章节正文
would have you to know that I am a Toad, a very well-known,
respected, distinguished Toad! I may be under a bit of a
cloud at present, but I will NOT be laughed at by a
bargewoman!'
The woman moved nearer to him and peered under his bonnet keenly
and closely. `Why, so you are!' she cried. `Well, I never! A
horrid, nasty, crawly Toad! And in my nice clean barge, too!
Now that is a thing that I will NOT have.'
She relinquished the tiller for a moment. One big mottled arm
shot out and caught Toad by a fore-leg, while the other-gripped
him fast by a hind-leg. Then the world turned suddenly upside
down, the barge seemed to flit lightly across the sky, the wind
whistled in his ears, and Toad found himself flying through the
air, revolving rapidly as he went.
The water, when he eventually reached it with a loud splash,
proved quite cold enough for his taste, though its chill was not
sufficient to quell his proud spirit, or slake the heat of his
furious temper. He rose to the surface spluttering, and when he
had wiped the duck-weed out of his eyes the first thing he saw
was the fat barge-woman looking back at him over the stern of the
retreating barge and laughing; and he vowed, as he coughed
and choked, to be even with her.
He struck out for the shore, but the cotton gown greatly impeded
his efforts, and when at length he touched land he found it hard
to climb up the steep bank unassisted. He had to take a minute
or two's rest to recover his breath; then, gathering his wet
skirts well over his arms, he started to run after the barge as
fast as his legs would carry him, wild with indignation,
thirsting for revenge.
The barge-woman was still laughing when he drew up level with
her. `Put yourself through your mangle, washerwoman,' she called
out, `and iron your face and crimp it, and you'll pass for quite
a decent-looking Toad!'
Toad never paused to reply. Solid revenge was what he wanted,
not cheap, windy, verbaltriumphs, though he had a thing or two
in his mind that he would have liked to say. He saw what he
wanted ahead of him. Running swiftly on he overtook the horse,
unfastened the towrope and cast off, jumped lightly on the
horse's back, and urged it to a gallop by kicking it vigorously
in the sides. He steered for the open country, abandoning the
tow-path, and swinging his steed down a rutty lane. Once he
looked back, and saw that the barge had run aground on the other
side of the canal, and the barge-woman was gesticulating wildly
and shouting, `Stop, stop, stop!' `I've heard that song before,'
said Toad, laughing, as he continued to spur his steed onward in
its wild career.
The barge-horse was not capable of any very sustained effort, and
its gallop soon subsided into a trot, and its trot into an easy
walk; but Toad was quite contented with this, knowing that he, at
any rate, was moving, and the barge was not. He had quite
recovered his temper, now that he had done something he thought
really clever; and he was satisfied to jog along quietly in the
sun, steering his horse along by-ways and bridle-paths, and
trying to forget how very long it was since he had had a square
meal, till the canal had been left very far behind him.
He had travelled some miles, his horse and he, and he was feeling
drowsy in the hot sunshine, when the horse stopped, lowered his
head, and began to nibble the grass; and Toad, waking up, just
saved himself from falling off by an effort. He looked
about him and found he was on a wide common, dotted with patches
of gorse and bramble as far as he could see. Near him stood a
dingy gipsy caravan, and beside it a man was sitting on a bucket
turned upside down, very busy smoking and staring into the wide
world. A fire of sticks was burning near by, and over the fire
hung an iron pot, and out of that pot came forth bubblings and
gurglings, and a vague suggestive steaminess. Also smells--warm,
rich, and varied smells--that twined and twisted and wreathed
themselves at last into one complete, voluptuous, perfect smell
that seemed like the very soul of Nature taking form and
appearing to her children, a true Goddess, a mother of solace and
comfort. Toad now knew well that he had not been really hungry
before. What he had felt earlier in the day had been a mere
trifling qualm. This was the real thing at last, and no mistake;
and it would have to be dealt with speedily, too, or there would
be trouble for somebody or something. He looked the gipsy over
carefully, wondering vaguely whether it would be easier to fight
him or cajole him. So there he sat, and sniffed and sniffed, and
looked at the gipsy; and the gipsy sat and smoked, and
looked at him.
Presently the gipsy took his pipe out of his mouth and remarked
in a careless way, `Want to sell that there horse of yours?'
