THE BROWNIES' BIRTHDAY DINNER.

 WHEN people through the county planned

To give their public dinners grand,

The Brownies met at day's decline

To have a birthday banquet fine.

"The proper things," a speaker cried,

"Await us here on every side;

We simply have to reach and take

And choose a place to boil and bake.

With meal and flour at our feet,

And wells of water pure and sweet,

That Brownie must be dull indeed

Who lacks the gumption¹ to proceed.

We'll peel the pumpkins², ripened³ well,

And scoop⁴ them hollow, like a shell,

Then slice them up the proper size

To make at length those famous pies,

For which the people, small and great,

Are ever quick to reach a plate."

 

This pleased them all; so none were slow

In finding work at which to go.

A stove that chance threw in their way

Was put in shape without delay.

 

Though doors were cracked, and legs were rare,

The spacious⁵ oven still was there,

Where pies and cakes and puddings wide

Might bake together side by side.

 

The level top, though incomplete,

Gave pots and pans a welcome seat,

Where stews⁶ could steam and dumplings found

A fitting place to roll around.

Some lengths of pipe were raised on high

That made the soot⁷ and cinders⁸ fly,

And caused a draught⁹ throughout the wreck¹⁰

That door or damper failed to check.

 

The rogues¹¹ who undertook the part,

That tries the cook's delightful¹² art,

Had smarting hands and faces red

Before the table-cloth was spread;

 

But what cared they at such an hour

For singeing¹³ flame or scalding shower?

Such ills are always reckoned slight

When great successes are in sight.

There cakes and tarts¹⁴ and cookies fine,

Of both the "leaf" and "notched¹⁵" design,

Were ranged in rows around the pan

That into heated ovens ran;

Where, in what seemed a minute's space,

Another batch¹⁶ would take their place;

While birds, that had secured repose¹⁷

Above the reach of Reynard's nose,

Without the aid of wings came down

To be at midnight roasted brown.

They found some boards and benches laid

Aside by workmen at their trade,

And these upon the green were placed

By willing hands with proper haste.

Said one, who board and bench combined:

"All art is not to cooks confined,

And some expertness we can show

As well as those who mix the dough¹⁸."

And all was as the speaker said;

In fact, they were some points ahead;

 

For when the cooks their triumphs showed,

The table waited for its load.

The knives and forks and dishes white

By secret methods came to light.

Much space would be required to tell

Just how the table looked so well;

 

But kitchen cupboards, three or four,

Must there have yielded up their store;

For all the guests on every side

With full equipments were supplied.

 

When people find a carver hacked¹⁹,

A saucer chipped, or platter cracked,

They should be somewhat slow to claim

That servants are the ones to blame;

 

For Brownies may have used the ware²⁰

And failed to show the proper care.

A few, as waiters, passed about

New dishes when the old gave out,

And saw the plates, as soon as bare,

Were heaped again with something rare.

No member, as you may believe,

Was anxious such a place to leave,

Until he had a taste at least

Of all the dishes in the feast.

The Brownies, when they break their fast,

Will eat as long as viands²¹ last,

And even birds can not depend

On crumbs²² or pickings at the end:

The plates were scraped, the kettles clean,

And not a morsel²³ to be seen,

Ere Brownies from that table ran

To shun²⁴ the prying²⁵ eyes of man.

1 gumption   

n.才干

参考例句：

• With his gumption he will make a success of himself.凭他的才干，他将大有作为。
• Surely anyone with marketing gumption should be able to sell good books at any time of year.无疑，有经营头脑的人在一年的任何时节都应该能够卖掉好书。

2 pumpkins   

n.南瓜( pumpkin的名词复数 )；南瓜的果肉，南瓜囊

参考例句：

• I like white gourds, but not pumpkins. 我喜欢吃冬瓜，但不喜欢吃南瓜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they cut faces in the pumpkins and put lights inside. 然后在南瓜上刻出一张脸，并把瓜挖空。 来自英语晨读30分（高三）

3 ripened   

v.成熟，使熟( ripen的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They're collecting the ripened reddish berries. 他们正采集熟了的淡红草莓。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The branches bent low with ripened fruits. 成熟的果实压弯了树枝。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 scoop   

n.铲子，舀取，独家新闻；v.汲取，舀取，抢先登出

参考例句：

• In the morning he must get his boy to scoop it out.早上一定得叫佣人把它剜出来。
• Uh,one scoop of coffee and one scoop of chocolate for me.我要一勺咖啡的和一勺巧克力的。

