is part of the falling action as it occurs after the battle (climax) and before the final resolution (the young wrens' demands and the bear's pardon).
• The fourth option is part of the resolution (the young wrens' celebration and the bear's eventual pardon would follow).

The third option shows the characters transitioning from the battle (climax) to the resolution, fitting the falling action.

Answer:

C. "Then the King and Queen flew home to their children and cried: 'Children, rejoice, eat and drink to your heart’s content, we have won the battle!'"