Toad was completely taken aback. He did not know that gipsies
were very fond of horse-dealing, and never missed an opportunity,
and he had not reflected that caravans were always on the move
and took a deal of drawing. It had not occurred to him to turn
the horse into cash, but the gipsy's suggestion seemed to smooth
the way towards the two things he wanted so badly--ready money,
and a solid breakfast.
`What?' he said, `me sell this beautiful young horse of mine? O,
no; it's out of the question. Who's going to take the washing
home to my customers every week? Besides, I'm too fond of him,
and he simply dotes on me.'
`Try and love a donkey,' suggested the gipsy. `Some people do.'
`You don't seem to see,' continued Toad, `that this fine horse of
mine is a cut above you altogether. He's a blood horse, he is,
partly; not the part you see, of course--another part. And
he's been a Prize Hackney, too, in his time--that was the time
before you knew him, but you can still tell it on him at a
glance, if you understand anything about horses. No, it's not to
be thought of for a moment. All the same, how much might you be
disposed to offer me for this beautiful young horse of mine?'
The gipsy looked the horse over, and then he looked Toad over
with equal care, and looked at the horse again. `Shillin' a
leg,' he said briefly, and turned away, continuing to smoke and
try to stare the wide world out of countenance.
`A shilling a leg?' cried Toad. `If you please, I must take a
little time to work that out, and see just what it comes to.'
He climbed down off his horse, and left it to graze, and sat down
by the gipsy, and did sums on his fingers, and at last he said,
`A shilling a leg? Why, that comes to exactly four shillings,
and no more. O, no; I could not think of accepting four
shillings for this beautiful young horse of mine.'
`Well,' said the gipsy, `I'll tell you what I will do. I'll make
it five shillings, and that's three-and-sixpence more than the
animal's worth. And that's my last word.'
Then Toad sat and pondered long and deeply. For he was hungry
and quite penniless, and still some way--he knew not how far--
from home, and enemies might still be looking for him. To one in
such a situation, five shillings may very well appear a large sum
of money. On the other hand, it did not seem very much to get
for a horse. But then, again, the horse hadn't cost him
anything; so whatever he got was all clear profit. At last he
said firmly, `Look here, gipsy! I tell you what we will do; and
this is MY last word. You shall hand me over six shillings
and sixpence, cash down; and further, in additionthereto, you
shall give me as much breakfast as I can possibly eat, at one
sitting of course, out of that iron pot of yours that keeps
sending forth such delicious and exciting smells. In return, I
will make over to you my spirited young horse, with all the
beautiful harness and trappings that are on him, freely thrown
in. If that's not good enough for you, say so, and I'll be
getting on. I know a man near here who's wanted this horse of
mine for years.'
The gipsy grumbled frightfully, and declared if he did a few more
deals of that sort he'd be ruined. But in the end he lugged
a dirty canvas bag out of the depths of his trouser pocket, and
counted out six shillings and sixpence into Toad's paw. Then he
disappeared into the caravan for an instant, and returned with a
large iron plate and a knife, fork, and spoon. He tilted up the
pot, and a gloriousstream of hot rich stew gurgled into the
plate. It was, indeed, the most beautiful stew in the world,
being made of partridges, and pheasants, and chickens, and hares,
and rabbits, and pea-hens, and guinea-fowls, and one or two other
things. Toad took the plate on his lap, almost crying, and
stuffed, and stuffed, and stuffed, and kept asking for more, and
the gipsy never grudged it him. He thought that he had never
eaten so good a breakfast in all his life.
When Toad had taken as much stew on board as he thought he could
possibly hold, he got up and said good-bye to the gipsy, and took
an affectionatefarewell of the horse; and the gipsy, who knew
the riverside well, gave him directions which way to go, and he
set forth on his travels again in the best possible spirits. He
was, indeed, a very different Toad from the animal of an hour
ago. The sun was shining brightly, his wet clothes were
quite dry again, he had money in his pocket once more, he was
nearing home and friends and safety, and, most and best of all,
he had had a substantial meal, hot and nourishing, and felt big,
and strong, and careless, and self-confident.
