Parade Song of the Camp Animals

      ELEPHANTS OF THE GUN TEAMS

 

     We lent to Alexander the strength of Hercules,

     The wisdom of our foreheads, the cunning of our knees;

     We bowed our necks to service: they ne’er were loosed again,—

     Make way there—way for the ten-foot teams

           Of the Forty-Pounder train!

 

     GUN BULLOCKS

 

     Those heroes in their harnesses avoid a cannon-ball,

     And what they know of powder upsets them one and all;

     Then we come into action and tug¹ the guns again—

     Make way there—way for the twenty yoke²

           Of the Forty-Pounder train!

 

     CAVALRY³ HORSES

 

     By the brand on my shoulder, the finest of tunes⁴

     Is played by the Lancers, Hussars, and Dragoons,

     And it’s sweeter than “Stables” or “Water” to me—

     The Cavalry Canter of “Bonnie Dundee”!

 

     Then feed us and break us and handle and groom⁶,

     And give us good riders and plenty of room,

     And launch us in column of squadron and see

     The way of the war-horse to “Bonnie Dundee”!

 

     SCREW-GUN MULES⁷

 

     As me and my companions were scrambling⁸ up a hill,

     The path was lost in rolling stones, but we went forward still;

     For we can wriggle⁹ and climb, my lads, and turn up everywhere,

     Oh, it’s our delight on a mountain height, with a leg or two to

        spare!

 

     Good luck to every sergeant¹⁰, then, that lets us pick our road;

     Bad luck to all the driver-men that cannot pack a load:

     For we can wriggle and climb, my lads, and turn up everywhere,

     Oh, it’s our delight on a mountain height, with a leg or two to

        spare!

 

     COMMISSARIAT CAMELS

 

     We haven’t a camelty tune⁵ of our own

     To help us trollop along,

     But every neck is a hair trombone

     (Rtt-ta-ta-ta! is a hair trombone!)

     And this our marching-song:

     Can’t!  Don’t!  Shan’t!  Won’t!

     Pass it along the line!

     Somebody’s pack has slid from his back,

     Wish it were only mine!

     Somebody’s load has tipped off in the road—

     Cheer for a halt and a row!

     Urrr!  Yarrh!  Grr!  Arrh!

     Somebody’s catching¹¹ it now!

 

     ALL THE BEASTS TOGETHER

 

     Children of the Camp are we,

     Serving each in his degree;

     Children of the yoke and goad¹²,

     Pack and harness, pad and load.

     See our line across the plain,

     Like a heel-rope bent¹³ again,

     Reaching, writhing¹⁴, rolling far,

     Sweeping all away to war!

     While the men that walk beside,

     Dusty, silent, heavy-eyed,

     Cannot tell why we or they

     March and suffer day by day.

        Children of the Camp are we,

        Serving each in his degree;

        Children of the yoke and goad,

        Pack and harness, pad and load!

The End
 

1 tug   

v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船

参考例句：

• We need to tug the car round to the front.我们需要把那辆车拉到前面。
• The tug is towing three barges.那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。

2 yoke   

n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶

参考例句：

• An ass and an ox,fastened to the same yoke,were drawing a wagon.驴子和公牛一起套在轭上拉车。
• The defeated army passed under the yoke.败军在轭门下通过。

3 cavalry   

n.骑兵；轻装甲部队

参考例句：

• We were taken in flank by a troop of cavalry. 我们翼侧受到一队骑兵的袭击。
• The enemy cavalry rode our men down. 敌人的骑兵撞倒了我们的人。

4 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

6 groom   

vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁

参考例句：

• His father was a groom.他父亲曾是个马夫。
• George was already being groomed for the top job.为承担这份高级工作，乔治已在接受专门的培训。

7 mules   

骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者

参考例句：

• The cart was pulled by two mules. 两匹骡子拉这辆大车。
• She wore tight trousers and high-heeled mules. 她穿紧身裤和拖鞋式高跟鞋。

8 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 wriggle   

v./n.蠕动，扭动；蜿蜒

参考例句：

• I've got an appointment I can't wriggle out of.我有个推脱不掉的约会。
• Children wriggle themselves when they are bored.小孩子感到厌烦时就会扭动他们的身体。

10 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

11 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

12 goad   

n.刺棒，刺痛物；激励；vt.激励，刺激

参考例句：

• The opposition is trying to goad the government into calling an election.在野反对党正努力激起政府提出选举。
• The writer said he needed some goad because he was indolent.这个作家说他需要刺激，因为他很懒惰。

13 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

14 writhing   

（因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She was writhing around on the floor in agony. 她痛得在地板上直打滚。
• He was writhing on the ground in agony. 他痛苦地在地上打滚。