THE CAT’S NAME

Tom had a cat who was so white that he named her Snow. He loved Snow and thought her the best cat in the world, but she would not come when she was called.

One day Snow went and played in the coal-bin, and when she came out she was quite black.

“See, Mother,” said Tom: “Snow cannot be Snow now, for she is black. What shall¹ I name her?”

“You might name her Soot²!” said his mother.

So he named Snow Soot. Snow did not care, and Soot did not care, but neither of them came when she was called.

One day Snow saw a tin³ pot on the shed⁴ floor, and Soot thought there might be cream in it; and Snow went to see, and Soot fell in, and it was[42] green paint, and when she came out she was all green.

“See, Mother,” said Tom. “My cat is not white now, so she cannot be Snow, and she is not black, so she cannot be Soot. What shall I name her now?”
cat getting into the paint

“You might name her Grass,” said his mother, “till you have washed her; but I would wash her soon if I were you.”

So, Tom named the cat Grass. Snow did not care, and Soot did not care, and Grass did not care, but none of them came when they were called.

“How can I wash her,” asked Tom, “if she will not come when she is called?”

[43]

“Let me try!” said his mother. So she called, “Puss! Puss! Puss!” and the cat came running as fast as she could.

“Why-ee!” said Tom. “I think her name must be Puss.”

“I think so, too,” said his mother.

1 shall   

v.aux.（主要用于第一人称）将

参考例句：

• I shall always love you.我将永远爱你。
• Which club shall we join?我们要参加哪个社团？

2 soot   

n.煤烟，烟尘；vt.熏以煤烟

参考例句：

• Soot is the product of the imperfect combustion of fuel.煤烟是燃料不完全燃烧的产物。
• The chimney was choked with soot.烟囱被煤灰堵塞了。

3 tin   

n.[化]锡， 马口铁， 罐&vt.涂锡于&adj.锡制的

参考例句：

• He bought a tin of pork.他买了一听猪肉罐头。
• I need another tin of paint.我还需要一罐油漆。

4 shed   

n.车棚，小屋，脱落之物，分水岭；vt.使流出，放射，脱落，散发，摆脱；vi. 流出

参考例句：

• There are a lot of straws in the shed.棚子里有许多稻草。
• His nose told him that he was getting near the cow shed.他的嗅觉告诉他，他正走近牛棚。