5 spacious   

adj.广阔的，宽敞的

参考例句：

• Our yard is spacious enough for a swimming pool.我们的院子很宽敞，足够建一座游泳池。
• The room is bright and spacious.这房间很豁亮。

6 stews   

n.炖煮的菜肴( stew的名词复数 )；烦恼，焦虑v.炖( stew的第三人称单数 )；煨；思考；担忧

参考例句：

• Corn starch is used as a thickener in stews. 玉米淀粉在炖煮菜肴中被用作增稠剂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most stews contain meat and vegetables. 炖的食物大多是肉类和蔬菜。 来自辞典例句

7 soot   

n.煤烟，烟尘；vt.熏以煤烟

参考例句：

• Soot is the product of the imperfect combustion of fuel.煤烟是燃料不完全燃烧的产物。
• The chimney was choked with soot.烟囱被煤灰堵塞了。

8 cinders   

n.煤渣( cinder的名词复数 )；炭渣；煤渣路；煤渣跑道

参考例句：

• This material is variously termed ash, clinker, cinders or slag. 这种材料有不同的名称，如灰、炉渣、煤渣或矿渣。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rake out the cinders before you start a new fire. 在重新点火前先把煤渣耙出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 draught   

n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计

参考例句：

• He emptied his glass at one draught.他将杯中物一饮而尽。
• It's a pity the room has no north window and you don't get a draught.可惜这房间没北窗，没有过堂风。

10 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

11 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

12 delightful   

adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的

参考例句：

• We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
• Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。

13 singeing   

v.浅表烧焦( singe的现在分词 )；（毛发）燎，烧焦尖端[边儿]；烧毛

参考例句：

• The smell of the singeing clothes and burning leather was horrible. 衣服烧焦和皮革燃烧的味儿十分浓烈。 来自辞典例句
• I can smell something singeing. 有东西烧焦了。 来自互联网

14 tarts   

n.果馅饼( tart的名词复数 )；轻佻的女人；妓女；小妞

参考例句：

• I decided to make some tarts for tea. 我决定做些吃茶点时吃的果馅饼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They ate raspberry tarts and ice cream. 大家吃着木莓馅饼和冰淇淋。 来自辞典例句

15 notched   

a.有凹口的，有缺口的

参考例句：

• Torino notched up a 2-1 win at Lazio. 都灵队以2 比1 赢了拉齐奧队。
• He notched up ten points in the first five minutes of the game. 他在比赛开始后的五分钟里得了十分。

16 batch   

n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量

参考例句：

• The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
• I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。

17 repose   

v.(使)休息；n.安息

参考例句：

• Don't disturb her repose.不要打扰她休息。
• Her mouth seemed always to be smiling,even in repose.她的嘴角似乎总是挂着微笑，即使在睡眠时也是这样。

18 dough   

n.生面团；钱，现款

参考例句：

• She formed the dough into squares.她把生面团捏成四方块。
• The baker is kneading dough.那位面包师在揉面。

19 hacked   

生气

参考例句：

• I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。
• I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。

20 ware   

n.(常用复数)商品，货物

参考例句：

• The shop sells a great variety of porcelain ware.这家店铺出售品种繁多的瓷器。
• Good ware will never want a chapman.好货不须叫卖。

21 viands   

n.食品，食物

参考例句：

• Greek slaves supplied them with exquisite viands at the slightest nod.只要他们轻轻点点头希腊奴隶就会供奉给他们精美的食品。
• The family sat down to table,and a frugal meal of cold viands was deposited beforethem.一家老少，都围着桌子坐下，几样简单的冷食，摆在他们面前。

22 crumbs   

int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式

参考例句：

• She stood up and brushed the crumbs from her sweater. 她站起身掸掉了毛衣上的面包屑。
• Oh crumbs! Is that the time? 啊，天哪！都这会儿啦？

23 morsel   

n.一口，一点点

参考例句：

• He refused to touch a morsel of the food they had brought.他们拿来的东西他一口也不吃。
• The patient has not had a morsel of food since the morning.从早上起病人一直没有进食。

24 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。

25 prying   

adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开

参考例句：

• I'm sick of you prying into my personal life! 我讨厌你刺探我的私生活！
• She is always prying into other people's affairs. 她总是打听别人的私事。 来自《简明英汉词典》