The Sun and the Moon

 The Sun and the Moon were married, but the Sun was very ugly and quarrelsome. One day he became angry at the Moon and started to chase¹ her. She ran very fast until she was some distance ahead of him, when she grew tired and he almost caught her. Ever since he has been chasing² her, at times almost reaching her, and again falling far behind.

 

The first child of the Sun and Moon was a large star, and he was like a man. One time the Sun, becoming angry at the star, cut him up into small pieces and scattered³ him over the whole sky just as a woman scatters⁴ rice, and ever since there have been many stars.

 

Another child of the Sun and Moon was a gigantic⁵ crab⁶.23 He still lives and is so powerful⁷ that every time he opens and closes his eyes there is a flash of lightning. Most of the time the crab lives in a large hole in the bottom of the sea, and when he is there we have high tide; but when he leaves the hole, the waters rush in and there is low tide. His moving about also causes great waves on the surface of the sea.

 

The crab is quarrelsome like his father; and he sometimes becomes so angry with his mother, the [146]Moon, that he tries to swallow her.24 When the people on earth, who are fond of the Moon, see the crab near her, they run out of doors and shout and beat on gongs until he is frightened away, and thus the Moon is saved. 

1 chase   

vt.追逐，追赶，追求；n.追赶

参考例句：

• The police grabbed the robbers after a long chase.警察经过长距离追赶后逮住了抢劫犯。
• Would you chase me if I did?如果我逃开了，你会来追吗？

2 chasing   

n.雕镂术，雕刻工作；车螺丝；抛光；螺旋板

参考例句：

• My dog likes chasing rabbits. 我的狗喜欢追捕兔子。
• The children were having fun, chasing each other's shadows. 孩子们追逐着彼此的影子，玩得很开心。

3 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

4 scatters   

v.（使）散开， （使）分散，驱散( scatter的第三人称单数 )；撒

参考例句：

• He scatters money about as if he were rich. 他四处挥霍，好像很有钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Truth raises against itself the storm that scatters its seeds broadcast. 真理引起了反对它自己的狂风骤雨，那场风雨吹散了真理的广播的种子。 来自辞典例句

5 gigantic   

adj.巨大的，巨人似的

参考例句：

• He has a gigantic appetite and eats gigantic meals.他有很大的食量，能吃很多的食物。
• The earth may be thought of as a gigantic magnet.整个地球可以想像为一块硕大无朋的磁石。

6 crab   

n.螃蟹，偏航，脾气乖戾的人，酸苹果；vi.捕蟹，偏航，发牢骚；vt.使偏航，发脾气

参考例句：

• I can't remember when I last had crab.我不记得上次吃蟹是什么时候了。
• The skin on my face felt as hard as a crab's back.我脸上的皮仿佛僵硬了，就象螃蟹的壳似的。

7 powerful   

adj.有力的，有权力的，强大的

参考例句：

• The UN began to get more and more powerful.联合国开始变得越来越强大了。
• Such are the most powerful voices of our times!这些就是我们时代的最有力的声音！