Pussy-cat Mew

 "Pussy¹-cat, Pussy-cat, where do you go?"

"To London, to visit the palace, you know."

"Pussy-cat Mew, will you come back again?"

"Oh, yes! I'll scamper² with might and with main!"

PUSSY-CAT MEW set off on her way,

Stepping quite softly and feeling quite gay.

Smooth was the road, so she traveled at ease,

Warmed by the sunshine and fanned by the breeze.

 

Over the hills to the valleys below,

Through the deep woods where the soft mosses³ grow,

Skirting the fields, with buttercups dotted,

Swiftly our venturesome Pussy-cat trotted⁴.

 

Sharp watch she kept when a village she neared,

For boys and their mischief⁵ our Pussy-cat feared.

Often she crept through the grasses so deep

To pass by a dog that was lying asleep.

 

Once, as she walked through a sweet-clover field,

Something beside her affrightedly squealed⁶,

And swift from her path there darted⁷ away

[176]A tiny field-mouse, with a coat of soft gray.

 

"Now here," thought our Pussy, "is chance for a dinner;

The one that runs fastest must surely be winner!"

So quickly she started the mouse to give chase,

And over the clover they ran a great race.

 

But just when it seemed that Pussy would win,

The mouse spied a hole and quickly popped in;

And so he escaped, for the hole was so small

That Pussy-cat couldn't squeeze in it at all.

 

So, softly she crouched⁸, and with eyes big and round

Quite steadily⁹ watched that small hole in the ground.

"This mouse really thinks he's escaped me," she said,

"But I'll catch him sure if he sticks out his head!"

 

But while she was watching the poor mouse's plight¹⁰,

A deep growl¹¹ behind made her jump with affright;

She gave a great cry, and then started to run

As swift as a bullet that's shot from a gun!

 

"Meow! Oh, meow!" our poor Puss did say;

"Bow-wow!" cried the dog, who was not far away.

O'er meadows and ditches they scampered¹² apace,

O'er fences and hedges they kept up the race!

 

Then Pussy-cat Mew saw before her a tree,

And knew that a safe place of refuge 'twould be;

So far up the tree with a bound she did go,

[177]And left the big dog to growl down below.

 

But now, by good fortune, a man came that way,

And called to the dog, who was forced to obey;

But Puss did not come down the tree till she knew

That the man and the dog were far out of view.

 

Pursuing her way, at nightfall she came

To London, a town you know well by name;

And wandering 'round in byway and street,

A strange Pussy-cat she happened to meet.

 

"Good evening," said Pussy-cat Mew. "Can you tell

In which of these houses the Queen may now dwell?

I'm a stranger in town, and I'm anxious to see

What sort of a person a real Queen may be."

 

"My friend," said the other, "you really must know

It isn't permitted that strangers should go

Inside of the palace, unless they're invited,

And stray Pussy-cats are apt to be slighted.

 

"By good luck, however, I'm quite well aware

Of a way to the palace by means of a stair

That never is guarded; so just come with me,

And a glimpse of the Queen you shall certainly see."

 

Puss thanked her new friend, and together they stole

To the back of the palace, and crept through a hole

In the fence, and quietly came to the stair

[178]Which the stranger Pussy-cat promised was there.

 

"Now here I must leave you," the strange Pussy said,

"So don't be 'fraid-cat, but go straight ahead,

And don't be alarmed if by chance you are seen,

For people will think you belong to the Queen."

 

So Pussy-cat Mew did as she had been told,

And walked through the palace with manner so bold

She soon reached the room where the Queen sat in state,

Surrounded by lords and by ladies so great.

 

And there in the corner our Pussy sat down,

And gazed at the scepter and blinked at the crown,

And eyed the Queen's dress, all purple and gold;

Which was surely a beautiful sight to behold¹³.

 

But all of a sudden she started, for there

Was a little gray mouse, right under the chair

Where her Majesty¹⁴ sat, and Pussy well knew

She'd scream with alarm if the mouse met her view.

 

So up toward the chair our Pussy-cat stole,

But the mouse saw her coming and ran for its hole;

But Pussy ran after, and during the race

A wonderful, terrible panic took place!

 

The ladies all jumped on their chairs in alarm,

The lords drew their swords to protect them from harm,

And the Queen gave a scream and fainted away—

[179]A very undignified act, I must say.

