Dream, dream of the flowing Nile,
Where thy mother first saw light—
(Ah, sweet is thine infant smile!)
Close thy pretty baby mouth,
Close, close thy blinking eye;
Lullaby, lullaby.
—Hippopotamus2 Cradle Song.
All the morning there had been an excited running to and fro among the Keepers of the Menial World. Evidences of a stupendous mystery were apparent on every hand. It seemed to center in the Hippopotamus House, the doors of which were locked and barred, as well as those of the Lion House adjoining it. [Pg 52]The Princess, devoured4 by curiosity, deluged5 Toots with questions. While awaiting developments, they were feeding peanuts to Zuelma, the vain young mother ostrich6. For quite a while the little Limping Boy was unable to get any light on the mystery.
"If the sparrow were only here," said the Princess, "there would be a lot of gossip about it; wouldn't there, Toots?"
"Yes," answered the boy; "but we won't have to wait long. Listen, Mahmoud is beginning to rumble7 through his trunk. Twice old Sultan has roared under his breath, and a moment ago the tigers were snarling8. The secret will soon be out—"
At that instant, Sultan, patriarch of the lions, delivered himself of a mighty9 roar. Even the Princess could tell by the sound of it that it was not a roar of anger.
"Good!" said Toots, "that is old [Pg 53]Sultan's call for rejoicing. Now listen."
Mahmoud was first to reply. The old elephant trumpeted10 a hearty11 response, in which the other elephants joined. After that there were growls12 from the bears, snarls13 from the tigers and pumas14, and an extraordinary chattering15 among the monkeys. Throughout all the Menial World there was only one note of discord16, one failure to respond heartily17 to the call for rejoicing. When the other voices had subsided18, up spoke19 the aged20 striped hyena21 in his evil-tempered voice, demanding:
"Wherefore rejoice? What has befallen in the Lion House that gives cause for rejoicing?"
[Pg 54]
The roar with which Sultan prefaced his reply was so terrible that the ill-favored beast cowered22 back into the farthest corner of his den3. Said Sultan:
"Not for this suspicious, thieving, ill-conditioned creature, but for all the loyal inhabitants of the Menial World shall the answer be given. Harken to the voice of Caliph, the Wise."
For a moment there was deep silence. Then spoke Caliph, patriarch of the hippopotami, in his rumbling23 roar, resembling that of the cataracts24 of the Upper Nile, within the sound of which his youth had been spent:
"Lo, Fatimah, my beloved mate, hath an infant daughter. Mother and child are doing well; therefore, rejoice."
Whereat there was such general and hearty rejoicing that all the houses of the [Pg 55]Menial People rocked on their foundations. But when the sound of it had died away, the aged hyena could be heard snarling:
"Pooh! only one? Though my mate brought me four daughters and a son one morning as I was gnawing25 the leg bone of a sheep, yet I made no uproar26 about it."
"That is because you are a selfish, thieving, carrion-eating old hypocrite," thundered back Caliph.
Zuelma, with her bill wide open, as is her custom while listening, stood with her long neck craned over the head of [Pg 56]the little Limping Boy, in whose hand that of the Princess—somewhat frightened by the uproar among the animals—was tightly clasped. Suddenly, Pwit-Pwit, the Sparrow gossip and news-gatherer for all the Menial People, fluttered down at her feet.
"I have been expecting you for an hour," said the ostrich. "Now, thank goodness, we shall know the truth, after all this roaring and trumpeting27. How is it, Pwit-Pwit, that so much fuss is made over a single baby? Were the other eggs eaten by the crocodiles?"
Crocodile
"As soon as I heard the call for rejoicing," said the sparrow, "I flew at once to the Hippopotamus House; but the door was [Pg 57]shut and no one came to let me in. But it sticks in my mind, Zuelma, that the young of the Hippopotamus are not hatched from eggs."
At this, Zuelma, who was a mother herself, laughed scornfully.
