“I thought that would make you look up,” he said. “If it hadn’t I should have dropped an acorn2 down on to your nose.”
108
“‘NOW LET’S GO TO SLEEP.’”
109Girlie felt very glad that he had not found it necessary to do so, and civilly asked him what he wanted.
“Well, you see,” he said, “my spectacles have got very dull, and I thought that, perhaps, you wouldn’t mind lending me your handkerchief to polish them up with.
“Oh! certainly, with pleasure,” said Girlie amiably3. “I wonder how he keeps them on?” she thought. “I’ve never heard of a bird wearing glasses before.”
But by this time she had got so used to strange things happening, that she was scarcely surprised at anything.
“Thanks,” said the Crow, “bring it up here, please.”
“How can I?” said Girlie. “I can’t climb right up there.”
“Of course not,” replied the Crow; “you must fly up.”
“How absurd!” laughed Girlie. “I can’t fly, I’ve no wings.”
“Can’t fly!” repeated the Crow in a tone of surprise, gazing curiously4 down at her. “Why, then, you must be a pig,” he said decidedly, after a minute or two.
“I’m sure I’m not,” said Girlie, feeling very indignant.
“But you must be,” said the Crow. “Pigs can’t fly, you know, and if you can’t either, you must be a kind of pig. Oh, you needn’t get so angry about it,” he continued, 110when Girlie began to remonstrate6, “pigs are very nice in their way, if it wasn’t for their pride.”
“I didn’t know that pigs were proud before,” said Girlie; “I’m sure they’ve nothing to be proud of.”
“It’s just the people that have nothing to be proud of who usually fancy themselves most,” said the Crow; “look at the King’s Minstrel, for instance.”
“Well, yes, he’s proud enough, certainly,” said Girlie, laughing in spite of herself. “Do you know him?”
“Know him?” replied the Crow, “I should rather think I do. Why, I’ve known him ever since he was a boy, and he was as proud and stuck-up as an old tin kettle then.”
“As an old tin kettle,” repeated Girlie, “why, however can an old tin kettle be proud.”
“Haven’t you ever heard of the pride of a kettle?” said the Crow, who seemed surprised; “why, they’re the proudest things out. I knew one once,” he continued, “who came to a terrible end through his pride and folly7. Shall I tell you about it?”
“I should like you to very much,” said Girlie, “if you wouldn’t mind coming down here, for it is making my neck ache dreadfully to keep looking up at you.”
The Crow obligingly flew down and, perching on the 111stump of a tree near to where she sat, he repeated the following story:—
“PRIDE.
“In a ditch at the back of the house there dwelt
A preserved meat tin and a kettle.
They both of them greatly desired
To be thought very grand, so they practised deceit,
“If any one happened to pass by that way,
The kettle with infinite scorn
The preserved meat tin with an ‘awful bored’ air
Would lift up its lid and then yawn.
“They flattered each other through thick and thin,
And the kettle would frequently say—
Is got up in a charming way.’
“And the tin, in return, would reply to its friend
Would speak of its lid as ‘unique in design’
To the dent in the kettle’s left side.
Just fancy their horror and fright
When they heard some one shout in a very cross way,—
‘John, pick up this rubbish and take it away,
Don’t let it remain in my sight.’
“They were carried off that very day,
And thrown on the rubbish heap.
In ashes and dirt, while the kettle was covered
“Poor things,” said Girlie, laughing; “but it served them right, though, didn’t it, for thinking such a lot of themselves?”
“Certainly it did,” replied the Crow, “and, besides that, the kettle had had one warning before. Pride always has a fall, you know, and he had had one—that was how he came to get the dent in his left side. Were you ever on speaking terms with a kettle?” he inquired.
“No, never,” said Girlie, laughing at the idea.
“No, I suppose not,” said the Crow in a pitying voice; “they are rather particular to whom they speak, and I suppose they would draw the line at a pig.”
“I tell you——” began Girlie; but the Crow didn’t allow her to finish the sentence.
“It’s their voices they are so proud of,” he went on. “I suppose you’ve heard them sing, haven’t you?” he asked.
113
114“No, I haven’t,” said Girlie.
“Never heard a kettle sing?” asked the Crow in surprise.
“Oh, yes, I have,” said Girlie.
“I was going to say,” remarked the Crow, “why, I’ve known them to simply boil over with indignation when their singing hasn’t been properly appreciated. You might as well give me that handkerchief now,” he added, holding out his claw.
