A Californian, being something of a naturalist2, set himself to work to tame one of these snakes and was able to teach Slippery Dick—the name he gave his strange pet—many tricks. He taught him to come at call, to coil up, to wave his folds about in imitation of dancing, and many other tricks. He would coil up on the table, his head in the center of the coil, elevated about six inches in the air. The gentleman would place the handle of a small fan in his mouth, and then the snake would gently wave the fan to and fro, and thus keep the flies from his master’s face.
He was as good as a cat to keep the old log house free from mice. He often brought in ten or twelve in a day. His fondness for mice was his ruin. It happened in this way: One day the gentleman missed Slippery Dick, and though he hunted and called all day, he could not find any trace of his pet. About a week after his disappearance3, having occasion to explore the loft4 of the cabin in which he lived, he came across the remains5 of his old friend. Apparently6 he had been more mouse-hungry than usual, and in his haste to satisfy his appetite had swallowed a live mouse, which had gnawed7 its way through the snake’s body, thus causing his death.
点击收听单词发音
1 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 naturalist | |
n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 disappearance | |
n.消失,消散,失踪 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 loft | |
n.阁楼,顶楼 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 gnawed | |
咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 ); (长时间) 折磨某人; (使)苦恼; (长时间)危害某事物 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
欢迎访问英文小说网 |