"If you were not a giddy, gadding28 sparrow," she said, "with neither mate nor nest of your own, you would know that without eggs and hot sand to hatch them in, there would be no young in the world. Come, go and try again. By this time the door should be open."
The sparrow was no quicker than were Toots and the Princess to profit by this hint. They found the outer door of the Hippopotamus House still closed; but that of the Lion House was open, and also one connecting the two. As Pwit-Pwit hopped29 past the cage of the frolicsome30 lion cubs31, they [Pg 58]tumbled over each other in their eagerness to greet him.
"Ho, Pwit-Pwit," they roared in their babyish voices, "stop and tell us the news."
stop and tell us the news
"Wait till I come back," chirped32 the sparrow; "I'm busy now." And he hurried on into the Hippopotamus House and to the big tank where old Caliph [Pg 59]was cooling himself after the excitement of the morning. Toots and the Princess stopped within a yard of him, eager to hear what was said between them.
"Is it indeed true?" demanded Pwit-Pwit. "Are you for the second time a father?"
Caliph blinked at the sparrow, and seemed to be turning something over in his mind. Presently he opened his mouth at least a yard and snorted so loudly that the sparrow's feathers were drenched33 with the spray from his nostrils34.
"Such manners!" exclaimed Pwit-Pwit, shaking himself vigorously. "What on earth are you laughing at?"
"Father for the second time," repeated Caliph, with a broad smile. "Why, little one, my age is at least three-quarters of a century, and all of our family wedded35 young. At [Pg 60]least a score of the young with which Fatimah has presented me are to-day rolling about the broad earth in gaudily36 painted wheeled tanks for the amusement of the Master World. Therefore, excuse me if I smile decorously at your inquiry37 if it be true that I am indeed a father for the second time."
"Where are Fatimah and the new baby?" demanded the sparrow, shortly, for Pwit-Pwit never approved of laughter at his own expense.
"You'll find them over in the next tank," answered the father hippopotamus. "Never yet was there such a baby for the water. He has been to the surface to breathe only twice since he was born. He will be a great hippopotamus when he grows up."
"Do you mean to say," said Pwit-Pwit, in surprise, "that Fatimah found [Pg 61]the baby in the water to begin with?"
"Why, certainly," answered Caliph, "where would you expect to find a new baby hippopotamus?"
"Well, I wonder what Zuelma will say to that," chirped the sparrow, as he hopped along to the margin38 of Fatimah's tank. All that could be seen of the mother hippopotamus was a glistening39 yard or so of her black back. This was floating about the tank in a [Pg 62]manner that indicated no little agitation40 below the surface. The cause was apparent when Fatimah lifted her head out of the water, and said to Caliph:
"Alas41! our new-born daughter is lost again. I have searched every corner of the tank in vain. Oh, what shall I do? What shall I do?"
"Do not agitate42 yourself, my beloved," answered Caliph. "The little one is mischievous43. Thus it was, I remember, with our first-born. Verily, it is a good sign."
Suddenly, while Caliph was speaking, Fatimah plunged44 her nose into the water, made a scooping45 motion, and rose quickly to the surface, bringing the missing baby with her. The Princess shrieked46 with delight at sight of the coffee-colored little image of its mother which lay sprawling47 across her broad nose, blinking its eyes and blowing spray from its nostrils.
"A fine child, Fatimah," said Pwit-Pwit. "Many happy returns of the day."
"Thank you very much, I'm sure," said Fatimah, while the new baby shook its small ears in imitation of its mother. "But what a care these babies are," she added with a sigh, "nobody but a mother knows."
Toots would have sworn that at this moment Caliph winked49 slyly at his new daughter, and that the baby gave her father an answering wink48. At any rate, as Fatimah finished speaking, the baby slid from her nose into the water with a splash, and sank out of sight.
"Drat the child!" said Fatimah. "There's no use," she added with a snort that sent a ripple50 of waves over the surface of the water; "she will do it. I shall simply leave her there, young as she is, till she is obliged [Pg 66]to come up for air. By the way, Pwit-Pwit, little one, how are Cleopatra and her monkey baby this morning?"