Girlie gave it to him and watched him while he rubbed away at his glasses, which he held in his beak27.
“What do you use them for?” she asked presently.
“Oh! I’m out hunting for a Goo,” answered the Crow, “and, being rather short-sighted, I am obliged to wear glasses.”
“Oh, do you know what a Goo is?” asked Girlie eagerly.
“Yes,” said the Crow, “our family have come to the conclusion that it is a kind of worm, an enormously large worm, because everybody is so very anxious to find it, and a worm being the only thing in the world worth troubling about, it must be a worm. If it isn’t, it isn’t worth looking for, that’s all,” he added.
“O’ugh! I am sure I shouldn’t like to find one, then,” said Girlie, shuddering28.
“There’s no accounting30 for taste,” he said presently, in a sarcastic31 voice; “and pigs—but there, no matter! I won’t finish it. Hush32! what’s that?” he went on, as a great bell tolled33 in the distance. “The curfew,” he said, after listening for a minute, “now we shall all have to go to bed.”
“But how can we?” cried Girlie in alarm.
“There are plenty of trees,” suggested the Crow.
“But I can’t sleep in a tree,” said Girlie.
“Oh, can’t you? well, you’ll have to to-night, anyhow,” said the Crow. “The Watchman will be along presently and, if he catches you awake, he will extinguish you, and then where will you be?”
Girlie thought that sounded very terrible, so she began looking about for a tree with branches low enough for her to climb into.
She found one presently that she thought she could manage, and, after several efforts, she succeeded in reaching one of the lower branches. On the branch that she had selected were two owls34 huddled36 close together.
“I say, further up there!” shouted the Crow, giving one of them a poke16 as he settled down beside him.
116The Owl35 immediately opened his eyes very widely and tried to look as though he had not been to sleep at all.
“What’s that?” he said, staring hard at Girlie, who was sitting uncomfortably on the branch.
The Crow whispered something in his ear and Girlie could just catch the word “Pig.”
“Is she really?” said the Owl, looking surprised.
“Well, Pig! Do you happen to have any mice about you?” he said, peering at her curiously.
“Good gracious, no!” said Girlie, frightened at the very idea.
“One would think you didn’t care for mice by the way in which you speak,” said the Owl crossly.
“I shouldn’t be at all surprised if she didn’t,” remarked the Crow; “her tastes are most peculiar37.”
“She’s perching very awkwardly, too,” said the Owl, staring at her with a puzzled air. “What’s the matter with her?”
“You’re very rude, both of you,” said Girlie, completely losing her temper.
117“I suppose you think that’s clever,” said Girlie, “but it isn’t, for four perches don’t make one rood—it’s forty.”
“It’s the same thing,” said the Crow, “isn’t it?” he asked, turning to the Owl, who had shut his eyes again.
“How do you make that out?” asked Girlie.
“I could show you, if I had a piece of paper and a pencil,” said the Crow. “How do you write forty?” he asked.
“And what does nought stand for?” asked the Crow.
“Nothing,” replied Girlie.
“Well, then, what’s the use of making a fuss about nothing?” said the Crow; “and, besides, if you’re not a Pig, prove it by perching properly.”
Girlie felt that she ought to do something to show them that she really was not a Pig, so she drew her feet up under her and tried to sit as much like the Owl as she could. She felt dreadfully uncomfortable, however, and was afraid every moment that she should fall to 118the ground. “Oh, I really can’t do it any longer,” she said after a little while, resuming her former position.
The Owl and the Crow looked at each other meaningly.
“‘PRECISELY,’ HE REPLIED.”
“I said she was,” nodded the Crow, “and that settles it. Now let’s go to sleep, or we shall have the Watchman catching42 us talking,” and he took off his spectacles and tucked them under one wing, and then, popping his head under the other, was soon fast asleep.
Girlie nestled up as close to the Owl as she could 119for he looked so soft and warm, and, resting her head cosily43 against his fluffy44 feathers, was soon asleep herself. Perhaps it was because of the strange position in which she was sleeping, but certainly from some cause or other, she had a most alarming dream. She thought that she had fallen from the tree and couldn’t get up again, and that the Watchman (who seemed to be a dreadful old man with an enormously long nose, wearing a long coat with ever so many little capes45 to it, and carrying a lantern in one hand and an immense extinguisher in the other) came along and found her sitting there. He seemed to be very angry that she was not asleep, and, crying out in a loud voice, “Lights out,” popped the great extinguisher over her head. Girlie felt half-suffocated and was just wondering whether she would really go out like a candle, and was thinking that she should know now what people meant when they spoke about being very much put out, when she suddenly awoke and found, to her great relief, that it was only a dream. It was broad daylight again and the Crow had disappeared, carrying Girlie’s pocket-handkerchief away with him.
