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 hearts 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 bears hole and cried: \growler, you are to come to the nest to my children, and beg their pardon, or else every rib of your body shall be broken.\ so the bear...
which excerpt from the passage encompasses the falling action of the story?
a. \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.\
b. \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.\
c. \then the king and queen flew home to their children and cried: children, rejoice, eat and drink to your hearts content, we have won the battle!\
d. \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 correct excerpt, we compare each option with the original passage. The original passage's relevant part about the falling action (after the climax, showing resolution) has the young wrens being satisfied, sitting together, eating, drinking, and making merry. The last option matches this part: "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." Other options either describe the battle or the fox's reaction (not falling action) or the animals fleeing (not the resolution part of falling action).

Answer:

The correct option is the last one: "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."