As he tramped along gaily, he thought of his adventures and
escapes, and how when things seemed at their worst he had always
managed to find a way out; and his pride and conceit began to
swell within him. `Ho, ho!' he said to himself as he marched
along with his chin in the air, `what a clever Toad I am! There
is surely no animal equal to me for cleverness in the whole
world! My enemies shut me up in prison, encircled by sentries,
watched night and day by warders; I walk out through them all, by
sheer ability coupled with courage. They pursue me with engines,
and policemen, and revolvers; I snap my fingers at them, and
vanish, laughing, into space. I am, unfortunately, thrown into a
canal by a woman fat of body and very evil-minded. What of it?
I swim ashore, I seize her horse, I ride off in triumph, and I
sell the horse for a whole pocketful of money and an excellent
breakfast! Ho, ho! I am The Toad, the handsome, the
popular, the successful Toad!' He got so puffed up with conceit
that he made up a song as he walked in praise of himself, and
sang it at the top of his voice, though there was no one to hear
it but him. It was perhaps the most conceited song that any
animal ever composed.
`The world has held great Heroes,
As history-books have showed;
But never a name to go down to fame
Compared with that of Toad!
`The clever men at Oxford
Know all that there is to be knowed.
But they none of them know one half as much
As intelligent Mr. Toad!
`The animals sat in the Ark and cried,
Their tears in torrents flowed.
Who was it said, "There's land ahead?"
Encouraging Mr. Toad!
`The army all saluted
As they marched along the road.
Was it the King? Or Kitchener?
No. It was Mr. Toad.
`The Queen and her Ladies-in-waiting
Sat at the window and sewed.
She cried, "Look! who's that HANDSOME man?"
They answered, "Mr. Toad."'
There was a great deal more of the same sort, but too dreadfully
conceited to be written down. These are some of the milder
verses.
respected, distinguished Toad! I may be under a bit of a
cloud at present, but I will NOT be laughed at by a
bargewoman!'
The woman moved nearer to him and peered under his bonnet keenly
and closely. `Why, so you are!' she cried. `Well, I never! A
horrid, nasty, crawly Toad! And in my nice clean barge, too!
Now that is a thing that I will NOT have.'
She relinquished the tiller for a moment. One big mottled arm
shot out and caught Toad by a fore-leg, while the other-gripped
him fast by a hind-leg. Then the world turned suddenly upside
down, the barge seemed to flit lightly across the sky, the wind
whistled in his ears, and Toad found himself flying through the
air, revolving rapidly as he went.
The water, when he eventually reached it with a loud splash,
proved quite cold enough for his taste, though its chill was not
sufficient to quell his proud spirit, or slake the heat of his
furious temper. He rose to the surface spluttering, and when he
had wiped the duck-weed out of his eyes the first thing he saw
was the fat barge-woman looking back at him over the stern of the
retreating barge and laughing; and he vowed, as he coughed
and choked, to be even with her.
He struck out for the shore, but the cotton gown greatly impeded
his efforts, and when at length he touched land he found it hard
to climb up the steep bank unassisted. He had to take a minute
or two's rest to recover his breath; then, gathering his wet
skirts well over his arms, he started to run after the barge as
fast as his legs would carry him, wild with indignation,
thirsting for revenge.
The barge-woman was still laughing when he drew up level with
her. `Put yourself through your mangle, washerwoman,' she called
out, `and iron your face and crimp it, and you'll pass for quite
a decent-looking Toad!'
Toad never paused to reply. Solid revenge was what he wanted,
not cheap, windy, verbaltriumphs, though he had a thing or two
in his mind that he would have liked to say. He saw what he
wanted ahead of him. Running swiftly on he overtook the horse,
unfastened the towrope and cast off, jumped lightly on the
horse's back, and urged it to a gallop by kicking it vigorously
in the sides. He steered for the open country, abandoning the
tow-path, and swinging his steed down a rutty lane. Once he
looked back, and saw that the barge had run aground on the other
side of the canal, and the barge-woman was gesticulating wildly
and shouting, `Stop, stop, stop!' `I've heard that song before,'
said Toad, laughing, as he continued to spur his steed onward in
its wild career.
The barge-horse was not capable of any very sustained effort, and
its gallop soon subsided into a trot, and its trot into an easy
walk; but Toad was quite contented with this, knowing that he, at
any rate, was moving, and the barge was not. He had quite
recovered his temper, now that he had done something he thought
really clever; and he was satisfied to jog along quietly in the
sun, steering his horse along by-ways and bridle-paths, and
trying to forget how very long it was since he had had a square
meal, till the canal had been left very far behind him.
