ABOU BEN WOODROW

 (IN PARIS)

 

 

 

Abou Ben Woodrow in bed watching angel reading from scroll¹

 

 

Abou Ben Woodrow (may his tribe increase!)

Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,

And saw, among the gifts piled on the floor

(Making the room look like a department store),

An Angel writing in a book of gold.

Now much applause had made Ben Woodrow bold

And to the Presence in the room said he,

"Qu'est-ce que c'est que ?a que tu ecris?"

Or, in plain English, "May I not inquire

What writest thou?" The Angel did not tire

But kept on scribing. Then it turned its head

(All Europe could not turn Ben Woodrow's head!)

And with a voice almost as sweet as Creel's

Answered: "The names of those who grease the wheels

Of progress and have never, never blundered."

Ben Woodrow lay quite still, and sadly wondered.

"And is mine one?" he queried³. "Nay⁴, not so,"

Replied the Angel. Woodrow spoke⁵ more low

But cheerly still, and in his May I notting

Fashion he said: "Of course you may be rotting,

But even if you are, may I not then

Be writ² as one that loves his fellow men?

Do that for me, old chap; just that; that merely

And I am yours, cordially and sincerely."

The Angel wrote, and vanished like a mouse.

Next night returned (accompanied by House)

And showed the names whom love of Peace had blest.

And lo! Ben Woodrow's name led all the rest!

 

1 scroll   

n.卷轴，纸卷；(石刻上的)漩涡

参考例句：

• As I opened the scroll,a panorama of the Yellow River unfolded.我打开卷轴时，黄河的景象展现在眼前。
• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements.他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。

2 writ   

n.命令状，书面命令

参考例句：

• This is a copy of a writ I received this morning.这是今早我收到的书面命令副本。
• You shouldn't treat the newspapers as if they were Holy Writ. 你不应该把报上说的话奉若神明。

3 queried   

v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问

参考例句：

• She queried what he said. 她对他说的话表示怀疑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"What does he have to do?\" queried Chin dubiously. “他有什么心事？”琴向觉民问道，她的脸上现出疑惑不解的神情。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

4 nay   

adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者

参考例句：

• He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的，不，应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。
• Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章，不，应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。