 

And some one cried "Burglars!" and some one cried "Treason!"

And some one cried "Murder!" but none knew the reason;

And some one cried "Fire! they are burning the house!"

And some one cried "Silence! it's only a mouse!"

 

But Pussy-cat Mew was so awfully¹⁵ scared

By the shouting and screaming, no longer she dared

To stay in the room; so without more delay

She rushed from the palace and scampered away!

 

So bristling¹⁶ her fur, and with heart beating fast,

She came to the road leading homeward at last.

"What business," she thought, "has a poor country cat

To visit a city of madmen like that?

 

"Straight homeward I'll go, where I am well fed,

Where mistress is kind, and soft is my bed;

Let other cats travel, if they wish to roam,

But as for myself, I shall now stay at home."

 

And now over hills and valleys she ran,

And journeyed as fast as a Pussy-cat can;

Till just as the dawn of the day did begin

[180]She, safely at home, stole quietly in.

 

And there was the fire, with the pot boiling on it,

And there was the maid, in the blue checkered¹⁷ bonnet¹⁸,

And there was the corner where Pussy oft basked¹⁹,

And there was the mistress, who eagerly asked:

 

"Pussy-cat, Pussy-cat, where have you been?"

"I've been to London, to visit the Queen."

"Pussy-cat, Pussy-cat, what did you there?"

"I frightened a little mouse under her chair!"

 

1 pussy   

n.(儿语)小猫，猫咪

参考例句：

• Why can't they leave my pussy alone?为什么他们就不能离我小猫咪远一点？
• The baby was playing with his pussy.孩子正和他的猫嬉戏。

2 scamper   

v.奔跑，快跑

参考例句：

• She loves to scamper through the woods of the forest.她喜欢在森林里的树林中穿梭嬉戏。
• The flash sent the foxes scampering away.闪光惊得狐狸四处逃窜。

3 mosses   

n. 藓类, 苔藓植物 名词moss的复数形式

参考例句：

• Ferns, mosses and fungi spread by means of spores. 蕨类植物、苔藓和真菌通过孢子传播蔓生。
• The only plants to be found in Antarctica are algae, mosses, and lichens. 在南极洲所发现的植物只有藻类、苔藓和地衣。

4 trotted   

小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
• Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。

5 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

6 squealed   

v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He squealed the words out. 他吼叫着说出那些话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The brakes of the car squealed. 汽车的刹车发出吱吱声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 crouched   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
• The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身，准备猛扑。

9 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

10 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

11 growl   

v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣

参考例句：

• The dog was biting,growling and wagging its tail.那条狗在一边撕咬一边低声吼叫，尾巴也跟着摇摆。
• The car growls along rutted streets.汽车在车辙纵横的街上一路轰鸣。

12 scampered   

v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The cat scampered away. 猫刺棱一下跑了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The rabbIt'scampered off. 兔子迅速跑掉了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

13 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

14 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

15 awfully   

adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地

参考例句：

• Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
• I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

16 bristling   

a.竖立的

参考例句：

• "Don't you question Miz Wilkes' word,'said Archie, his beard bristling. "威尔克斯太太的话，你就不必怀疑了。 "阿尔奇说。他的胡子也翘了起来。
• You were bristling just now. 你刚才在发毛。

17 checkered   

adj.有方格图案的

参考例句：

• The ground under the trees was checkered with sunlight and shade.林地光影交错。
• He’d had a checkered past in the government.他过去在政界浮沉。

18 bonnet   

n.无边女帽；童帽

参考例句：

• The baby's bonnet keeps the sun out of her eyes.婴孩的帽子遮住阳光，使之不刺眼。
• She wore a faded black bonnet garnished with faded artificial flowers.她戴着一顶褪了色的黑色无边帽，帽上缀着褪了色的假花。

19 basked   

v.晒太阳，取暖( bask的过去式和过去分词 )；对…感到乐趣；因他人的功绩而出名；仰仗…的余泽

参考例句：

• She basked in the reflected glory of her daughter's success. 她尽情地享受她女儿的成功带给她的荣耀。
• She basked in the reflected glory of her daughter's success. 她享受着女儿的成功所带给她的荣耀。 来自《简明英汉词典》