He had travelled some miles, his horse and he, and he was feeling
drowsy in the hot sunshine, when the horse stopped, lowered his
head, and began to nibble the grass; and Toad, waking up, just
saved himself from falling off by an effort. He looked
about him and found he was on a wide common, dotted with patches
of gorse and bramble as far as he could see. Near him stood a
dingy gipsy caravan, and beside it a man was sitting on a bucket
turned upside down, very busy smoking and staring into the wide
world. A fire of sticks was burning near by, and over the fire
hung an iron pot, and out of that pot came forth bubblings and
gurglings, and a vague suggestive steaminess. Also smells--warm,
rich, and varied smells--that twined and twisted and wreathed
themselves at last into one complete, voluptuous, perfect smell
that seemed like the very soul of Nature taking form and
appearing to her children, a true Goddess, a mother of solace and
comfort. Toad now knew well that he had not been really hungry
before. What he had felt earlier in the day had been a mere
trifling qualm. This was the real thing at last, and no mistake;
and it would have to be dealt with speedily, too, or there would
be trouble for somebody or something. He looked the gipsy over
carefully, wondering vaguely whether it would be easier to fight
him or cajole him. So there he sat, and sniffed and sniffed, and
looked at the gipsy; and the gipsy sat and smoked, and
looked at him.
Presently the gipsy took his pipe out of his mouth and remarked
in a careless way, `Want to sell that there horse of yours?'
Toad was completely taken aback. He did not know that gipsies
were very fond of horse-dealing, and never missed an opportunity,
and he had not reflected that caravans were always on the move
and took a deal of drawing. It had not occurred to him to turn
the horse into cash, but the gipsy's suggestion seemed to smooth
the way towards the two things he wanted so badly--ready money,
and a solid breakfast.
`What?' he said, `me sell this beautiful young horse of mine? O,
no; it's out of the question. Who's going to take the washing
home to my customers every week? Besides, I'm too fond of him,
and he simply dotes on me.'
`Try and love a donkey,' suggested the gipsy. `Some people do.'
`You don't seem to see,' continued Toad, `that this fine horse of
mine is a cut above you altogether. He's a blood horse, he is,
partly; not the part you see, of course--another part. And
he's been a Prize Hackney, too, in his time--that was the time
before you knew him, but you can still tell it on him at a
glance, if you understand anything about horses. No, it's not to
be thought of for a moment. All the same, how much might you be
disposed to offer me for this beautiful young horse of mine?'
The gipsy looked the horse over, and then he looked Toad over
with equal care, and looked at the horse again. `Shillin' a
leg,' he said briefly, and turned away, continuing to smoke and
try to stare the wide world out of countenance.
`A shilling a leg?' cried Toad. `If you please, I must take a
little time to work that out, and see just what it comes to.'
He climbed down off his horse, and left it to graze, and sat down
by the gipsy, and did sums on his fingers, and at last he said,
`A shilling a leg? Why, that comes to exactly four shillings,
and no more. O, no; I could not think of accepting four
shillings for this beautiful young horse of mine.'
`Well,' said the gipsy, `I'll tell you what I will do. I'll make
it five shillings, and that's three-and-sixpence more than the
animal's worth. And that's my last word.'
Then Toad sat and pondered long and deeply. For he was hungry
and quite penniless, and still some way--he knew not how far--
from home, and enemies might still be looking for him. To one in
such a situation, five shillings may very well appear a large sum
of money. On the other hand, it did not seem very much to get
for a horse. But then, again, the horse hadn't cost him
anything; so whatever he got was all clear profit. At last he
said firmly, `Look here, gipsy! I tell you what we will do; and
this is MY last word. You shall hand me over six shillings
and sixpence, cash down; and further, in additionthereto, you
shall give me as much breakfast as I can possibly eat, at one
sitting of course, out of that iron pot of yours that keeps
sending forth such delicious and exciting smells. In return, I
will make over to you my spirited young horse, with all the
beautiful harness and trappings that are on him, freely thrown
in. If that's not good enough for you, say so, and I'll be
getting on. I know a man near here who's wanted this horse of
mine for years.'
