CHAPTER V.

 THE YEAR GARGANTUA HAD WOODEN HORSES, AND WHAT USE HE MADE OF THEM.

 

Engraving¹

GARGANTUA AT PLAY.

From the time he was three years old to the time he had grown to be a boy of five, Gargantua was brought up, by the strict command of his father, just like all the other children of the Kingdom. His education was very simple. It was:

Drinking, eating, and sleeping;

Eating, sleeping, and drinking;

Sleeping, drinking, and eating.

If he loved any one thing more than to play in the mud, that was to roll and wallow about in the mire². He would go home with his shoes all run down at the heels, and his face and clothes well streaked³ with dirt. Gargantua, therefore, was not more favored than the other little boys of the kingdom who were not so rich as he was; but there was one advantage which he did have. From his earliest babyhood he saw so many horses in the Royal Stables that he got to know a fine horse almost as well as his father did. Whenever he saw a horse he would clap his fat hands together, and shout at the top of his lungs. It was thought that—being a Prince who was, in time, to become a King—he should be taught to ride well. So they made him, when he was a little fellow of four years, so fine, so strong, and so wonderful a wooden horse that there had never been seen its like up to that date, and there never has been found in any young prince's play-house or toy-shop since.

Engraving

GARGANTUA'S HORSE.

This surprising horse must have been a piece of rare workmanship, because, whenever its young master wanted it to do anything, it was bound to do it. He could make it leap forward, jump backward, rear skyward, and waltz, all at one time. He could make it trot⁴, gallop⁵, rack, pace, gambol⁶, and amble⁷, just as the humor took him. But this was only half of what that horse could do. Gargantua, at a word, could make it change the color of its hair. One day its hide would be milk-white; the next day, bay; the next, black; the next, sorrel; the next, dapple-gray; the next, mouse-color; the next, piebald; the next, a soft brown deer-color.

But this was not all.

Gargantua learned to be so skilful⁸ that he thought that he might just as well make a horse to suit himself as to have a horse bought for him. So he sat knitting his great eyebrows⁹ till he finally found how he could make a hunting-nag out of a big post; one for every day, out of the beam of a wine-press; one with housings for his room, out of a great oak-tree; and, out of different kinds of wood in his father's kingdom, he made ten or twelve spare horses, and had seven for the mail.

Engraving

GARGANTUA'S RIDING LESSONS.

It was a rare sight to see all these wooden horses—bigger toys than had ever been made before—lying piled up, side by side, near Gargantua's bed, and the young Giant sleeping in their midst.

One day, Gargantua had a fine chance for having some sport of his own making.

It was on the day a noble lord came on a visit to his old friend, King Grandgousier. The Royal Stables proved rather small for such a number of horses as came with the noble lord. The Chief Equerry of the Lord of Breadinbag—which was the name of the great nobleman—was bothered out of his head because he could not find stable-room for all the horses brought with them. By good luck he and the Grand Steward¹⁰ happened to meet Gargantua at the foot of the great staircase.

Engraving

A NOBLE LORD CAME ON A VISIT.

"Hello, youngster, what is thy name?"

"Prince Gargantua."

"Is that so?" they cried. "Then say, little Giant, tell us where we are to put our horses. The stables of thy Royal Father are all full."

"Yes, I know they are," said Gargantua, slily; "all you have to do is to follow me, and I will show you a beautiful stable, where there are bigger horses than ever yours can grow to be. Where have you left your horses?"

"Out in the court-yard, little Giant."

"Follow me, then, and I will show you the stables."

The Chief Equerry and the Grand Steward went after him, up the great staircase of the palace, through the second hall, into a great stone gallery, by which they entered into a huge stone tower, the steps to which they mounted, along with the Prince, but breathing very heavily indeed.

"I am afraid that big child is laughing at us," whispered the Grand Steward, behind his hand, to the Chief Equerry. "Nobody ever puts a stable at the top of a house."

"You are wrong there," whispered back the Chief Equerry; "because I happen to know of places, in Lyons and elsewhere, where there are stables in the attic¹¹. But, to make sure, let us ask him again."

Turning to Gargantua, he said:—

"My little Prince, art thou sure thou art taking us right?"

"Haven't I already told you? Isn't this my father's palace, and don't I know the way to the stables of my big horses? Don't gasp¹² so much, gentlemen. Only three little steps and we are there!"

Engraving

"ONLY THREE LITTLE STEPS."