"Quite well, thank you," answered the sparrow, "and Cleopatra sends congratulations."
"Caliph, my love," said Fatimah, "I really think that in honor of the occasion, we should send a polite message to Cleopatra. To be sure, I don't approve of monkeys at all, but babies are babies, you know."
"Very well," said Caliph, gruffly, "send the chattering young creature any message you like, only keep me out of it."
"My experience certainly is greater than Cleopatra's," said Fatimah, addressing the sparrow, "and I would warn her against allowing her baby to lie overlong in the sun. It is apt to crack the skin. I remember when my first child was born—"
[Pg 67]
"Why, bless my eyes!" interrupted Pwit-Pwit, with a giggle51, "Cleopatra asked me to warn you against letting your baby get its feet wet."
"Well, I never!" gasped52 Fatimah in astonishment53, while Caliph opened his mouth till the Princess told Toots in a whisper that she could see clear into his stomach, and laughed till the tears rolled down his cheeks.
"Well, I must be going," said the sparrow. "Everybody is dying for the news. Have you named the baby yet, Fatimah?"
"She shall be called Delilah, for her beauty," said the proud mother, as her baby came gasping54 and sputtering55 to the surface. As Fatimah put down her nose for her child to clamber upon, she said in a tone of loving triumph:
"So-so, my child, it seems you still have [Pg 68]some use for mother. Now will you be good?"
Again the lion cubs roared at Pwit-Pwit as he was passing, demanding the news:
"Where did the hippopotamus baby come from? Did somebody leave the door open?"
"Fatimah found it at the bottom of her swimming tank," answered the sparrow, and he passed on, leaving the cubs staring at each other in wonderment.
When Pwit-Pwit had made the rounds with his gossip about the new baby, all the Menial People who felt that their experience entitled them to give advice touching56 the bringing up of children, addressed themselves, one at a time, to Fatimah and Caliph.
"As to the new babe," said the dromedary, speaking first, "I would give a bit of advice. Many a babe has suffered in its early days from lack of water. So it was with my [Pg 69]brother. His tongue became so parched57 that he was never able to converse58 above a whisper. I pray you, madam, to see that your babe has water to drink at least once a week."
"Ho-ho, ha-ha!" laughed Caliph. "Water once a week, and only to drink—"
"Hush59, my dear," said Fatimah, "the dromedary means well, but, being of the desert, he knows no better."
"If you would have his legs grow slim and straight," said Dozel, the Indian doe, "you must let him run over the hills as much as possible while yet young. But I would warn you to beware of the dogs and wolves."
"For exercise to strengthen the body there is nothing like leaping," roared Sultan, the lion. "Before I was a year old I could leap full twenty feet to the shoulders of an antelope60, and never miss."
[Pg 70]
"Ho-ho, ha-ha!" roared Caliph again, till reproved by Fatimah. But the picture of any hippopotamus, young or old, running over the hills, or leaping on to the shoulders of an antelope, was irresistibly61 funny, and Caliph continued to chuckle62 till Duchess, Mahmoud's faithful mate, concluded the chapter on how to bring up a young hippopotamus with the following sensible advice:
"Behold63, O Fatimah," she said, "one or two matters which may have slipped your memory, upon which I would give you counsel. If the mother be sound, and the new-born babe be without blot64 or blemish65, there is little to be feared. Yet, in my time, have I seen the young over-eager for their food, so that they grow to be unnaturally66 ravenous67, in time ruining their digestion68 and destroying their moral sense. Such a disposition69 noticed early in infancy70 [Pg 71]is easily corrected, as you well know. If your babe displays an inclination71 to turn her head more to one side than to the other when sleeping, I would remind you that this is frequently the cause of an ill-balanced skull72, destructive of that beautiful symmetry characteristic of the normal adult members of both our species. Moreover, let not thy offspring accustom73 herself to chewing her food on one side of her mouth—a common affectation among infants. The danger from this source is teeth short on one side and long on the other, and a jaw74 awry75. In these days, as you well know, Fatimah, it is difficult to obtain for a daughter a desirable mate if she be not well favored."
