THE LEPRACAUN; OR, FAIRY SHOEMAKER.

 WILLIAM ALLINGHAM.

 

I.

 

Little Cowboy, what have you heard,

Up on the lonely rath's green mound¹?

Only the plaintive² yellow bird [11]

Sighing in sultry fields around,

Chary³, chary, chary, chee-ee!—

Only the grasshopper⁴ and the bee?—[Pg 82]

"Tip tap, rip-rap,

Tick-a-tack-too!

Scarlet⁵ leather, sewn together,

This will make a shoe.

Left, right, pull it tight;

Summer days are warm;

Underground in winter,

Laughing at the storm!"

Lay your ear close to the hill.

Do you not catch the tiny clamour,

Busy click of an elfin hammer,

Voice of the Lepracaun singing shrill⁶

As he merrily plies⁷ his trade?

He's a span

And a quarter in height.

Get him in sight, hold him tight,

And you're a made

Man!

II.

 

You watch your cattle the summer day,

Sup on potatoes, sleep in the hay;

How would you like to roll in your carriage,

Look for a duchess's daughter in marriage?

Seize the Shoemaker—then you may!

"Big boots a-hunting,

Sandals in the hall,

White for a wedding-feast,

Pink for a ball.

This way, that way,

So we make a shoe;

Getting rich every stitch,

Tick-tack-too!"

Nine-and-ninety treasure-crocks

This keen miser-fairy hath,

Hid in mountains, woods, and rocks,

Ruin and round-tow'r, cave and rath,

And where the cormorants⁸ build;[Pg 83]

From times of old

Guarded by him;

Each of them fill'd

Full to the brim

With gold!

III.

 

I caught him at work one day, myself,

In the castle-ditch, where foxglove grows,—

A wrinkled, wizen'd, and bearded Elf,

Spectacles stuck on his pointed⁹ nose,

Silver buckles¹⁰ to his hose,

Leather apron—shoe in his lap—

"Rip-rap, tip-tap,

Tick-tack-too!

(A grasshopper on my cap!

Away the moth¹¹ flew!)

Buskins for a fairy prince,

Brogues for his son,—

Pay me well, pay me well,

When the job is done!"

The rogue¹² was mine, beyond a doubt.

I stared at him; he stared at me;

"Servant, Sir!" "Humph!" says he,

And pull'd a snuff-box out.

He took a long pinch, look'd better pleased,

The queer little Lepracaun;

Offer'd the box with a whimsical grace,—

Pouf! he flung the dust in my face,

And, while I sneezed,

Was gone!

 

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 plaintive   

adj.可怜的，伤心的

参考例句：

• Her voice was small and plaintive.她的声音微弱而哀伤。
• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。

3 chary   

adj.谨慎的，细心的

参考例句：

• She started a chary descent of the stairs.她开始小心翼翼地下楼梯。
• She is chary of strangers.她见到陌生人会害羞。

4 grasshopper   

n.蚱蜢，蝗虫，蚂蚱

参考例句：

• He thought he had made an end of the little grasshopper.他以为把那个小蚱蜢干掉了。
• The grasshopper could not find anything to eat.蚱蜢找不到任何吃的东西。

5 scarlet   

n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的

参考例句：

• The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
• The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了，深红的颜色变成了绯红，绯红又变为浅红。

6 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

7 plies   

v.使用（工具）( ply的第三人称单数 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意

参考例句：

• The ship plies between London and Sydney. 这船常航行于伦敦与悉尼之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bus plies from the station to the hotel. 这辆公共汽车往来于车站和旅馆之间。 来自辞典例句

8 cormorants   

鸬鹚，贪婪的人( cormorant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The birds are trained cormorants. 那些鸟是受过训练的鸬鹚。
• The cormorants swim down and catch the fish, and bring them back the raft. 鸬鹚又下去捉住鱼，再返回竹筏。

9 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

10 buckles   

搭扣，扣环( buckle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She gazed proudly at the shiny buckles on her shoes. 她骄傲地注视着鞋上闪亮的扣环。
• When the plate becomes unstable, it buckles laterally. 当板失去稳定时，就发生横向屈曲。

11 moth   

n.蛾，蛀虫

参考例句：

• A moth was fluttering round the lamp.有一只蛾子扑打着翅膀绕着灯飞。
• The sweater is moth-eaten.毛衣让蛀虫咬坏了。

12 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。