The First Monkey

 Many years ago at the foot of a forest-covered hill was a small town, and just above the town on the hillside was a little house in which lived an old woman and her grandson.

 

The old woman, who was very industrious¹, earned their living by removing the seeds from cotton, and she always had near at hand a basket in which were cotton and a long stick that she used for a spindle. The boy was lazy and would not do anything to help his grandmother, but every day went down to the town and gambled².

 

One day, when he had been losing money, the boy went home and was cross because his supper was not ready.

 

“I am hurrying to get the seeds out of this cotton,” said the grandmother, “and as soon as I sell it, I will buy us some food.”

 

At this the boy fell into a rage³, and he picked up some cocoanut shells⁴ and threw them at his grandmother. Then she became angry and began to whip⁵ him with her spindle, when suddenly he was changed into an ugly animal, and the cotton became hair which covered his body, while the stick itself became his tail.

 

As soon as the boy found that he had become an ugly creature he ran down into the town and began [203]whipping his companions, the gamblers, with his tail, and immediately they were turned into animals like himself.

 

Then the people would no longer have them in the town, but drove⁶ them out. They went to the forest where they lived in the trees, and ever since they have been known⁷ as monkeys.

1 industrious   

adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的

参考例句：

• If the tiller is industrious,the farmland is productive.人勤地不懒。
• She was an industrious and willing worker.她是个勤劳肯干的员工。

2 gambled   

v.赌博，冒风险( gamble的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He gambled his savings to start a small store. 他孤注一掷地用自己的积蓄开了一家小店。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He gambled all his winning on the last race. 他把所有赢得的钱都押在最后一场比赛上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 rage   

vi.(烈火)熊熊燃烧；发怒；怒斥；季风

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• Haines got into a rage.海恩斯勃然大怒。

4 shells   

n.（贝、卵、坚果等的）壳( shell的名词复数 )；外壳；炮弹；（人的）表面性格

参考例句：

• We collected shells on the beach. 我们在海滩拾贝壳。
• But at last the shells cracked, one after another. 最后，蛋壳一个接着一个地裂开了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 whip   

n.鞭子，鞭打，奶油甜食，车夫，组织秘书；vt.抽出，鞭打，捆扎，搅拌，打败；vi.突然移动，飘浮

参考例句：

• The cruel man lashed the horse with his whip.那个粗暴的人用鞭子抽马。
• The cruel master beat his slaves with a whip.残酷的主人鞭打他的奴隶。

6 drove   

vbl.驾驶，drive的过去式；n.畜群

参考例句：

• He drove at a speed of sixty miles per hour.他以每小时60英里的速度开车。
• They drove foreign goods out of the market.他们把外国货驱逐出市场。

7 known   

adj.大家知道的；知名的，已知的

参考例句：

• He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
• He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。