Once up the steps, which made the Chief Equerry and the Grand Steward blow worse than ever, and passing through another great hall, the mischievous¹³ Prince, opening wide a door,—that of his own room,—cried, triumphantly:—

"Here are the finest horses, gentlemen, in the world. This one next the door is my favorite riding-horse. That one near the fireplace is my pacer,—a good one, I assure you. Now, just look at that one leaning against yonder window. I rode it rather hard yesterday, and it is tired. That's my hunting-nag. I had it at a great price from Frankfort; but I am willing to make you a present of it. Don't refuse me, I beg. Once on it, you can bag all the partridges and hares you may come across for the whole winter. Now, choose; which of you will ride my hunting-nag?"

The Chief Equerry and the Grand Steward, knowing that all these fine names of "riding-horse," and "pacer," and "hunting-nag," were for mere¹⁴ blocks of wood, were, for a moment, stupefied. They looked at each other slily, and half ashamed; but the joke was too good when they thought of the long stairs they had toiled¹⁵ up, and of their horses below waiting all this time to be stabled and fed. They couldn't help it; it was too rich; so they laughed till they were tired, and then began to laugh again till they were tired again.

"A rare bird is this young scamp," panted the Chief Equerry, as he lifted one end of the great beam which Gargantua called his hunting-nag.

"A prime joker is this young rogue¹⁶, if he is a Prince," panted the Grand Steward, in echo, as he stumbled along with the other end into the hall.

There was no use in being mad at the trick young Gargantua had played on them. So they left him stroking the fastest horses in the world, while they went laughing all the way across the first hall, down the small steps, across the other halls, along the corridors, past the stone gallery, down the long stairway as far as the great arch, where they let the famous hunting-nag roll to the bottom.

When they at last reached the great dining-room, where all their friends were gathered, they made everybody laugh like a swarm¹⁷ of flies at the trick played on them by the little Prince with his wooden horses.

1 engraving   

n.版画；雕刻（作品）；雕刻艺术；镌版术v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的现在分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中）

参考例句：

• He collected an old engraving of London Bridge. 他收藏了一张古老的伦敦桥版画。 来自辞典例句
• Some writing has the precision of a steel engraving. 有的字体严谨如同钢刻。 来自辞典例句

2 mire   

n.泥沼，泥泞；v.使...陷于泥泞，使...陷入困境

参考例句：

• I don't want my son's good name dragged through the mire.我不想使我儿子的名誉扫地。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

3 streaked   

adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹

参考例句：

• The children streaked off as fast as they could. 孩子们拔脚飞跑 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• His face was pale and streaked with dirt. 他脸色苍白，脸上有一道道的污痕。 来自辞典例句

4 trot   

n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧

参考例句：

• They passed me at a trot.他们从我身边快步走过。
• The horse broke into a brisk trot.马突然快步小跑起来。

5 gallop   

v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展

参考例句：

• They are coming at a gallop towards us.他们正朝着我们飞跑过来。
• The horse slowed to a walk after its long gallop.那匹马跑了一大阵后慢下来缓步而行。

6 gambol   

v.欢呼，雀跃

参考例句：

• He determined to revisit the scene of the last evening's gambol.他决计再到昨晚嬉戏的地方去一趟。
• He didn't play sports or a musical instrument,gamble at whist or gambol on a horse.他不做运动，不玩乐器，不赌博，不骑马。

7 amble   

vi.缓行，漫步

参考例句：

• The horse is walking at an amble.这匹马正在溜蹄行走。
• Every evening,they amble along the bank. 每天晚上，他们都沿着江边悠闲地散步。

8 skilful   

(=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的

参考例句：

• The more you practise,the more skilful you'll become.练习的次数越多，熟练的程度越高。
• He's not very skilful with his chopsticks.他用筷子不大熟练。

9 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

10 steward   

n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员

参考例句：

• He's the steward of the club.他是这家俱乐部的管理员。
• He went around the world as a ship's steward.他当客船服务员，到过世界各地。

11 attic   

n.顶楼，屋顶室

参考例句：

• Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
• What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？

12 gasp   

n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说

参考例句：

• She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
• The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。

13 mischievous   

adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的

参考例句：

• He is a mischievous but lovable boy.他是一个淘气但可爱的小孩。
• A mischievous cur must be tied short.恶狗必须拴得短。

14 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

15 toiled   

长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉

参考例句：

• They toiled up the hill in the blazing sun. 他们冒着炎炎烈日艰难地一步一步爬上山冈。
• He toiled all day long but earned very little. 他整天劳碌但挣得很少。

16 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

17 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。