The gipsy grumbled frightfully, and declared if he did a few more
deals of that sort he'd be ruined. But in the end he lugged
a dirty canvas bag out of the depths of his trouser pocket, and
counted out six shillings and sixpence into Toad's paw. Then he
disappeared into the caravan for an instant, and returned with a
large iron plate and a knife, fork, and spoon. He tilted up the
pot, and a gloriousstream of hot rich stew gurgled into the
plate. It was, indeed, the most beautiful stew in the world,
being made of partridges, and pheasants, and chickens, and hares,
and rabbits, and pea-hens, and guinea-fowls, and one or two other
things. Toad took the plate on his lap, almost crying, and
stuffed, and stuffed, and stuffed, and kept asking for more, and
the gipsy never grudged it him. He thought that he had never
eaten so good a breakfast in all his life.
When Toad had taken as much stew on board as he thought he could
possibly hold, he got up and said good-bye to the gipsy, and took
an affectionatefarewell of the horse; and the gipsy, who knew
the riverside well, gave him directions which way to go, and he
set forth on his travels again in the best possible spirits. He
was, indeed, a very different Toad from the animal of an hour
ago. The sun was shining brightly, his wet clothes were
quite dry again, he had money in his pocket once more, he was
nearing home and friends and safety, and, most and best of all,
he had had a substantial meal, hot and nourishing, and felt big,
and strong, and careless, and self-confident.
As he tramped along gaily, he thought of his adventures and
escapes, and how when things seemed at their worst he had always
managed to find a way out; and his pride and conceit began to
swell within him. `Ho, ho!' he said to himself as he marched
along with his chin in the air, `what a clever Toad I am! There
is surely no animal equal to me for cleverness in the whole
world! My enemies shut me up in prison, encircled by sentries,
watched night and day by warders; I walk out through them all, by
sheer ability coupled with courage. They pursue me with engines,
and policemen, and revolvers; I snap my fingers at them, and
vanish, laughing, into space. I am, unfortunately, thrown into a
canal by a woman fat of body and very evil-minded. What of it?
I swim ashore, I seize her horse, I ride off in triumph, and I
sell the horse for a whole pocketful of money and an excellent
breakfast! Ho, ho! I am The Toad, the handsome, the
popular, the successful Toad!' He got so puffed up with conceit
that he made up a song as he walked in praise of himself, and
sang it at the top of his voice, though there was no one to hear
it but him. It was perhaps the most conceited song that any
animal ever composed.
`The world has held great Heroes,
As history-books have showed;
But never a name to go down to fame
Compared with that of Toad!
`The clever men at Oxford
Know all that there is to be knowed.
But they none of them know one half as much
As intelligent Mr. Toad!
`The animals sat in the Ark and cried,
Their tears in torrents flowed.
Who was it said, "There's land ahead?"
Encouraging Mr. Toad!
`The army all saluted
As they marched along the road.
Was it the King? Or Kitchener?
No. It was Mr. Toad.
`The Queen and her Ladies-in-waiting
Sat at the window and sewed.
She cried, "Look! who's that HANDSOME man?"
They answered, "Mr. Toad."'
There was a great deal more of the same sort, but too dreadfully
conceited to be written down. These are some of the milder
verses.
