CHAPTER IV THE LITTLE DWELLERS IN THE MARSH

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As the guide finished his charming description of the southern nightingale, he pointed¹ out to them the marsh². It was a strange-looking place, and Ethelda asked many questions concerning it. Why was it dangerous to cross? Why must they skirt the marsh and go around it, as they were doing? It was much the shorter way to cut right across it, but instead, they walked miles out of their way to reach the other side. Their guide assured them that the marsh was not so charming as it looked. Down amid its dark cypresses³, where the jagged palmetto fans and latanier grew, and where the tall rushes and reeds were so fine that, swaying softly under the breeze, they looked like moving water, but water dyed in emerald and topaz tints—lurked many dangers. Rattlesnakes and toads⁴ and deadly insects made it their home, and the ground was all a quagmire⁵, so that stepping on it they would sink deep in mud and slime, and perhaps die there.

 

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“Oh,” said the Princess, “how awful! Does nothing nice live there? Those beautiful tiger-lilies and big purple passion-flowers bloom so charmingly, surely there must be something there to enjoy them.”

 

“Well,” answered the guide, “the birds frequently nest there, and the great pelicans⁶ and cranes hide in it; but beside them there are only three respectable families that I know of who ever enter it.”

 

“Who are they?” asked Ethelda, deeply interested at once.

 

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“Why, the first family I mean,” replied the Sun messenger, “is the Crayfish family. Deep down in the black slime live this family, who delight in digging and burrowing⁷ in the mud. They live in very black dirt, but a happier family it would be hard to find. They are splendid little housekeepers⁹, too, and spend most of their mornings in their own homes, trying to build up and beautify their houses, and they never meddle¹⁰ with any one else. Any time of day you can see their bright eyes peering out of their mud windows wonderingly. The Crayfish babies are very tiny, and are carefully and tenderly watched. They never are allowed to play with others, and cannot leave their mother’s side a single minute until they are five years old. Indeed, they hold on to her sides until that age. By that time they are considered grown, and can care for themselves and choose their own friends. On this account, perhaps, the Crayfishes don’t visit much, because with a dozen children clinging to her the mother is hardly a welcome guest anywhere; the Crayfishes have few friends in consequence. The Mud-Turtles, I believe, are about their only callers, and only through them do they occasionally hear of the outside world.”

 

“How comical!” laughed a pretty Moon maiden¹¹. “Now tell us about the other families.”

 

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“The head of the other family,” said the guide, “is very interesting indeed. He is a queer little animal called Opossum; he looks like a rat, but is larger than a cat. He spends the day lazily, sleeping among the foliage¹² of trees, or in hollows of their trunks or boughs¹³. His fur is nearly black, but little white patches about his face give him a most wise appearance. He brought his family, consisting of a wife and sixteen small babies, and started housekeeping on the edge of the swamp. The babies are not as big as mice, but they are the sweetest little furry¹⁴ things you ever saw. They cuddle up so nicely together, and just wait to be fed. Of course Mother ’Possum has her hands pretty full watching and caring for sixteen small children, so it devolves on the father to provide food for them; and every night he runs around the country looking for something to eat. He is really a devoted¹⁵ father, but he is not fond of work; and how to feed a wife and sixteen babies without work is a very hard problem to solve. So I am sorry to tell you Mr. ’Possum often steals his food, that being the easiest way to get it, and nothing appeals to him so strongly as a tender young chicken.

 

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“Now, the third family dwelling¹⁶ in the marsh are the Raccoons. Mrs. ’Possum has a great contempt for this same neighbor of hers, and they are not on very friendly terms. Mrs. ’Possum is a splendid housekeeper⁸, but Mrs. Raccoon cares nothing at all about her home. True, she builds her house carefully in the topmost branches of a tree, but having done that, she considers her duty ended, and seldom occupies it. ‘Any old place is good enough to sleep in,’ she says; and just so she can find a spot with water enough to moisten her food before eating it, she is content. Therefore she wanders around, with the little Raccoons, anywhere and everywhere, and when they get tired they just creep under some old log and go to sleep. Of course Mother ’Possum, with her strict ideas of housekeeping, thinks this careless habit no way to live or to bring up children; but whenever Mrs. ’Possum reproaches Mrs. Raccoon with being a slipshod housekeeper and a gadabout, Mrs. Raccoon invariably replies, ‘Have you ever noticed how soft and fine my fur is, and how many beautiful rings I wear on my tail?’—for she is awfully¹⁷ vain. Then she flourishes her tail around, and whisking about, shows off the pretty black and white rings she carries, to the best possible advantage, until Mrs. ’Possum in disgust sends all the little ’Possums scurrying¹⁸ away, fearing lest they become vain and worldly like the Raccoons. But with the exception of the Raccoons and the Crayfishes, the Opossum family own the big yellow and green marsh.”

