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The Missing Piece by Shel Silverstein

This is a corrected compilation and EFL recording, by Steve Hoover in support of Claire Wu’s May 6, 2009 Reading Competition. Current Youtube and Internet blog postings contain errors or are of limited suitability for EFL students. No monetary benefits accrue to the compiler: satisfaction in enabling learners does.

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It was missing a piece. 

   And it was not happy

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 So it set off in search of its missing piece

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And as it rolled it sang this song- "Oh I'm lookin' for my missin' piece I'm lookin' for my missin' piece Hi-dee-ho, here I go, Lookin' for my missin' piece."

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Sometimes it baked in the sun

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but then the cool rain would come down. 

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And sometimes it was frozen by the snow. but then the sun would come and warm it again.

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And because it was missing a piece

 it could not roll very fast

so it would stop to talk to a worm

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or smell a flower

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and sometimes it would pass a beetle 

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and sometimes the beetle would pass it

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and this was the best time of all. 

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And on it went, over oceans.

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 "Oh I'm lookin' for my missin' piece Over land and over seas. So grease my knees and fleece my bees, I'm lookin' for my missin' piece."

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through swamps and jungles

up mountains ,

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and down mountains

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Until one day, lo and behold!

"I've found my missin' piece," it sang, "I've found my missin' piece So grease my knees and fleece my bees 

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 "Wait a minute," said the piece. "Before you go greasing your knees and fleecing your bees..." 

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I am not your missing piece. I am nobody's piece. I am my own piece.

And even if I was somebody's missing piece I don't think I'd be yours!"  

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"Oh," it said sadly,    "I'm sorry to have bothered you."    And rolled on.    It found another piece 

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but this one was too small.

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And this one was too big 

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this one a little too sharp  

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and this one was too square. 

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One time it seemed to have found the perfect piece 

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but it didn't hold it tightly enough    and lost it.

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 Another time

it held too tightly

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and it broke

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 So on and on it rolled,

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having adventures 

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 falling into holes 

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 and bumping into stone walls. 

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And one day it came upon another piece that seemed to be just right.

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"Hi," it said. "Hi," said the piece. "Are you anybody else's missing piece?" "Not that I know of." "Well, maybe you want to be your own piece?" "I can be someone's and still be mine." "Well, maybe you don't want to be mine." "Maybe I do." "Maybe we won't fit...." "Well..."

"Hummm?" "Ummmm!" 

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It fit!    It fit perfectly!    At last! At last! 

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And away it rolled    and because it was now complete,   it rolled faster and faster.    Faster than it had ever rolled before!

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So fast that it could not stop to talk to a worm    or smell a flower 

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too fast for a butterfly to land

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But it could sing its happy song, at last it could sing "I've found my missing piece."

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And it began to sing- "I've frown my nizzin' geez Uf vroun my mitzin' brees So krease ny meas An bleez ny drees Uf frown..." Oh my, now that it was complete it could not sing at all.

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"Aha," it thought.    "So that's how it is!"  He stopped.

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So it stopped rolling... and it set the piece down gently, 

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and slowly rolled away 

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 and as it rolled it softly sang-

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"Oh I'm lookin' for my missin' piece I'm lookin' for my missin' piece Hi-dee-ho, here I go, Lookin' for my missin' piece." 

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~~ The End ~~

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世界繪本特選 TOP100 名著作者： Shel Silverstein 謝爾 . 希爾弗斯坦

書名： The Missing Piece 失落的一角譯者： 林良

出版： 自立晚報社文化出版部

Also: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=744JBwjrlKk • 有的書上都是字，幾乎沒有畫；　有的書上都是畫，沒有什麼字；這本書上既

沒有幾個字，也只有很少的幾筆畫，但它說的更多，說完了每一故事；就像「人」字，雖只二筆，卻是萬物的根「本」。　　　　（史英：人本教育基金會董事）

• 生命的可能，貴在自我實現；生命的欠缺，是努力的空間。 　＿＿這本書如此啟示我。　　　　　（陳來紅：主婦聯盟基金會顧問）

• 銳與圓，收與放，得與失，能了然於心，必定受益無窮。　　　　　　　　　　　（葉樹珊：台視早安今天主持人）

• 這是我讀過最快的一本書，恐怕也是一輩子最忘不了的一本書。書中不只充滿童趣，豐富的生活想像，還有一種淳樸的本質，使我不會有知識的負擔。　　　　　　　　　　　（劉克襄：自然寫作家）