- lightly [´laitli]
ad.轻微地，稍微 (初中英语单词) - temper [´tempə] n.韧度 v.锻炼；调和 (初中英语单词)
- breath [breθ] n.呼吸；气息 (初中英语单词)
- revenge [ri´vendʒ] vt.报复 n.报仇；报复 (初中英语单词)
- running [´rʌniŋ] a.奔跑的；流动的 (初中英语单词)
- swiftly [´swiftli] ad.迅速地，敏捷地 (初中英语单词)
- gallop [´gæləp] n.&v.奔驰；急速行进 (初中英语单词)
- capable [´keipəbəl] a.有能力；能干的 (初中英语单词)
- knowing [´nəuiŋ] a.会意的，心照不宣的 (初中英语单词)
- sunshine [´sʌnʃain] n.日光，阳光 (初中英语单词)
- goddess [´gɔdis] n.女神 (初中英语单词)
- careless [´keəlis] a.粗心的；草率的 (初中英语单词)
- suggestion [sə´dʒestʃən] n.建议，提议；暗示 (初中英语单词)
- altogether [,ɔ:ltə´geðə] ad.完全；总而言之 (初中英语单词)
- briefly [´bri:fli] ad.简短地；简略地 (初中英语单词)
- whatever [wɔt´evə] pron.&a.无论什么 (初中英语单词)
- firmly [´fə:mli] ad.坚固地，稳定地 (初中英语单词)
- addition [ə´diʃən] n.加；加法；附加物 (初中英语单词)
- delicious [di´liʃəs] a.美味的，可口的 (初中英语单词)
- harness [´hɑ:nis] vt.上马具 n.马具 (初中英语单词)
- freely [´fri:li] ad.自由地；慷慨地 (初中英语单词)
- canvas [´kænvəs] n.帆布；油画(布) (初中英语单词)
- instant [´instənt] a.立即的 n.紧迫；瞬间 (初中英语单词)
- glorious [´glɔ:riəs] a.光荣的；辉煌的 (初中英语单词)
- stream [stri:m] n.河 vi.流出；飘扬 (初中英语单词)
- farewell [feə´wel] int.再见 n.&a.告别 (初中英语单词)
- ability [ə´biliti] n.(办事)能力；才干 (初中英语单词)
- pursue [pə´sju:] v.追赶；追踪；从事 (初中英语单词)
- ashore [ə´ʃɔ:] ad.向岸上 (初中英语单词)
- triumph [´traiəmf] n.胜利 vi.得胜，战胜 (初中英语单词)
- intelligent [in´telidʒənt] a.聪明的；理智的 (初中英语单词)
- distinguished [di´stiŋgwiʃt] a.卓越的，著名的 (高中英语单词)
- bonnet [´bɔnit] n.无边女帽；童帽 (高中英语单词)
- onward [´ɔnwəd] ad.&a.向前(的) (高中英语单词)
- contented [kən´tentid] a.满足的；心满意足的 (高中英语单词)
- shilling [´ʃiliŋ] n.先令 (高中英语单词)
- affectionate [ə´fekʃənit] a.亲爱的 (高中英语单词)
- brightly [´braitli] ad.明亮地；聪明地 (高中英语单词)
- substantial [səb´stænʃəl] a.实质的，真的 (高中英语单词)
- conceit [kən´si:t] n.自负；骄傲自满 (高中英语单词)
- unfortunately [ʌn´fɔ:tʃunitli] ad.不幸；不朽；可惜 (高中英语单词)
- eventually [i´ventʃuəli] ad.最后，终于 (英语四级单词)
- gathering [´gæðəriŋ] n.集会，聚集 (英语四级单词)
- overtook [,əuvə´tuk] overtake的过去式 (英语四级单词)
- nibble [´nibəl] v.啃 n.轻咬，啃 (英语四级单词)
- caravan [´kærəvæn] n.大蓬车 (英语四级单词)
- upside [´ʌpsaid] n.上边，上段，上部 (英语四级单词)
- varied [´veərid] a.各种各样的 (英语四级单词)
- speedily [´spi:dili] ad.迅速地 (英语四级单词)
- vaguely [´veigli] ad.含糊地，暖昧地 (英语四级单词)
- drawing [´drɔ:iŋ] n.画图；制图；图样 (英语四级单词)
- sixpence [´sikspəns] n.六便士(硬币) (英语四级单词)
- mangle [´mæŋgəl] vt.乱砍；割碎；弄伤 (英语六级单词)
- verbal [´və:bəl] a.文字上的；口头的 (英语六级单词)
- bramble [´bræmbəl] n.荆棘 (英语六级单词)
- suggestive [sə´dʒestiv] a.暗示的；启发的 (英语六级单词)
- taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)
- solace [´sɔləs] n.&vt.安慰(物)；缓和 (英语六级单词)
- thereto [ðeə´tu:] ad.到那里；另外 (英语六级单词)
- frightfully [,fraitfuli] ad.可怕地；非常 (英语六级单词)
- riverside [´rivəsaid] n.河岸 a.河岸上的 (英语六级单词)
- conceited [kən´si:tid] a.自负的；自夸的 (英语六级单词)
文章标签:名著
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