 

1 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。

2 marsh   

n.沼泽，湿地

参考例句：

• There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
• I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。

3 cypresses   

n.柏属植物，柏树( cypress的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Green and luxuriant are the pines and cypresses. 苍松翠柏郁郁葱葱。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Before them stood a grove of tall cypresses. 前面是一个大坝子，种了许多株高大的松树。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

4 toads   

n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆( toad的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All toads blink when they swallow. 所有的癞蛤蟆吞食东西时都会眨眼皮。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Toads have shorter legs and are generally more clumsy than frogs. 蟾蜍比青蛙脚短，一般说来没有青蛙灵活。 来自辞典例句

5 quagmire   

n.沼地

参考例句：

• On their way was a quagmire which was difficult to get over.路上他俩遇到了—个泥坑,很难过得去。
• Rain had turned the grass into a quagmire.大雨使草地变得一片泥泞。

6 pelicans   

n.鹈鹕( pelican的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Kurt watched the Pelicans fire their jets and scorch the grass. 库尔特看着鹈鹕运兵船点火，它们的喷焰把草烧焦。 来自互联网
• The Pelican Feeding Officers present an educational talk while feeding the pelicans. 那个正在喂鹈鹕的工作人员会边喂鹈鹕边给它上一节教育课。 来自互联网

7 burrowing   

v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的现在分词 )；翻寻

参考例句：

• What are you burrowing around in my drawer for? 你在我抽屉里乱翻什么？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The forepaws are also used for burrowing and for dragging heavier logs. 它们的前爪还可以用来打洞和拖拽较重的树干。 来自辞典例句

8 housekeeper   

n.管理家务的主妇，女管家

参考例句：

• A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
• She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

9 housekeepers   

n.（女）管家( housekeeper的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Can you send up one of your housekeepers to make bed? 请你派个女服务员来整理床铺好吗？ 来自互联网
• They work as gas station attendants, firemen, housekeepers,and security personnel. 本句翻译：机器人也能够作为煤气站的服务员，救火队员等保安作用。 来自互联网

10 meddle   

v.干预，干涉，插手

参考例句：

• I hope he doesn't try to meddle in my affairs.我希望他不来干预我的事情。
• Do not meddle in things that do not concern you.别参与和自己无关的事。

11 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

12 foliage   

n.叶子，树叶，簇叶

参考例句：

• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage.小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
• Dark foliage clothes the hills.浓密的树叶覆盖着群山。

13 boughs   

大树枝( bough的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The green boughs glittered with all their pearls of dew. 绿枝上闪烁着露珠的光彩。
• A breeze sighed in the higher boughs. 微风在高高的树枝上叹息着。

14 furry   

adj.毛皮的；似毛皮的；毛皮制的

参考例句：

• This furry material will make a warm coat for the winter.这件毛皮料在冬天会是一件保暖的大衣。
• Mugsy is a big furry brown dog,who wiggles when she is happy.马格斯是一只棕色大长毛狗，当她高兴得时候她会摇尾巴。

15 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

16 dwelling   

n.住宅，住所，寓所

参考例句：

• Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
• He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。

17 awfully   

adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地

参考例句：

• Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
• I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

18 scurrying   

v.急匆匆地走( scurry的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We could hear the mice scurrying about in the walls. 我们能听见老鼠在墙里乱跑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We were scurrying about until the last minute before the party. 聚会开始前我们一直不停地忙忙碌碌。 来自辞典例句