"Thank you, my dear," said Fatimah, when Duchess had ceased speaking. "You'll excuse me now, I'm sure; my baby hasn't had a nap since it was born."
[Pg 72]
Presently, all through the Menial World was heard the plaintive76 melody of the Hippopotamus Cradle Song, and for an hour after it had ceased, even Pwit-Pwit and the Monkeys were silent.
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收听单词发音
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1
joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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hippopotamus
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| n.河马 | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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deluged
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| v.使淹没( deluge的过去式和过去分词 )；淹没；被洪水般涌来的事物所淹没；穷于应付 | |
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ostrich
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| n.鸵鸟 | |
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rumble
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| n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说 | |
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snarling
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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9
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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trumpeted
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| 大声说出或宣告（trumpet的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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12
growls
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的第三人称单数 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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13
snarls
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| n.（动物的）龇牙低吼( snarl的名词复数 )；愤怒叫嚷（声）；咆哮（声）；疼痛叫声v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的第三人称单数 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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pumas
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| n.美洲狮( puma的名词复数 )；彪马；于1948年成立于德国荷索金劳勒(Herzogenaurach)的国际运动品牌；创始人：鲁道夫及达斯勒。 | |
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15
chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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discord
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| n.不和，意见不合，争论，（音乐）不和谐 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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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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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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hyena
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| n.土狼，鬣狗 | |
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cowered
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| v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的过去式 ) | |
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23
rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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24
cataracts
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| n.大瀑布( cataract的名词复数 )；白内障 | |
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gnawing
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| a.痛苦的，折磨人的 | |
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uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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trumpeting
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| 大声说出或宣告（trumpet的现在分词形式） | |
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gadding
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| n.叮搔症adj.蔓生的v.闲逛( gad的现在分词 )；游荡；找乐子；用铁棒刺 | |
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29
hopped
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| 跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花 | |
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frolicsome
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| adj.嬉戏的，闹着玩的 | |
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cubs
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| n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 ) | |
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chirped
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| 鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的过去式 ) | |
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33
drenched
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| adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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34
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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wedded
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| adj.正式结婚的；渴望…的，执著于…的v.嫁，娶，（与…）结婚( wed的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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gaudily
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| adv.俗丽地 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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41
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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agitate
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| vi.(for,against)煽动，鼓动；vt.搅动 | |
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43
mischievous
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| adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的 | |
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44
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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45
scooping
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| n.捞球v.抢先报道( scoop的现在分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等） | |
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46
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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sprawling
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| adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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48
wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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49
winked
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| v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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50
ripple
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| n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进 | |
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51
giggle
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| n.痴笑，咯咯地笑；v.咯咯地笑着说 | |
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52
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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55
sputtering
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| n.反应溅射法；飞溅；阴极真空喷镀；喷射v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的现在分词 )；发劈啪声；喷出；飞溅出 | |
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56
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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parched
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| adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干 | |
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58
converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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antelope
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| n.羚羊；羚羊皮 | |
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irresistibly
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| adv.无法抵抗地，不能自持地；极为诱惑人地 | |
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62
chuckle
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| vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑 | |
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63
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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64
blot
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| vt.弄脏（用吸墨纸）吸干；n.污点，污渍 | |
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65
blemish
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| v.损害；玷污；瑕疵，缺点 | |
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66
unnaturally
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| adv.违反习俗地；不自然地；勉强地；不近人情地 | |
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67
ravenous
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| adj.极饿的，贪婪的 | |
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68
digestion
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| n.消化，吸收 | |
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69
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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70
infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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71
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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72
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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73
accustom
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| vt.使适应，使习惯 | |
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74
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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75
awry
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| adj.扭曲的，错的 | |
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76
plaintive
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| adj.可怜的，伤心的 | |
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