THE BROWNIES' CELEBRATION.

 ONE night the Brownies reached a mound¹

That rose above the country round.

Said one, as seated on the place

He glanced about with thoughtful face:

"If almanacs have matters right

The Fourth begins at twelve to-night,—

 

A fitting time for us to fill

Yon cannon² there and shake the hill,

And make the people all about

Think war again has broken out.

I know where powder may be found

Both by the keg and by the pound;

Men use it in a tunnel near

 

For blasting purposes, I hear.

 

To get supplies all hands will go,

And when we come we'll not be slow

To teach the folks the proper way

To honor Independence Day."

It was not long till powder came.

Then from the muzzle³ broke the flame,

And echo answered to the sound

That startled folk for miles around.

'Twas lucky for the Brownies' Band

They were not of the mortal brand,

Or half the crew would have been hurled⁴

In pieces to another world.

For when at last the cannon roared,

So huge the charge had Brownies poured,

The metal of the gun rebelled

And threw all ways the load it held.

The pieces clipped the daisy-heads

And tore the tree-tops into shreds⁵.

But Brownies are not slow to spy

A danger, as are you and I.

 

For they through strange and mystic art

Observed it as it flew apart,

And ducked and dodged⁶ and flattened⁷ out,

To shun⁸ the fragments flung about.

Some rogues⁹ were lifted from their feet

 

And, turning somersaults complete,

Like leaves went twirling through the air

But only to receive a scare;

And ere the smoke away had cleared

In forest shade they disappeared.

 

 

1 mound   

n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫

参考例句：

• The explorers climbed a mound to survey the land around them.勘探者爬上土丘去勘测周围的土地。
• The mound can be used as our screen.这个土丘可做我们的掩蔽物。

2 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

3 muzzle   

n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默

参考例句：

• He placed the muzzle of the pistol between his teeth.他把手枪的枪口放在牙齿中间。
• The President wanted to muzzle the press.总统企图遏制新闻自由。

4 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 shreds   

v.撕碎，切碎( shred的第三人称单数 )；用撕毁机撕毁（文件）

参考例句：

• Peel the carrots and cut them into shreds. 将胡罗卜削皮，切成丝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I want to take this diary and rip it into shreds. 我真想一赌气扯了这日记。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

6 dodged   

v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避

参考例句：

• He dodged cleverly when she threw her sabot at him. 她用木底鞋砸向他时，他机敏地闪开了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He dodged the book that I threw at him. 他躲开了我扔向他的书。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

8 shun   

vt.避开，回避，避免

参考例句：

• Materialists face truth,whereas idealists shun it.唯物主义者面向真理，唯心主义者则逃避真理。
• This extremist organization has shunned conventional politics.这个极端主义组织有意避开了传统政治。

9 rogues   

n.流氓( rogue的名词复数 )；无赖；调皮捣蛋的人；离群的野兽

参考例句：

• 'I'll show these rogues that I'm an honest woman,'said my mother. “我要让那些恶棍知道，我是个诚实的女人。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• The rogues looked at each other, but swallowed the home-thrust in silence. 那些恶棍面面相觑，但只好默默咽下这正中要害的话。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