“I suppose I ought to wake these owls up,” she thought, looking at them snuggled close to her. She 120gave the one on her right a little shake and he immediately opened his eyes very widely, as before.
THE WATCHMAN.
“Well, what is it?” he asked sharply.
“It’s time to get up,” said Girlie.
“It isn’t,” said the Owl. “Fluffy and I are going to sleep all day.”
121“Oh, is that his name—Fluffy?” repeated Girlie, looking at the other Owl. “What’s yours?”
“Stuffy,” said the Owl, yawning.
“You can, if you like,” said the Owl.
This didn’t sound very encouraging. “But, perhaps, he isn’t quite awake yet,” thought Girlie, remembering that people are often rather cross if spoken to before they are quite awake. “My name is Girlie,” she said aloud.
“H’m! What a stupid name!” said the Owl. “What does it mean?”
“I’m sure it isn’t stupid,” cried Girlie indignantly; “it’s a very pretty name.”
“It’s a silly name for a Pig,” persisted the Owl.
“But I tell you I’m not a Pig,” said Girlie, getting quite cross.
“Yes, I know you say so,” said the Owl sarcastically47; “but I can’t see the difference myself. You can’t perch, you can’t fly, you haven’t feathers, and you don’t like mice. If you’re not a Pig, I should just like to know what you are. Not that it matters in the least, though,” he went on, before Girlie could reply. “And now do 122leave off talking, for I want to get to sleep again.” And he settled his head down between his shoulders and closed his eyes.
“RAN TO THE GATE AND LOOKED OVER THE TOP.”
He evidently did not wish to continue the conversation, so Girlie scrambled48 down from the tree and began to walk towards the gates at the farther end of the meadow, gathering49 some marguerites on her way.
“I wonder what day it is?” she thought. “Let’s see, it was Wednesday afternoon when I first came here; then I had tea (or breakfast—which was it?) at the Crocodile’s; then late dinner at the Wallypug’s; and then it was daylight when I got into the conservatory50, so I suppose that must have been Thursday; and now I’ve 123been to sleep; so this must be Friday. What a short day Thursday must have been, though,” she thought—“about an hour and a half long,” she decided5, after thinking it over; and then, hearing a noise in the roadway, she ran to the gate and looked over the top.
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1
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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acorn
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| n.橡实，橡子 | |
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amiably
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| adv.和蔼可亲地，亲切地 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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5
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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remonstrate
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| v.抗议，规劝 | |
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7
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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8
perch
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| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
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battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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10
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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11
dent
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| n.凹痕，凹坑；初步进展 | |
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12
rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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suburban
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| adj.城郊的，在郊区的 | |
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15
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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16
poke
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| n.刺，戳，袋；vt.拨开，刺，戳；vi.戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢 | |
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17
spout
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| v.喷出，涌出；滔滔不绝地讲；n.喷管；水柱 | |
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18
haughtily
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| adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地 | |
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19
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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20
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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21
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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22
allude
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| v.提及，暗指 | |
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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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24
smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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25
cinders
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| n.煤渣( cinder的名词复数 )；炭渣；煤渣路；煤渣跑道 | |
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26
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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27
beak
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| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
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28
shuddering
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| v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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29
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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30
accounting
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| n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表 | |
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31
sarcastic
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| adj.讥讽的，讽刺的，嘲弄的 | |
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32
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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33
tolled
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| 鸣钟（toll的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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34
owls
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| n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 ) | |
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35
owl
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| n.猫头鹰，枭 | |
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huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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perches
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| 栖息处( perch的名词复数 )； 栖枝； 高处； 鲈鱼 | |
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39
winking
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| n.瞬眼，目语v.使眼色( wink的现在分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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40
nought
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| n.／adj.无，零 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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cosily
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| adv.舒适地，惬意地 | |
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fluffy
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| adj.有绒毛的，空洞的 | |
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45
capes
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| 碎谷； 斗篷( cape的名词复数 )； 披肩； 海角； 岬 | |
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46
sociable
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| adj.好交际的，友好的，合群的 | |
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47
sarcastically
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| adv.挖苦地，讽刺地 | |
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48
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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49
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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50
conservatory
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| n.温室，音乐学院；adj.保存性的，有保存力的 | |
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